Mika's patch is certainly still applicable in Natty. I think I'm going to go ahead and apply that; it seems common to have an empty /etc/ntp.conf due to this (I had one myself) and this is an easy workaround. There's a separate bug 427775 for more general logic problems with /etc/network/if-up.d/ntpdate, and a separate bug 583994 for replacing ntpdate altogether.
I'm also going to reopen the system-tools-backends task on this bug, due to this comment in the original bug report: "it defaults to the ntp servers defined in /etc/ntp.conf, an empty file; which makes debconf to *not* create a proper /etc/ntp.conf if one decided to install ntpd on a whim" (It's actually dpkg, not debconf, but the basic point stands.) Because of this, system-tools-backends should take care not to create /etc/ntp.conf as an empty file if it does not already exist. ** Changed in: system-tools-backends (Ubuntu) Status: Invalid => Triaged ** Changed in: system-tools-backends (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided => Medium -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Server Team, which is subscribed to ntp in ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/83604 Title: ntpdate 1:4.2.2.p4+dfsg-1ubuntu2 has a flawed configuration file. -- Ubuntu-server-bugs mailing list Ubuntu-server-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-server-bugs