I can never seem to remember how to do this on 2008, so herewith instructions (copied from above link):
Time synchronization is an important aspect for all computers on the network. By default, the clients computers get their time from a Domain Controller and the Domain Controller gets his time from the domain’s PDC Operation Master. Therefore the PDC must synchronize his time from an external source. I usually use the servers listed at the NTP Pool Project website. Before you begin, don’t forget to open the default UDP 123 port (in- and outbound) on your firewall.
- First, locate your PDC Server. Open the command prompt and type: C:\>netdom /query fsmo
- Log in to your PDC Server and open the command prompt.
- Stop the W32Time service: C:\>net stop w32time
- Configure the external time sources, type: C:\> w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:”0.pool.ntp.org, 1.pool.ntp.org, 2.pool.ntp.org”
- Make your PDC a reliable time source for the clients. Type: C:\>w32tm /config /reliable:yes
- Start the w32time service: C:\>net start w32time
- The windows time service should begin synchronizing the time. You can check the external NTP servers in the time configuration by typing: C:\>w32tm /query /configuration
- Check the Event Viewer for any errors.
If you’re in South Africa, then pick one of the stratum 2 server on the following website:
At the time of writing, they are:
Stratum-2 Servers
| Server DNS name | Location | Hosted by | OS Platform | Upstream ISP |
| ntp1.meraka.csir.co.za | Pretoria | CSIR | FreeBSD | Internet Solutions |
| ntp.is.co.za | Johannesburg | Internet Solutions | UNIX / FreeBSD | Internet Solutions |
| ntp2.is.co.za | Cape Town | Internet Solutions | UNIX / FreeBSD | Internet Solutions |
| igubu.saix.net | Cape Town | SAIX | Solaris | SAIX |
| ntp-ndf.mweb.co.za | Johannesburg | M-Web | Cisco | Internet Solutions |
| ntp0.za.uu.net | Cape Town | MTN Business | FreeBSD | MTN Business |
| ntp1.za.uu.net | New Doornfontein, Jhb | MTN Business | FreeBSD | MTN Business |
| ntp2.za.uu.net | Cape Town | MTN Business | FreeBSD | MTN Business |
Categories: Information Technology ,SBS 2008 ,SBS 2011 ,Windows Server
Also remember that your firewall should allow outbound port 123 (UDP) for NTP
Also ensure member servers are configured to sync with the PDC Server (default setting):
c:\>net stop w32time
c:\>w32tm /config /syncfromflags:DOMHIER
c:\>net start w32time
These commands also work for Windows Server Enterprise 2008 SP2 (non-R2). I had to remove the commas, providing only spaces between each server address in the string (( /manualpeerlist:”0.pool.ntp.org 1.pool.ntp.org 2.pool.ntp.org” )) because the commas appeared in the configuration details for each peer as part of the name.
Note the list above is outdate. See the http://www.time.org.za list for updated servers.
Awesome Works perfectly on 2008R2 Thank you!
Guys, w32time is OK for not critical time precision needs otherwise I would recommend you taking look at something like http://nts.softros.com