# Routers serve names, why not time as well? **URL:** \ **Category:** Uncategorized\ **Created:** [October 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806 "2026-10-20T20:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![theking2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/theking2/32/1941_2.png) [@theking2](https://community.ntppool.org/u/theking2)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/1 "2026-10-20T20:28:04Z")
I’m sure nobody is ever going to read this but I wondered why router manufacts always include name serving and always never include time serving. Seems odd to leave that at clients. In a LAN it would make an awefull lot of sense if all devices have a same sense of time and what better equipement is there than a router? It serves names, or relays them why shouldnt it server time? This is why [https://chat.deepseek.com/share/b3u3dyj3jii09qg05r](https://chat.deepseek.com/share/b3u3dyj3jii09qg05r) ---
**Author:** ![grifferz](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/grifferz/32/74_2.png) [@grifferz](https://community.ntppool.org/u/grifferz)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/2 "2026-10-20T23:24:37Z")
> [@theking2](#): > > I wondered why router manufacts always include name serving and always never include time serving I suspect it’s because it’s a lot more convenient for the operating system to point at several well-known NTP servers on the Internet, perhaps provided by the OS distributor, rather than try to guess whether the user’s default gateway will have an NTP server on it. End user systems on the network tend to get their DNS resolver IP by DHCP, and that can work for their NTP server(s) as well, but it never really caught on and in any case, you need at least 3, so I’m not sure it’s a good idea to just have the consumer router send out DHCP with just its single IP listed as NTP provider. What we have now seems better. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/3 "2026-10-21T05:52:57Z")
The routers/gateways as they serve `DNS`, they supposed to do the same with `NTP`. Unfortunately not all end device supports the `NTP` server config via `DHCP`, even if the information is already available. Imagine a client with `systemd-timesyncd`. That is one of the lightest service among the different `NTP` client daemon implementations. It uses only one `NTP` server at a time, and that perfectly match the default number of `NTP` servers on the `LAN`, the default gateway. There is no need for extra security, assuming that the gateway uses one of the safest `NTP` server software, `ntpd-rs` or `ntpsec` with `NTS` enabled and with multiple `NTP` servers. It would also solve the issue mentioned in another thread, the rate-limiting when a nasty workaround, the `NAT` is in place: end clients do not have to access a given `NTP` server competing for the same public `IP` address so adding up the number of `NTP` packets from the `NTP` server’s point of view. ---
**Author:** ![Bas](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.ntppool.org/bas/32/465_2.png) [@Bas](https://community.ntppool.org/u/Bas)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/4 "2026-10-21T16:08:46Z")
> [@theking2](#): > > In a LAN it would make an awful lot of sense if all devices have a same sense of time and what better equipment is there than a router? It serves names, or relays them why shouldn’t it server time? In fact many of them do, believe it or not. As they broadcast the time-server via DHCP into your local lan. I have many routers here in the house and they all do. Fritzbox, OpenWRT, DrayTek, Asus, MicroTek, etc. I can’t remember any modern (less then 10 years old) that doesn’t do this. Mint/Ubuntu does pickup on this DHCP info and appoints the router-ntp info, sadly it doesn’t always work well. Other silly thing, why don’t ISP’s spread the time-protocol themselves to all connected clients via e.g. PPPoE? They do tell the DNS-servers but often (always?) fail to give time-servers. I do agree with you, it should be default in routers and dhcp, sadly it’s not always the case. ---
**Author:** ![RevK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d6d6ee/32.png) [@RevK](https://community.ntppool.org/u/RevK)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 5:58am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/5 "2026-10-22T05:58:17Z")
I am curious, is there a PPP negotiation for NTP server? I did not think so. If there is one, as an ISP, we’d be very happy to support it. Sadly I think there is not. As for routers doing NTP, do look at FireBrick. Does NTP server properly and provides setting via DHCP. ---
**Author:** ![MagicNTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@MagicNTP](https://community.ntppool.org/u/MagicNTP)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 10:48am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/6 "2026-10-22T10:48:28Z")
> [@RevK](#): > > is there a PPP negotiation for NTP server? I did not think so. No, indeed there isn’t. It would need to be standardized, and would then show up in the relevant [IANA registry](https://www.iana.org/assignments/ppp-numbers). But there is nothing there related to NTP. ---
**Author:** ![Badeand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Badeand](https://community.ntppool.org/u/Badeand)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:19am UTC](https://community.ntppool.org/t/routers-serve-names-why-not-time-as-well/4806/7 "2026-10-23T00:19:46Z")
> [@grifferz](#): > > End user systems on the network tend to get their DNS resolver IP by DHCP, and that can work for their NTP server(s) as well, but it never really caught on and in any case, you need at least 3, so I’m not sure it’s a good idea to just have the consumer router send out DHCP with just its single IP listed as NTP provider. My ISP provided router does advertise the ISP’s NTP server. Just a singular one, which also happens to be one of the DNS servers. The other DNS servers also respond to NTP. Discovered this by accident when I did `chronyc sources` and found a strange new server. Stratum 3, some 10.x.x.x reference, and no better than other (quite good) public NTP servers.