This article explain how to synchronize the time of a Windows 2012 domain controller with an external time source.
By default a domain controller with PDC Emulator takes its time from the local CMOS clock and announce itself as a reliable time source. All client computers and other domain controllers synchronizes its time with the PDC Emulator.
It is a good practise to configure the PDC to synchronize its time with an external NTP time server.
Follow these steps to accomplish this task.
- Open Windows Power Shell as Administrator
- Type the following command and press Enter
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:"ntp_server" /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update
Replace ntp_server with the name or IP address of the external NTP Server. You could add multiple NTP servers by adding a space between each name/address. - Restart Windows Time service using commands below
net stop w32time net start w32time
- To synchronize the clock immediately, enter the command
w32tm /resync
- You can now verify the settings using the following commands
w32tm /query /status
This command will display the source and last successful sync time along with a few other settings.
To list all the peers and their status, run the commandw32tm /query /peers
The following command will list the source of the NTP timew32tm /query /source
