xref: /freebsd/contrib/ntp/sntp/invoke-sntp.texi (revision 009e81b16465ea457c0e63fd49fe77f47cc27a5a)
1@node sntp Invocation
2@section Invoking sntp
3@pindex sntp
4@cindex standard Simple Network Time Protocol client program
5@ignore
6#
7# EDIT THIS FILE WITH CAUTION  (invoke-sntp.texi)
8#
9# It has been AutoGen-ed  January 20, 2016 at 04:06:42 AM by AutoGen 5.18.5
10# From the definitions    sntp-opts.def
11# and the template file   agtexi-cmd.tpl
12@end ignore
13
14
15
16@code{sntp}
17can be used as an SNTP client to query a NTP or SNTP server and either display
18the time or set the local system's time (given suitable privilege).  It can be
19run as an interactive command or from a
20@code{cron}
21job.
22
23NTP (the Network Time Protocol) and SNTP (the Simple Network Time Protocol)
24are defined and described by RFC 5905.
25
26
27The default is to write the estimated correct local date and time (i.e. not
28UTC) to the standard output in a format like:
29
30@code{'1996-10-15 20:17:25.123 (+0800) +4.567 +/- 0.089 [host] IP sN'}
31
32where the
33@code{'(+0800)'}
34means that to get to UTC from the reported local time one must
35add 8 hours and 0 minutes,
36the
37@code{'+4.567'}
38indicates the local clock is 4.567 seconds behind the correct time
39(so 4.567 seconds must be added to the local clock to get it to be correct).
40Note that the number of decimals printed for this value will change
41based on the reported precision of the server.
42@code{'+/- 0.089'}
43is the reported
44@emph{synchronization} @emph{distance}
45(in seconds), which represents the maximum error due to all causes.
46If the server does not report valid data needed to calculate the
47synchronization distance, this will be reported as
48@code{'+/- ?'}.
49If the
50@emph{host}
51is different from the
52@emph{IP},
53both will be displayed.
54Otherwise, only the
55@emph{IP}
56is displayed.
57Finally, the
58@emph{stratum}
59of the host is reported
60and the leap indicator is decoded and displayed.
61
62This section was generated by @strong{AutoGen},
63using the @code{agtexi-cmd} template and the option descriptions for the @code{sntp} program.
64This software is released under the NTP license, <http://ntp.org/license>.
65
66@menu
67* sntp usage::                  sntp help/usage (@option{--help})
68* sntp ipv4::                   ipv4 option (-4)
69* sntp ipv6::                   ipv6 option (-6)
70* sntp authentication::         authentication option (-a)
71* sntp broadcast::              broadcast option (-b)
72* sntp concurrent::             concurrent option (-c)
73* sntp gap::                    gap option (-g)
74* sntp kod::                    kod option (-K)
75* sntp keyfile::                keyfile option (-k)
76* sntp logfile::                logfile option (-l)
77* sntp steplimit::              steplimit option (-M)
78* sntp ntpversion::             ntpversion option (-o)
79* sntp usereservedport::        usereservedport option (-r)
80* sntp timeout::                timeout option (-t)
81* sntp wait::                   wait option
82* sntp config::                 presetting/configuring sntp
83* sntp exit status::            exit status
84* sntp Usage::                  Usage
85* sntp Authors::                Authors
86@end menu
87
88@node sntp usage
89@subsection sntp help/usage (@option{--help})
90@cindex sntp help
91
92This is the automatically generated usage text for sntp.
93
94The text printed is the same whether selected with the @code{help} option
95(@option{--help}) or the @code{more-help} option (@option{--more-help}).  @code{more-help} will print
96the usage text by passing it through a pager program.
97@code{more-help} is disabled on platforms without a working
98@code{fork(2)} function.  The @code{PAGER} environment variable is
99used to select the program, defaulting to @file{more}.  Both will exit
100with a status code of 0.
101
102@exampleindent 0
103@example
104sntp - standard Simple Network Time Protocol client program - Ver. 4.2.8p6
105Usage:  sntp [ -<flag> [<val>] | --<name>[@{=| @}<val>] ]... \
106                [ hostname-or-IP ...]
107  Flg Arg Option-Name    Description
108   -4 no  ipv4           Force IPv4 DNS name resolution
109                                - prohibits the option 'ipv6'
110   -6 no  ipv6           Force IPv6 DNS name resolution
111                                - prohibits the option 'ipv4'
112   -a Num authentication Enable authentication with the key auth-keynumber
113   -b Str broadcast      Listen to the address specified for broadcast time sync
114                                - may appear multiple times
115   -c Str concurrent     Concurrently query all IPs returned for host-name
116                                - may appear multiple times
117   -d no  debug-level    Increase debug verbosity level
118                                - may appear multiple times
119   -D Num set-debug-level Set the debug verbosity level
120                                - may appear multiple times
121   -g Num gap            The gap (in milliseconds) between time requests
122   -K Fil kod            KoD history filename
123   -k Fil keyfile        Look in this file for the key specified with -a
124   -l Fil logfile        Log to specified logfile
125   -M Num steplimit      Adjustments less than steplimit msec will be slewed
126                                - it must be in the range:
127                                  greater than or equal to 0
128   -o Num ntpversion     Send int as our NTP protocol version
129                                - it must be in the range:
130                                  0 to 7
131   -r no  usereservedport Use the NTP Reserved Port (port 123)
132   -S no  step           OK to 'step' the time with settimeofday(2)
133   -s no  slew           OK to 'slew' the time with adjtime(2)
134   -t Num timeout        The number of seconds to wait for responses
135      no  wait           Wait for pending replies (if not setting the time)
136                                - disabled as '--no-wait'
137                                - enabled by default
138      opt version        output version information and exit
139   -? no  help           display extended usage information and exit
140   -! no  more-help      extended usage information passed thru pager
141   -> opt save-opts      save the option state to a config file
142   -< Str load-opts      load options from a config file
143                                - disabled as '--no-load-opts'
144                                - may appear multiple times
145
146Options are specified by doubled hyphens and their name or by a single
147hyphen and the flag character.
148
149
150The following option preset mechanisms are supported:
151 - reading file $HOME/.ntprc
152 - reading file ./.ntprc
153 - examining environment variables named SNTP_*
154
155Please send bug reports to:  <http://bugs.ntp.org, bugs@@ntp.org>
156@end example
157@exampleindent 4
158
159@node sntp ipv4
160@subsection ipv4 option (-4)
161@cindex sntp-ipv4
162
163This is the ``force ipv4 dns name resolution'' option.
164
165@noindent
166This option has some usage constraints.  It:
167@itemize @bullet
168@item
169must not appear in combination with any of the following options:
170ipv6.
171@end itemize
172
173Force DNS resolution of the following host names on the command line
174to the IPv4 namespace.
175@node sntp ipv6
176@subsection ipv6 option (-6)
177@cindex sntp-ipv6
178
179This is the ``force ipv6 dns name resolution'' option.
180
181@noindent
182This option has some usage constraints.  It:
183@itemize @bullet
184@item
185must not appear in combination with any of the following options:
186ipv4.
187@end itemize
188
189Force DNS resolution of the following host names on the command line
190to the IPv6 namespace.
191@node sntp authentication
192@subsection authentication option (-a)
193@cindex sntp-authentication
194
195This is the ``enable authentication with the key @var{auth-keynumber}'' option.
196This option takes a number argument @file{auth-keynumber}.
197Enable authentication using the key specified in this option's
198argument.  The argument of this option is the @option{keyid}, a
199number specified in the @option{keyfile} as this key's identifier.
200See the @option{keyfile} option (@option{-k}) for more details.
201@node sntp broadcast
202@subsection broadcast option (-b)
203@cindex sntp-broadcast
204
205This is the ``listen to the address specified for broadcast time sync'' option.
206This option takes a string argument @file{broadcast-address}.
207
208@noindent
209This option has some usage constraints.  It:
210@itemize @bullet
211@item
212may appear an unlimited number of times.
213@end itemize
214
215If specified @code{sntp} will listen to the specified address
216for NTP broadcasts.  The default maximum wait time
217can (and probably should) be modified with @option{-t}.
218@node sntp concurrent
219@subsection concurrent option (-c)
220@cindex sntp-concurrent
221
222This is the ``concurrently query all ips returned for host-name'' option.
223This option takes a string argument @file{host-name}.
224
225@noindent
226This option has some usage constraints.  It:
227@itemize @bullet
228@item
229may appear an unlimited number of times.
230@end itemize
231
232Requests from an NTP "client" to a "server" should never be sent
233more rapidly than one every 2 seconds.  By default, any IPs returned
234as part of a DNS lookup are assumed to be for a single instance of
235@code{ntpd}, and therefore @code{sntp} will send queries to these IPs
236one after another, with a 2-second gap in between each query.
237
238The @option{-c} or @option{--concurrent} flag says that any IPs
239returned for the DNS lookup of the supplied host-name are on
240different machines, so we can send concurrent queries.
241@node sntp gap
242@subsection gap option (-g)
243@cindex sntp-gap
244
245This is the ``the gap (in milliseconds) between time requests'' option.
246This option takes a number argument @file{milliseconds}.
247Since we're only going to use the first valid response we get and
248there is benefit to specifying a good number of servers to query,
249separate the queries we send out by the specified number of
250milliseconds.
251@node sntp kod
252@subsection kod option (-K)
253@cindex sntp-kod
254
255This is the ``kod history filename'' option.
256This option takes a file argument @file{file-name}.
257Specifies the filename to be used for the persistent history of KoD
258responses received from servers.  If the file does not exist, a
259warning message will be displayed.  The file will not be created.
260@node sntp keyfile
261@subsection keyfile option (-k)
262@cindex sntp-keyfile
263
264This is the ``look in this file for the key specified with @option{-a}'' option.
265This option takes a file argument @file{file-name}.
266This option specifies the keyfile.
267@code{sntp} will search for the key specified with @option{-a}
268@file{keyno} in this file.  See @command{ntp.keys(5)} for more
269information.
270@node sntp logfile
271@subsection logfile option (-l)
272@cindex sntp-logfile
273
274This is the ``log to specified logfile'' option.
275This option takes a file argument @file{file-name}.
276This option causes the client to write log messages to the specified
277@file{logfile}.
278@node sntp steplimit
279@subsection steplimit option (-M)
280@cindex sntp-steplimit
281
282This is the ``adjustments less than @var{steplimit} msec will be slewed'' option.
283This option takes a number argument.
284If the time adjustment is less than @file{steplimit} milliseconds,
285slew the amount using @command{adjtime(2)}.  Otherwise, step the
286correction using @command{settimeofday(2)}.  The default value is 0,
287which means all adjustments will be stepped.  This is a feature, as
288different situations demand different values.
289@node sntp ntpversion
290@subsection ntpversion option (-o)
291@cindex sntp-ntpversion
292
293This is the ``send @var{int} as our ntp protocol version'' option.
294This option takes a number argument.
295When sending requests to a remote server, tell them we are running
296NTP protocol version @file{ntpversion} .
297@node sntp usereservedport
298@subsection usereservedport option (-r)
299@cindex sntp-usereservedport
300
301This is the ``use the ntp reserved port (port 123)'' option.
302Use port 123, which is reserved for NTP, for our network
303communications.
304@node sntp timeout
305@subsection timeout option (-t)
306@cindex sntp-timeout
307
308This is the ``the number of seconds to wait for responses'' option.
309This option takes a number argument @file{seconds}.
310When waiting for a reply, @code{sntp} will wait the number
311of seconds specified before giving up.  The default should be
312more than enough for a unicast response.  If @code{sntp} is
313only waiting for a broadcast response a longer timeout is
314likely needed.
315@node sntp wait
316@subsection wait option
317@cindex sntp-wait
318
319This is the ``wait for pending replies (if not setting the time)'' option.
320
321@noindent
322This option has some usage constraints.  It:
323@itemize @bullet
324@item
325can be disabled with --no-wait.
326@item
327It is enabled by default.
328@end itemize
329
330If we are not setting the time, wait for all pending responses.
331
332
333@node sntp config
334@subsection presetting/configuring sntp
335
336Any option that is not marked as @i{not presettable} may be preset by
337loading values from configuration ("rc" or "ini") files, and values from environment variables named @code{SNTP} and @code{SNTP_<OPTION_NAME>}.  @code{<OPTION_NAME>} must be one of
338the options listed above in upper case and segmented with underscores.
339The @code{SNTP} variable will be tokenized and parsed like
340the command line.  The remaining variables are tested for existence and their
341values are treated like option arguments.
342
343
344@noindent
345@code{libopts} will search in 2 places for configuration files:
346@itemize @bullet
347@item
348$HOME
349@item
350$PWD
351@end itemize
352The environment variables @code{HOME}, and @code{PWD}
353are expanded and replaced when @file{sntp} runs.
354For any of these that are plain files, they are simply processed.
355For any that are directories, then a file named @file{.ntprc} is searched for
356within that directory and processed.
357
358Configuration files may be in a wide variety of formats.
359The basic format is an option name followed by a value (argument) on the
360same line.  Values may be separated from the option name with a colon,
361equal sign or simply white space.  Values may be continued across multiple
362lines by escaping the newline with a backslash.
363
364Multiple programs may also share the same initialization file.
365Common options are collected at the top, followed by program specific
366segments.  The segments are separated by lines like:
367@example
368[SNTP]
369@end example
370@noindent
371or by
372@example
373<?program sntp>
374@end example
375@noindent
376Do not mix these styles within one configuration file.
377
378Compound values and carefully constructed string values may also be
379specified using XML syntax:
380@example
381<option-name>
382   <sub-opt>...&lt;...&gt;...</sub-opt>
383</option-name>
384@end example
385@noindent
386yielding an @code{option-name.sub-opt} string value of
387@example
388"...<...>..."
389@end example
390@code{AutoOpts} does not track suboptions.  You simply note that it is a
391hierarchicly valued option.  @code{AutoOpts} does provide a means for searching
392the associated name/value pair list (see: optionFindValue).
393
394The command line options relating to configuration and/or usage help are:
395
396@subsubheading version (-)
397
398Print the program version to standard out, optionally with licensing
399information, then exit 0.  The optional argument specifies how much licensing
400detail to provide.  The default is to print just the version.  The licensing infomation may be selected with an option argument.
401Only the first letter of the argument is examined:
402
403@table @samp
404@item version
405Only print the version.  This is the default.
406@item copyright
407Name the copyright usage licensing terms.
408@item verbose
409Print the full copyright usage licensing terms.
410@end table
411
412@node sntp exit status
413@subsection sntp exit status
414
415One of the following exit values will be returned:
416@table @samp
417@item 0 (EXIT_SUCCESS)
418Successful program execution.
419@item 1 (EXIT_FAILURE)
420The operation failed or the command syntax was not valid.
421@item 66 (EX_NOINPUT)
422A specified configuration file could not be loaded.
423@item 70 (EX_SOFTWARE)
424libopts had an internal operational error.  Please report
425it to autogen-users@@lists.sourceforge.net.  Thank you.
426@end table
427@node sntp Usage
428@subsection sntp Usage
429@node sntp Authors
430@subsection sntp Authors
431