Timezone problems on -current

[bob prohaska]

On Tue, May 04, 2021 at 08:42:14AM -0600, Ian Lepore wrote:
> On Mon, 2021-05-03 at 18:52 -0700, bob prohaska wrote:
> > 
> > Up to now I've used only the line 
> > ntpdate_enable="YES"
> > and it's been enough to keep the clock sane. On the last reboot
> > it appears ntpdate either didn't run or failed silently. The most
> 
> You don't need to be running ntpdate at all.  ntpd_sync_on_start gives
> you the same effect... it allows ntpd to step the clock any required
> amount, one time at startup.  It's useful for systems that don't have a
> battery-backed clock.
> 
It seems clear that ntpd_sync_on_start is a better choice than ntpdate.
Clock drift on the Pi seems fairly slow, a couple seconds a month, but
staying right on can't hurt and doesn't cost much. 

> I like to set kern.timecounter.stepwarnings=1 in /etc/sysctl.conf so I
> have a record in syslog of when ntpd steps the clock.

Most of my trouble seems to have been caused by timesetting not running at
startup and me not noticing promptly. A combination of ntpd_sync_on_start 
and a -g flag will set the clock and make a fuss in the logfiles if 
time drifts too far off. Is there a way to make a fuss if ntpd fails
to start in the first place or quits in mid-flight?

Thanks for writing!

bob prohaska