Q & A time…
What has been changed in the latest releases?
Continuum products now use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to obtain and
serve time. A feature to measure clock drift was also added to Continuum/server.
Other minor adjustments were also made to both applications, and we
have added Continuum Service to the product
line.
I am having problems running the trial version on your computers?
If you receive ordinal or DLL errors from Windows when trying
to run one of our trial versions, you may need to download and install
one of our Window updates.Ê For
more information, downloads and updates click here.
What is the best way to implement clock synchronization over our network
with Continuum?
The preferred set up has one instance of Continuum/server on the local
network installed as the time server. Remaining Windows-based computers
on the local network (LAN) may run either additional licensed copies
of Continuum/server or Continuum, depending on user's needs of the additional
features.
The primary server is set up as a client to an accurate time source
outside the local network, while the other computers in the local network
are set up as clients to this server. As the server retrieves the time
from an outside source to maintains the accuracy of its clock, the remaining
computers running Continuum synchronize to the local Continuum/server.
This maintains a high degree of synchronization on the local network,
while reducing network traffic to the outside. Shorter pings and distances
allow for better precision, and makes efficient use of your network
resources.
What happens if the Continuum/server's time is inaccurate?
If a Continuum/server's time is inaccurate, then all other clients
that are receiving the time from that server will also be inaccurate.
If all you are looking for is local clock synchronization on your network,
this may be acceptable. If you need accurate time synchronization, your
best solution is to run the Continuum/server as both a client and a
server. In this situation, the Continuum/server listens for requests
as a normal server but also periodically updates its own time from an
accurate outside source, such as a NIST
server. [See the question above]
I use a dial-up account for my internet access. How does Continuum deal
with this?
Both Continuum and Continuum/server will attempt to get a time from
the user designated server(s). If there is no network or internet connection,
it will just log the attempt and try again later.
Will it start an Internet session on it's own?
Depends on how your computer is set up. If you have your PC set to
initiate a PPP session for an external protocol (web, ftp, etc.) then
it will. You should adjust the frequency of time corrections accordingly.
If you have to initiate the PPP session, then it will attempt to sync
until it can reach the specified server(s).
What time does Continuum/server send out?
It responds to time requests with a 32-bit unformatted binary number
that represents the time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time
is essentially the same as GMT. It is up to your computer's settings
to adjust the time in your timezone.
What happened to TimeKeeper and 3?
We decided to rename it to a more unique name, and while were at it,
we improved the software and interface.
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