Fix: no server suitable for synchronization found

Network Time Protocol (NTP) synchronizes the date and time with the system clock time. This protocol is useful for managing time during packet switching and latency rate. During packet transmission between server and host, an error “no server suitable for synchronization found” is shown.

This guide will demonstrate the possible reasons and solutions for this error with the following supported content:

Let’s start with the first reason.

Reason 1: Blocking NTP Packets From Server

The prominent reason is that the NTP packets are blocked from the server end. Due to this, these packets do not participate in synchronizing dates and times with the current operating system.

Solution 1: Install ntpdate Package

The best solution to resolve the error is to install the ntpdate package in the operating system. It installs all required dependencies regarding the ntpdate package. The command for installing the ntpdate package is provided below:

$ sudo apt install ntpdate                       # Debian/Ubuntu
$ sudo yum install ntp                           # CentOS/RHEL
$ sudo dnf install ntp                           # Fedora

After executing the above command, the “ntpdate” with all dependencies has been successfully installed in the system.

Check the Active Status of NTP Services

For checking the active status of NTP services, the “timedatectl” command is utilized with the “status” flag as below:

$ timedatectl status

The output shows that the “NTP service” is installed in the current operating system.

Verify NTP Services

To check the NTP services, the “pool.ntp.org” is a virtual cluster for time servers. For instance, the below script will display the transmission and reception of packets from the host server:

$ ntpdate -d pool.ntp.org

Solution 2: Install htpdate Package

To resolve the error, users can install an alternative package named “htpdate” similar to the “ntpdate”. The package “htpdate” retrieves the date and time from a remote server over the network. The command that installs the “htpdate” package in the current system is mentioned below:

For RHEL:

$ sudo yum install snapd

For Arch Linux and Fedora:

$ sudo snap install htpdate-daemon

For Ubuntu and LinuxMint:

$ sudo apt install htpdate

After the execution of the above command, the “htpdate” will be installed in the current system to execute any operation.

Adjust Time Smoothy

It synchronizes the computer time with the web server. To do so, the “a” option is used that adjusts the time smoothly:

$ sudo htpdate -a -l www.linux.org

These are all the reasons and solutions for the error “no server suitable for synchronization found”.

Conclusion

The error “no server suitable for synchronization found” is caused by blocking NTP packets from the server or being unable to synchronize time with system clock time. This error can be resolved by installing the “ntpdate” package following the commands mentioned in this post. Additionally, users can install the “htpdate” package as an alternative to accessing the host services. This guide has explained all possible solutions to encounter the error mentioned above.