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Time Provider

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

A time source (also known as a time provider or an input provider) represents a source protocol for acquiring time samples. Windows includes a Network Time Protocol (NTP) time source with the Windows Time service.

Aspects

The following is a list of all aspects that are part of this managed entity:

Name Description

Time Provider Service Functions

If a computer has been designated as a time provider, it can send the time on to any computer requesting time synchronization at any point in this process.

The Windows Time service time synchronization process involves the following steps:

  • Input providers request and receive time samples from configured Network Time Protocol (NTP) time sources.
  • These time samples are then passed to the Windows Time Service Manager, which collects all the samples and passes them to the clock discipline subcomponent.
  • The clock discipline subcomponent applies all NTP algorithms and selects the best time sample.
  • The clock discipline subcomponent adjusts the time of the system clock to the most accurate time by either adjusting the clock rate or directly changing the time.

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