Slashdot Mirror
OpenBSD Project Releases OpenNTPd
44BSD writes "The folks at OpenBSD have announced OpenNTPd, a BSD-licensed implementation of the NTP protocol. As with OpenSSH, there are two teams responsible for the code, which, like OpenSSH, is available in pure OpenBSD and portable versions." TLA FYI: This Wikipedia entry offers a quick overview of the Network Time Protocol. Read on below for some more on OpenNTPd.
"As explained at the project home page:
One team does strictly OpenBSD-based development, aiming to produce code that is as clean, simple, and secure as possible. We believe that simplicity without the portability "goop" allows for better code quality control and easier review. The other team then takes the clean version and makes it portable, by adding the portability "goop" so that it will run on many operating systems.I have been using the OpenBSD variant of this daemon as it exists in the OpenBSD 3.5-current branch of the OS, and it has worked flawlessly with absolutely zero configurational effort. The supplied config file is sufficient to have the daemon synch against a randomly chosen stratum 2 server (pool.ntp.org, served up via round-robin A records). Aside from its simplicity, this daemon offers the ability to be selectively bound to a machine's network interfaces, rather than having to bind to all, as is the case with xntpd. The features provided by this implementation are probably sufficient for the majority of NTP users, and when the promised support for GPS and radio clocks is added, still more will be able to choose OpenNTPd. This additional diversity is welcome, indeed."
Two reasons come to mind --
First, for something as widely deployed as NTP, it is desirable to have a variety of implementations in use. This is well-trod ground, so no need to go over it.
Second, a distinguishing feature of OpenNTPd is its simplicity. It lacks many of the features of xntpd, and provides a subset of xntpd's functionality, and additional features which have been in demand. I guess you could say it does more of what a large number of people want, and less of what a comparative few want.
Since the two implementations are different in what they can do (although there is obviously substantial overlap), those seeking a decent NTP implementation now have a choice, which is a goot thing.
You can download the install iso or floppy images from ftp.openbsd.org or a mirror and boot it. Then you select the ftp server you want to use for the install and it installs very quickly. I recently ordered the 3.5 CD set and it took a looonnnggg time to arrive. Since I was in a hurry, I just installed from the Internet and had no problems at all.
Personally I always order the latest CDs, but then I want to support the project. I use OpenBSD in production environments, and I really don't give a damn about all the "personality issues". I just like an robust and secure OS that gives me reliability and managability without fuss or fanfare.
Just my .02
Sometimes the "writing on the wall" is blood spatter...
"Then you select the ftp server you want to use for the install and it installs very quickly."
Ugh, I don't have whatever kind of bandwidth you have in my house, so installing an OS on a couple of systems through an ftp install would take a nice whopping couple of days. It's faster and more efficient to download one iso, and just reuse it over and over. Not to mention, I can download an iso and burn it at a friend's house who has cable or DSL, then use it to install on a system that only has a dialup connection.
"I recently ordered the 3.5 CD set and it took a looonnnggg time to arrive. Since I was in a hurry, I just installed from the Internet and had no problems at all."
On Dial-up, it'd probably take less time to wait for the postman to deliver it by horse than it would to download the entire distribution.
Or, if you weren't retarded, you could download the files and put them on a cd anyways, only grabbing the ones you need, and saving yourself about 500 MB of download over an iso image. The ISO obsessed linux world isn't the only way to do things, if you can't learn to do things a different way, then stick with what you have and leave those who like saving bandwidth alone.
Amusing how the OpenBSD project goes out of its way to make a portable version of a utility they could easily have allowed to remain OpenBSD-only, and news of the event immediately turns into a Linux crybaby convention. The sense of entitlement is as annoying as it is predictable. You want an ISO? Make one, or find someone who already has. The fact this this seems so damn hard is testimony to either the laziness, stupidity, or selfishness of the whiners who make the requests, seems to me.
You know, its pretty simple. If you are too cheap to pay for something, and to lazy to download it, THEN FUCK OFF. I don't think any of the openbsd devs are gonna cry because they have one less mouching asshat using up bandwidth and whining cause they are too lazy to read docs.
If you seriously can't handle downloading a single directory via ftp and burning it to a cd, then how are you able to download a single iso and burn it to a cd? These are equally time consuming and difficult tasks.
And oddly enough, you don't have to be 15 to have enough time to do a wget && cdrecord and go back to work. Its funny linux retards are so upset about the lack of ISO images, but when we evaluated what unix we would use for work, all the linux distros that didn't have ftp installs to save having to download shitloads of extra crap were automatically disqualified. Their lack of network install cost them a paying corporate client.