Planning for External Time-Providers
To closely synchronize your systems with UTC, you can place one or more time-providers in your network. Time-providers have many forms: they can be radio receivers, software/modem combinations, or satellite receivers. (See OSF DCE Application Development Guide - Core Components for additional information about the Time-Provider Interface that you can use to integrate these devices in your network. See Appendix C of this guide for a list of time sources.)
If you plan to use time-providers in your network, you can use one of the sample time-provider programs that are supplied with the DTS software in dcelocal/usr/examples/dts. If you plan to use a time-provider that does not have a sample program available, or you have special requirements, you can write a time-provider program to match the time-provider interface. After you select your time-provider device and program, plan where to install the device in your network.
It is relatively simple to locate time-providers to your best advantage. To do so, observe the following guidelines:
· Always locate a time-provider at a server; if possible, locate the time-provider at a server that is routinely accessed by the majority of servers in your network.
· Regardless of your network configuration, place the time-providers where they will have the highest availability and use.
· If you have several segments to your network, and if you are using global servers to maintain synchronization across the network, locate the time-providers on the global server systems.
Note: You cannot configure a server connected to a time-provider as a courier. A server connected to a time-provider never assumes the courier role because the server process only solicits time values from the time-provider. (See Introduction to the DCE Distributed Time Service for additional information about courier servers.)