@Jamie given that the default ntpd configuration is to poll and the stability of the clock affects the polling interval[1] I would strongly suggest the default ntpd configuration be adjusted to run with the "-N" option since it would cut down on the load of NTP servers if polling was less frequent. When this scales to the world sizes it does become an issue.
1. In a nutshell when the clock is stable there is less need for ntpd to check to see the time on the upstream NTP server so it ratchets back the interval (decreases frequency) for polling by sleeping longer between checks. See ntp option maxpoll and minpoll in "man ntp.conf" to see the controls of the limits of the polling frequency range. See "What is the best polling Interval?" http://www.ntp.org/ntpfaq/NTP-s-algo.htm#Q-ALGO-POLL-BEST -- 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/229632 Title: ntpd should run niced To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ntp/+bug/229632/+subscriptions -- 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
