Setting the SNTP Time Servers

You might wonder how to set the Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) time servers that domain controllers (DCs) should synchronize with. You used to use the net time command to set the SNTP servers that a DC should synchronize time with, as in the following example:

net time /setsntp:"server1.dom.com server2.dom.com server3.dom.com"

However, Microsoft has introduced the w32tm tool. You should use w32tm, with the syntax shown in these examples, to set the SNTP servers:

w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist: w32tm /config /update

These two examples show the use of the w32 command:

C:>w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:ntp5.tamu.edu C:>w32tm /config /update

To force a client to update its time, run the /resync parameter with w32tm.