Time server won't synchronise

[Sheridan]

I've got my 2008 PDC set to sync time with time.windows.com using the following command:

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:time.windows.com,0x1 /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update

When I try to resync ( w32tm \resync) I always get the error:

'The computer did not resync because no time data is available'

I've checked the firewall and nothing appears to be blocked (I can see the time server doing DNS queries whenever I run the resync but nothing else)

When I try to monitor any time server (time.windows.com, 0.pool.ntp.org etc) I always get the following errors:

ICMP: error 0x80072AFB
NTP: error ERROR_TIMEOUT - no response from server in 1000ms

This looks like connectivity problems to me - but there is nothing I can see that is blocking. I've even disabled the firewall on the PDC but it will not resync!

Anyone got any ideas as to where I can look next?

[CyberNerd]

to you have UDP port 123 open to time.windows.com on the firewall ?

can other clients connect to it?

[ricki]

HI

A lot of the time the county filters block time servers. We have to sync to a county time server.

Richard

[Sheridan]

Yes - NTP (UDP 123) specifically allowed on the firewall.

I doubt its the county as I don't even see the server hitting the firewall at all (apart from other stuff like DNS)

It used to work - I used to see NTP traffic going through the firewall but not it doesn't seem to even get to the firewall no matter what time source I pick.

[CyberNerd]

It used to work - I used to see NTP traffic going through the firewall but not it doesn't seem to even get to the firewall no matter what time source I pick.

put ethereal on the server and see if the packets are leaving.

[Sheridan]

Hmm its now working after a reboot of the local switch it was attached to. Very odd as the server was functioning OK in every other respect. Its a busy server as well (DC, file server etc) so I would have thought a switch fault would have caused more problems!

I'll keep an eye on it - thanks for the advice though!