NTP - Help wanted.

Hello everyone,
I need some help (actually I need a lot of help) with certain embedded implementation running QNX4.

This is the scenerio:
A network of x86 boxes with hardrive running a limited QNX4 implementation. It is limited beacuse it only have the essential system files and directories to keep running stable, and some particular third-party files for have certain application working.
My task is to provide NTP to this environment and honestly I have no clue. I am an experienced Windows System Integrator and QNX is all new for me.

What I would ask first are 3 questions for have NTP running .

  1. what files do I need?
  2. how would I use them?
  3. where can I get them for free?

Thanks in advance
JJ
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Your QNX network could be the native FLEET qnet, or the TCP/IP. The former is free with QNX 4, but the later requires a purchase of tcpip license.

NTP requires that you run TCPIP.

There is a precompiled binary:

ftp://quics.qnx.com/usr/free/qnx4/tcpip/utils/

xntp3 is the one you need.

As for how to use it, read ntp.org/

Here’s another point of view on this. NTP is a very nice, but relatively complicated package. It has lots of nice features too. For example, support for external time sources, adjustments due to network transmission delays, continued adjustments when a node becomes isolated.

If you just want your time synchronized over your nodes, and you either have a single machine which you consider reliable, either because you don’t care about absolute time, or you have some way of keeping it in sync with absolute time, then there are easier things that you can do. It is relatively simple to build a time resource manager for one node, and have all the other nodes check in periodically to update their time. The client and server program each would be about 10 lines of code. No need for TCP/IP. With maybe double this effort you could extend this idea so you aren’t dependent on a single server.

or jsut run a cron job that does
rtc -l net 1 (1 being the node number to get the time from)

If you do need to get time from external source at least you only have to set it up on one PC.

I like that idea!, the problem is that my QNX rtc command does not accept the NET option.
May someone point me to download an rtc which supports the NET parameter??
Thanx
JJ

impossible, rtc of QNX4 supports NET option and there is only one version of rtc. You must be typing it wrong. Try reading the documentation on rtc.

Man! you’re absolutely right. I have the qnx4 in customer site, and I testing at home on a QNX6. I thought that there was no difference, but in my QNX6 box the rtc does not allow Net.

Look this from the telnet console

rtc

rtc: Must specify a clock type (hw|at|ps/2|mc146818|ds1386|rtc72423|m48t5x).

You see… no Net option…

May you perhaps upload somewhre or email me the QNX4 RTC to try and make it work??

I’m confused now. First QNX4 and QNX6 not source nor binary compatible. You already have QNX4 rtc that supports net, it’s on the QNX4 box. As for QNX6, the rtc that comes with it doesn’t support that feature. Even if it would QNX4 and QNX6 need tcpip to talk to each other. The rtc command doesn’t use tcpip but rather private protocol, QNX4 and QNX6 protocol aren’t compatible.

You say the system is using QNX4 then totaly forget about QNX6, they are similar OSes, but totaly different ;-)

OK I need to focus on QNX4 then, thanks for clarify the difference with QNX6.
Problem is that the QNX4 implementation at customer’s site is incomplete and lacks the rtc files.
May you upload them or email them for me to use?
Thanks!

No, see QNX4 can come with some special license for embedded stuff were you only pay for the stuff you use. Hence if that customer didn’t pay for rtc, it would be illegal for me to do it.

Sorry