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."

Comments

Why?

[crbowman]

What was the problem with the old NTPd? I thought it was open source.

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the software itself is lacking in certain areas (like the mentioned binding to specific IPs for example) and the guy who writes it refuses to accept patches to add functionality people want. So its not really a great piece of software anyhow.

But worse still, its not actually free software. The license is ambiguous, and uses the term "without fee" in a way that could easily be construed as "you can distribute this if you don't charge a fee" instead of "you have permission to do stuff, without having to pay a fee to me". This means linux and BSD cds being sold can't have xntpd on them without risking legal problems.

When people have pointed out the problem with the wording, and that the added words don't add anything to the statement anyhow, he has been hostile and refuses to change the license to clarify wether or not you are allowed to charge money for something that includes xntpd. Given these problems, and the relative simplicity of ntp, it makes more sense to make a free, high quality replacement than try to deal with the problems of the existing software.

Re:Why?

[44BSD]

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.

Re:Why?

[eeg3]

The license is ambiguous, and uses the term "without fee" in a way that could easily be construed as "you can distribute this if you don't charge a fee" instead of "you have permission to do stuff, without having to pay a fee to me".

In either such case, OpenBSD be putting itself into harm's way. I personally don't like how they refuse to release iso's, so that you have to buy the CDs. The CD, mind you, is an unfortunate whopping $40.

However, it's good to see a "free-er" version of ntpd out there. It seems like OpenBSD is competing with GNU in the political aspect of software.

Re:Why?

[johnnys]

With OpenBSD, you NEVER need to buy the CDs. Once you learn that OpenBSD can be installed over the Internet for FREE then the "need" for iso's goes away.

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

Re:Why?

[eeg3]

"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.

Re:Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Why?

[Moridineas]

Just so everyone is clear and your post isn't taken out of context

The official OpenBSD CD distribution is sold yes. The OpenBSD project does not put up ISO's.

However you can easily net install (floppies are available for this purpose) and even, easily even, roll your own CD's from an installled base. Once instaleld you can upgrade with cvsup, as with all the BSDs.

You buy the CD if you need a CD and/or want to support OpenBSD.

Re:Why?

[44BSD]

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.

Re:Why?

[Just Some Guy]

Out of the downloadable packages, you would need:

• base35.tgz - 30MB
• bsd - 5MB
• etc35.tgz - 1.5MB
• floppy35.fs - 1.5MB
• man35.tgz - 6.5MB
• misc35.tgz - 2MB

for a total of about 46.5MB to get a running system with all of the documentation.

46.5MB / 4KB/sec (low estimate of the typical download rate of a 56K modem) equals a bit over 3 hours.

Frankly, if you don't have the patience to run a three-hour download, then I wouldn't want to be around the OpenBSD mailing lists and newsgroups when you start complaining that it takes too long to install it. If you're unwilling to invest that minimal amount of time then OpenBSD isn't for you.

Insightful, my foot. That's just lazy.

Re:Why?

[evilviper]

Arg! Another completely uninformed rant, moderated as Intersting...

It's true that I could very easily create my own el torito cd with their floppy images, most of my friends can't. OBSD could get a lot more users with very little effort.

Guess what? Upon hearing your rant, the OpenBSD developers TRAVELED 14 MONTHS BACKWARDS IN TIME, and released a bootable CD image... ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/3.3/i386/cd33.iso

It's only 3MBs, because it's just the bootable CD image, which your idiot "friends" can burn as an image, without the dist files. You'll still need to install those over FTP, HTTP, from a local partition, etc.

Besides that (with all the Windows CD-Recording software I've seen) it's easier to create a bootable CD from a floppy image, than it is to find the menu option to burn as an ISO (they like to hide that option, for some reason).

So that makes three

[peter]

We now have the original ntpd, chrony, and openntpd. I've been using chronyd for a while now, and it's pretty easy to set up. I like how the server can be controlled or queried by a client, chronyc, from the command line without restarting it. I also like being able to limit how often it queries the timeserver, to make sure I don't over-do it. AFAIK, there's nothing bad about chrony. (It's GPL, though, not BSD. The more the merrier.)
http://chrony.sunsite.dk/

Oh, and my ISP has its own stratum 2 server, z3.eastlink.ca. :)