Synchronizing the Local System Time

Synchronizing the local system to a central time source allows you to perform enterprise-wide tasks simultaneously. The basic syntax to synchronize the local clock with a specified time source is as follows:

Net Time \\server/commands

Here, \\server is the name of the time source server to sync with. This parameter is only necessary when syncing with a specific server. If this parameter is omitted (Net Time), the system will search the local domain for a time source server. /commands are any of the following parameters:

• /SET—Sets the local time to the time source server
• /Y—Forces to sync the time with the server specified, regardless of whether the server is a time source server or not
• /DOMAIN:domainname—Searches the specified domain for a time source server

The following script attempts to sync the local system time with the server named servername. If this fails, the domain will be searched for a time source to sync with. To execute this script, proceed as follows:

1. Create a new directory to store all files included in this example.
2. Select Start|Run and enter “scriptfile.bat.”

Here, scriptfile is the full path and file name of a script file that contains the following:

@Echo Off

CLS ; Clears the screen

Set TServer=ServerName

Echo Syncing the time with %TServer%…

Net Time \\%TServer% /set /yes

If %errorlevel% NEQ 0 CLS && Goto Domain

CLS && Echo Sync Successful

Goto End

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Echo Searching the local domain for a time-server…

Net Time /set /yes

If %errorlevel% EQU 0 CLS && Echo Sync Successful && Goto End

CLS && Echo Time Sync Error

:End

Here, tserver is a variable containing the name of the time source server; NEQ is the “not equal to” operator; and && allows you to run a second command after the first has completed.

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