Ubuntu
ntp package

  1. Bug #1593907
  2. Comment #11

Comment 11 for bug 1593907

Revision history for this message
Adam Conrad (adconrad) wrote : Re: ntpdate startup routine prevents ntp service from launching up on Ubuntu 16.04 server on system boot; manually starting ntp service works: [FIX in DESCRIPTION], just need to apply it and release a new version

So, the one regression I see possible here is on machines with lousy/broken clocks at boot time. If you start ntpd with a clock too far in the past/future, it'll either give up and exit (if VERY far off) or start a drift that could take hours/days to correct. If you remove the restarting around ntpdate, ntpdate will refuse to fix the clock (due to the socket being in use), and you're stuck either with a dead ntpd, or a drift of doom.