# Please recommend the decade-old "pool" command not "server" in ntp.conf **URL:** \ **Category:** Server operators\ **Created:** [November 20, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/please-recommend-the-decade-old-pool-command-not-server-in-ntp-conf/2580 "2022-11-20T11:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davehart](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/davehart/32/1411_2.png) [@davehart](https://community.ntppool.org/u/davehart)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 11:59am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/please-recommend-the-decade-old-pool-command-not-server-in-ntp-conf/2580/1 "2022-11-20T11:59:00Z")
The ntpd “pool” option has been working well since ntp-dev 4.2.7p249 in January of 2012, over a decade ago. It didn’t hit ntp-stable until 4.2.8 in December of 2014. It has been in NTPsec since the project began in 2015. This is a better option for both users and pool server operators than multiple “server #.pool.ntp.org” lines for several important reasons. From a user perspective, pool associations in ntpd are preemptible, meaning ntpd will drop them automatically if they fail to contribute to the time solution, whether because their clock is off, the delay is too variable, or they simple stopped serving NTP. Moreover, ntpd will replace those preempted (discarded) associations with other pool IP addresses, requerying DNS as needed. This provides better time service to the clients as they automatically gravitate to servers that work and provide good service from the user’s perspective. This is also a win for pool server operators, as clients using “pool” rather than multiple “server” lines will stop sending traffic to their IP address when it stops serving NTP, rather than continuing to bang on it with traffic for as long as the ntpd is running, sometimes years. If you run a pool server and aren’t using “pool”, please give it a whirl and see for yourself how well it works. Below is a sample configuration for pool clients. For non-stratum 1 pool servers, it also works well. So how about updating the “Use the pool” directions on [ntppool.org](http://ntppool.org) to encourage this better and kinder alternative to multiple “server” lines? === ntp.conf === driftfile /etc/ntp.drift # Tight restrictions for the public, but loosen them for servers # we use for time. Note the lack of nopeer on “restrict source” # is important, otherwise pool associations will not spin up. # These restrictions do not allow the public to query via ntpq (noquery) # or set up event traps used by network monitoring tools to keep tabs # on remote ntpd instances (notrap). “limited” and “kod” refuse to # respond to clients that query too often, by default more than once # every 2 seconds in a burst or more than once per 8 seconds long term. # Adding kod sends occasional “kiss of death” responses to clients # exceeding the rate limit, providing no useful time and requesting # the client to back off their polling interval, which they will if # using ntpd and their maxpoll allows. restrict default nopeer noquery nomodify notrap limited kod restrict source noquery nomodify notrap limited kod # Allow status queries and everything else from localhost and local net. # If there are hosts used as time sources in the local network, they # will be subject to the “restrict source” restrictions above, so they # will not be able to use ntpq with this host. restrict 127.0.0.1 restrict ::1 restrict 192.168.0.0 mask 255.255.0.0 # Require at least two sources in reasonable agreement before adjusting # the clock. The default minsane is 1 “for legacy purposes.” Lower # maxclock from the default 10 to a more reasonable number for the pool. tos minsane 2 maxclock 5 pool [pool.ntp.org](http://pool.ntp.org) iburst === ntp.conf === Cheers, Dave Hart ---
**Author:** ![penguinpee](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/penguinpee/32/919_2.png) [@penguinpee](https://community.ntppool.org/u/penguinpee)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/please-recommend-the-decade-old-pool-command-not-server-in-ntp-conf/2580/2 "2022-11-20T13:18:43Z")
> [@davehart](#): > > The ntpd “pool” option has been working well since ntp-dev 4.2.7p249 in January of 2012, over a decade ago. It didn’t hit ntp-stable until 4.2.8 in December of 2014. It has been in NTPsec since the project began in 2015. Please see the discussion on [GitHub](https://github.com/abh/ntppool/pull/218) and leave a comment there. Would be nice if someone else nudged the ticket this time around. ---
**Author:** ![NTPman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/ntpman/32/450_2.png) [@NTPman](https://community.ntppool.org/u/NTPman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/please-recommend-the-decade-old-pool-command-not-server-in-ntp-conf/2580/3 "2022-11-22T18:23:34Z")
> [@davehart](#): > > pool [pool.ntp.org](http://pool.ntp.org) iburst It would be better to put: ```auto pool 2.pool.ntp.org iburst ``` ---
**Author:** ![ask](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/ask/32/907_2.png) [@ask](https://community.ntppool.org/u/ask)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/please-recommend-the-decade-old-pool-command-not-server-in-ntp-conf/2580/4 "2022-11-26T03:24:34Z")