- Campus Time Sources (NTP) - Knowledge Portal

Overview

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a protocol used to synchronize the clocks of computers over a network. Accurate timekeeping is crucial for various network services and applications. In our organization, we utilize Active Directory (AD) domain controllers, on-premises DNS servers, and dedicated NTP servers to maintain precise time synchronization across all devices.

Active Directory Domain Controllers

Our AD domain controllers serve as time sources for clients within the NET domain. These domain controllers are located both on main campus and in Azure regions:

Main Campus Domain Controllers:

net1.net.ucf.edu
net2.net.ucf.edu
net3.net.ucf.edu

Azure East US 2 Domain Controllers:

net6000.net.ucf.edu
net6001.net.ucf.edu

Azure Central US Domain Controllers:

net6100.net.ucf.edu
net6101.net.ucf.edu

On-Premises Authoritative DNS Servers

Our on-premises authoritative DNS servers, which also function as time sources, are listed below. These devices are all stratum 3 time devices:

ucf1.ucf.edu
ucf2.ucf.edu
ucf3.ucf.edu

Stratum-2 Time Servers

We maintain stratum-2 time servers for more accurate time synchronization. These servers are backed by multiple stratum-1 time servers, ensuring redundancy and reliability. The active stratum-2 time servers are:

time3.ucf.edu (10.69.68.230)
time4.ucf.edu (10.69.68.223)

Note: The servers time.ucf.edu and time2.ucf.edu have been deprecated and should no longer be used.

Stratum-1 Backing Servers

Our stratum-2 servers are supported by several stratum-1 servers. Below are the details:

time3.ucf.edu:

130.207.244.240 (.GNSS.)
10.0.13.25 (.GNSS.)
132.163.96.1 (.NIST.)
132.163.97.1 (.NIST.)
129.6.15.26 (.NIST.)
129.6.15.28 (.NIST.)
128.138.140.44 (.NIST.)

time4.ucf.edu:

10.0.13.25 (.GNSS.)
132.163.96.2 (.NIST.)
132.163.97.2 (.NIST.)
129.6.15.29 (.NIST.)

Definitions

NTP (Network Time Protocol): A protocol for clock synchronization between computer systems over packet-switched, variable-latency data networks. Learn more on Wikipedia.
Stratum: The level of an NTP server in the hierarchy of time sources. Stratum-1 servers are directly connected to a reference clock, while stratum-2 servers are synchronized to stratum-1 servers, and so on. Learn more on Wikipedia.