[time-admin] ntp.ubuntu.com doesn't appear in server list just after you enable NTP

[Caleb]

Binary package hint: gnome-system-tools

When time-admin is set to "keep synchronized," it doesn't work, because in the default list of servers, none is enabled. This should be fixed, because it gives no warning about this condition -- so while the settings indicate that the system clock will stay synchronized, it won't.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
Date: Mon Oct 12 13:19:48 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
Package: gnome-system-tools 2.28.0-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-13.44-generic
SourcePackage: gnome-system-tools
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-13-generic i686
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:1224): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:1224): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (nautilus:1281): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:1310): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

I thought ntp.ubuntu.com was checked by default. But as I've upgraded from Jaunty, I can't be sure that it's the case in Karmic. Anyway, that's likely to be a bug in ntp - installing it from the command line should also set it up automatically.

[Thierry Carrez (ttx)]

ntp package is installed with ntp.ubuntu.com by default.
There might be a reload issue in the NTP servers list in time-admin though, the first time you set it up. Let me confirm that.

[Thierry Carrez (ttx)]

Confirming the refresh/initial-list issue:
- Install karmic from CD
- Bring up time admin
- Select "keep in sync"
- Confirm installation of NTP support
- Look at server list: none is checked
- Look at /etc/ntp.conf and see that "server ntp.ubuntu.com" is there
- Close the time admin window
- Open it again
- Scroll down server list, ntp.ubuntu.com is checked

The issue seem to be that the list is loaded once, ntp.ubuntu.com isn't part of it, and enabling NTP support doesn't refresh it.

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

One of the improvements in 2.28 is that time-admin now detects when NTP was installed. Before that, you had to restart the program, even if it asked automatically you to install NTP. So maybe my fix was only partial. I'll check how we can reload the complete configuration.

Anyway, if people don't check what NTP servers are enabled, I guess there's no problem: it will stay enabled on the system configuration. Or does time-admin commit the wrong changes on exit? I'll see that too.

[Caleb (caleb-marcus)]

I think it might commit the wrong changes -- when I clicked the "sync now"
button (which is only available when it's set to manual... which I think is
a problem...), it didn't do anything until I added the time server.

On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 5:36 PM, Milan Bouchet-Valat <email address hidden>wrote:

> One of the improvements in 2.28 is that time-admin now detects when NTP
> was installed. Before that, you had to restart the program, even if it
> asked automatically you to install NTP. So maybe my fix was only
> partial. I'll check how we can reload the complete configuration.
>
> Anyway, if people don't check what NTP servers are enabled, I guess
> there's no problem: it will stay enabled on the system configuration. Or
> does time-admin commit the wrong changes on exit? I'll see that too.
>
> --
> [time-admin] ntp.ubuntu.com doesn't appear in server list just after you
> enable NTP
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/449702
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

I meant, commit something (i.e. unselect all servers) when you close the program after installing NTP support but not changing anything.