RHCSA Practical Lab Series – Configuring NTP Synchronization

🔍 Lab 7: Setting Up an NTP Client Using Chrony

📌 Objective

In this lab, you will:

✔ Install and configure Chrony as an NTP client
✔ Sync time with an NTP server (ntp.cloudnetops.tech)
✔ Verify time synchronization

📌 Step 1: Install Chrony

🔹 Ensure chrony is installed on your system:

[root@node1 ~]# yum -y install chrony

📌 Tip: Chrony is the recommended NTP client for modern RHEL-based systems.

📌 Step 2: Configure the NTP Server

🔹 Edit the Chrony configuration file:

[root@node1 ~]# vim /etc/chrony.conf

🔹 Replace or add the following line in the configuration file:

server ntp.cloudnetops.tech iburst

📌 Explanation:

• server ntp.cloudnetops.tech iburst → Sets ntp.cloudnetops.tech as the NTP server.
• iburst → Speeds up synchronization when the client first connects.

📌 Step 3: Restart and Enable Chrony Service

🔹 Restart the Chrony service to apply the changes:

[root@node1 ~]# systemctl restart chronyd

🔹 Enable Chrony to start on boot:

[root@node1 ~]# systemctl enable chronyd

📌 Tip: Restarting the service is necessary after modifying chrony.conf.

📌 Step 4: Verify Time Synchronization

🔹 Manually change the system date to simulate incorrect time:

[root@node1 ~]# date -s "1982-1-1"

🔹 Restart Chrony to resync the time:

[root@node1 ~]# systemctl restart chronyd

🔹 Wait 3-5 minutes, then check the updated system time:

[root@node1 ~]# date

✅ If the system time is correct, NTP synchronization is working!

📌 Troubleshooting:

List NTP sources and their offsets:

[root@node1 ~]# chronyc sources -v

Check Chrony’s synchronization status:

[root@node1 ~]# chronyc tracking

✅ Final Summary

✔ Installed Chrony and configured it as an NTP client
✔ Configured ntp.cloudnetops.tech as the time source
✔ Verified time synchronization and troubleshooting steps

📌 Next Lab: Setting Up AutoFS for Network File System (NFS) Mounts

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