Hi, I've noticed that nameserver (from /etc/resolv.conf) must be accessible to start ntp properly.
There are two strange behaviours of ntp. First, when /etc/resolv.conf is empty, ntp starts with root privileges only. The second - more frequently - when /etc/resolv.conf contains a nameserver which is inaccessible during ntp startup. After start command there are two processess: one with root provoleges and the other one with ntp privileges. Of course this make a lot of 'permission denied' messages in daemon.log. The solution is to take care of proper initscript's starting sequence - the nameserver/dnscache must start first. Debian version: 4.0 Etch Package: ntp Version: 1:4.2.2.p4+dfsg-1 regards, -- Łukasz Czerpak | PGP: 0x532D8E1B [subkeys.pgp.net]
