Re: [ntpwg] Bug: Status/Summary of slashdot leap-second crash onnew years 2008-2009

From: David Mills
Date: Thu Jan 08 2009 - 17:47:54 EST


Folks,

You are not correct. The kernel software clock variable is in fact stepped back, but the routine that actually reads the clock does not step the clock back unless set back more than two seconds.. Otherwise, the clock is strictly monotonic. That is the ad vice I gave in rfc1583 and implemented the Digital Unix kernel because I wrote tthe code. Other kernelmongers might or might not have taken the advice.

As for the TAI issue discussed earlier, note that the generic NTP kernel supportfrom me since 1991 has TAI . However, support to read it requires the ntp_gettime() syscall and nlot all kernels support it.

The recent leap was observed to work correctly in Solaris and FreeBSD. It worked fine with the WWV driver and the Spectracom GPS driver, but not the NMEA, Arbiter, Meinberg nor any of the NIST or USNO primary servers. It probably did work with the Canadian servers, since the Ottowa primary server is synchronized via my CHU audio driver. It didn't work onn my carefully contrived backroom servers, as they lost power durring the event.

See www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/leap.html and/or the online NTP documentation and/or my book.

Dave

Alan Cox wrote:

On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 10:48:54 +0000
Alan Cox <alan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



On FreeBSD, Solaris and Digital Unix, I'll point out, that jumping
backwards is used, and has been used since at least 1994. So saying
it isn't used in the world today is flat out wrong.



[Ignore previous email, must remember not to post before waking up ;)]

You are correct - and providing gettimeofday() is being used on Linux
rather than time() which simply appears to stall due to resolution the
same is true.

Some users do run with the "right" timezone data in non posix mode
because they want their seconds 'sane' but that isn't the default.

Alan


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