NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | RETURN VALUE | ERRORS | ATTRIBUTES | CONFORMING TO | NOTES | SEE ALSO | COLOPHON

ADJTIMEX(2)               Linux Programmer's Manual              ADJTIMEX(2)

NAME         top

       adjtimex, ntp_adjtime - tune kernel clock

SYNOPSIS         top

       #include <sys/timex.h>
       int adjtimex(struct timex *buf);
       int ntp_adjtime(struct timex *buf);

DESCRIPTION         top

       Linux uses David L. Mills' clock adjustment algorithm (see RFC 5905).
       The system call adjtimex() reads and optionally sets adjustment
       parameters for this algorithm.  It takes a pointer to a timex
       structure, updates kernel parameters from (selected) field values,
       and returns the same structure updated with the current kernel
       values.  This structure is declared as follows:
           struct timex {
               int  modes;      /* Mode selector */
               long offset;     /* Time offset; nanoseconds, if STA_NANO
                                   status flag is set, otherwise
                                   microseconds */
               long freq;       /* Frequency offset; see NOTES for units */
               long maxerror;   /* Maximum error (microseconds) */
               long esterror;   /* Estimated error (microseconds) */
               int  status;     /* Clock command/status */
               long constant;   /* PLL (phase-locked loop) time constant */
               long precision;  /* Clock precision
                                   (microseconds, read-only) */
               long tolerance;  /* Clock frequency tolerance (read-only);
                                   see NOTES for units */
               struct timeval time;
                                /* Current time (read-only, except for
                                   ADJ_SETOFFSET); upon return, time.tv_usec
                                   contains nanoseconds, if STA_NANO status
                                   flag is set, otherwise microseconds */
               long tick;       /* Microseconds between clock ticks */
               long ppsfreq;    /* PPS (pulse per second) frequency
                                   (read-only); see NOTES for units */
               long jitter;     /* PPS jitter (read-only); nanoseconds, if
                                   STA_NANO status flag is set, otherwise
                                   microseconds */
               int  shift;      /* PPS interval duration
                                   (seconds, read-only) */
               long stabil;     /* PPS stability (read-only);
                                   see NOTES for units */
               long jitcnt;     /* PPS count of jitter limit exceeded
                                   events (read-only) */
               long calcnt;     /* PPS count of calibration intervals
                                   (read-only) */
               long errcnt;     /* PPS count of calibration errors
                                   (read-only) */
               long stbcnt;     /* PPS count of stability limit exceeded
                                   events (read-only) */
               int tai;         /* TAI offset, as set by previous ADJ_TAI
                                   operation (seconds, read-only,
                                   since Linux 2.6.26) */
               /* Further padding bytes to allow for future expansion */
           };
       The modes field determines which parameters, if any, to set.  (As
       described later in this page, the constants used for ntp_adjtime()
       are equivalent but differently named.)  It is a bit mask containing a
       bitwise-or combination of zero or more of the following bits:
       ADJ_OFFSET
              Set time offset from buf.offset.  Since Linux 2.6.26, the
              supplied value is clamped to the range (-0.5s, +0.5s).  In
              older kernels, an EINVAL error occurs if the supplied value is
              out of range.
       ADJ_FREQUENCY
              Set frequency offset from buf.freq.  Since Linux 2.6.26, the
              supplied value is clamped to the range (-32768000, +32768000).
              In older kernels, an EINVAL error occurs if the supplied value
              is out of range.
       ADJ_MAXERROR
              Set maximum time error from buf.maxerror.
       ADJ_ESTERROR
              Set estimated time error from buf.esterror.
       ADJ_STATUS
              Set clock status bits from buf.status.  A description of these
              bits is provided below.
       ADJ_TIMECONST
              Set PLL time constant from buf.constant.  If the STA_NANO
              status flag (see below) is clear, the kernel adds 4 to this
              value.
       ADJ_SETOFFSET (since Linux 2.6.39)
              Add buf.time to the current time.  If buf.status includes the
              ADJ_NANO flag, then buf.time.tv_usec is interpreted as a
              nanosecond value; otherwise it is interpreted as microseconds.
       ADJ_MICRO (since Linux 2.6.26)
              Select microsecond resolution.
       ADJ_NANO (since Linux 2.6.26)
              Select nanosecond resolution.  Only one of ADJ_MICRO and
              ADJ_NANO should be specified.
       ADJ_TAI (since Linux 2.6.26)
              Set TAI (Atomic International Time) offset from buf.constant.
              ADJ_TAI should not be used in conjunction with ADJ_TIMECONST,
              since the latter mode also employs the buf.constant field.
              For a complete explanation of TAI and the difference between
              TAI and UTC, see BIPMhttp://www.bipm.org/en/bipm/tai/tai.htmlADJ_TICK
              Set tick value from buf.tick.
       Alternatively, modes can be specified as either of the following
       (multibit mask) values, in which case other bits should not be speci‐
       fied in modes:
       ADJ_OFFSET_SINGLESHOT
              Old-fashioned adjtime(): (gradually) adjust time by value
              specified in buf.offset, which specifies an adjustment in
              microseconds.
       ADJ_OFFSET_SS_READ (functional since Linux 2.6.28)
              Return (in buf.offset) the remaining amount of time to be
              adjusted after an earlier ADJ_OFFSET_SINGLESHOT operation.
              This feature was added in Linux 2.6.24, but did not work cor‐
              rectly until Linux 2.6.28.
       Ordinary users are restricted to a value of either 0 or ADJ_OFF‐
       SET_SS_READ for modes.  Only the superuser may set any parameters.
       The buf.status field is a bit mask that is used to set and/or
       retrieve status bits associated with the NTP implementation.  Some
       bits in the mask are both readable and settable, while others are
       read-only.
       STA_PLL (read-write)
              Enable phase-locked loop (PLL) updates via ADJ_OFFSET.
       STA_PPSFREQ (read-write)
              Enable PPS (pulse-per-second) frequency discipline.
       STA_PPSTIME (read-write)
              Enable PPS time discipline.
       STA_FLL (read-write)
              Select frequency-locked loop (FLL) mode.
       STA_INS (read-write)
              Insert a leap second after the last second of the UTC day,
              thus extending the last minute of the day by one second.
              Leap-second insertion will occur each day, so long as this
              flag remains set.
       STA_DEL (read-write)
              Delete a leap second at the last second of the UTC day.  Leap
              second deletion will occur each day, so long as this flag
              remains set.
       STA_UNSYNC (read-write)
              Clock unsynchronized.
       STA_FREQHOLD (read-write)
              Hold frequency.  Normally adjustments made via ADJ_OFFSET
              result in dampened frequency adjustments also being made.  So
              a single call corrects the current offset, but as offsets in
              the same direction are made repeatedly, the small frequency
              adjustments will accumulate to fix the long-term skew.
              This flag prevents the small frequency adjustment from being
              made when correcting for an ADJ_OFFSET value.
       STA_PPSSIGNAL (read-only)
              A valid PPS (pulse-per-second) signal is present.
       STA_PPSJITTER (read-only)
              PPS signal jitter exceeded.
       STA_PPSWANDER (read-only)
              PPS signal wander exceeded.
       STA_PPSERROR (read-only)
              PPS signal calibration error.
       STA_CLOCKERR (read-only)
              Clock hardware fault.
       STA_NANO (read-only; since Linux 2.6.26)
              Resolution (0 = microsecond, 1 = nanoseconds).  Set via
              ADJ_NANO, cleared via ADJ_MICRO.
       STA_MODE (since Linux 2.6.26)
              Mode (0 = Phase Locked Loop, 1 = Frequency Locked Loop).
       STA_CLK (read-only; since Linux 2.6.26)
              Clock source (0 = A, 1 = B); currently unused.
       Attempts to set read-only status bits are silently ignored.
   ntp_adjtime ()
       The ntp_adjtime() library function (described in the NTP "Kernel
       Application Program API", KAPI) is a more portable interface for per‐
       forming the same task as adjtimex().  Other than the following
       points, it is identical to adjtime():
       *  The constants used in modes are prefixed with "MOD_" rather than
          "ADJ_", and have the same suffixes (thus, MOD_OFFSET, MOD_FRE‐
          QUENCY, and so on), other than the exceptions noted in the follow‐
          ing points.
       *  MOD_CLKA is the synonym for ADJ_OFFSET_SINGLESHOT.
       *  MOD_CLKB is the synonym for ADJ_TICK.
       *  The is no synonym for ADJ_OFFSET_SS_READ, which is not described
          in the KAPI.

RETURN VALUE         top

       On success, adjtimex() and ntp_adjtime() return the clock state; that
       is, one of the following values:
       TIME_OK     Clock synchronized, no leap second adjustment pending.
       TIME_INS    Indicates that a leap second will be added at the end of
                   the UTC day.
       TIME_DEL    Indicates that a leap second will be deleted at the end
                   of the UTC day.
       TIME_OOP    Insertion of a leap second is in progress.
       TIME_WAIT   A leap-second insertion or deletion has been completed.
                   This value will be returned until the next ADJ_STATUS
                   operation clears the STA_INS and STA_DEL flags.
       TIME_ERROR  The system clock is not synchronized to a reliable
                   server.  This value is returned when any of the following
                   holds true:
                   *  Either STA_UNSYNC or STA_CLOCKERR is set.
                   *  STA_PPSSIGNAL is clear and either STA_PPSFREQ or
                      STA_PPSTIME is set.
                   *  STA_PPSTIME and STA_PPSJITTER are both set.
                   *  STA_PPSFREQ is set and either STA_PPSWANDER or
                      STA_PPSJITTER is set.
                   The symbolic name TIME_BAD is a synonym for TIME_ERROR,
                   provided for backward compatibility.
       Note that starting with Linux 3.4, the call operates asynchronously
       and the return value usually will not reflect a state change caused
       by the call itself.
       On failure, these calls return -1 and set errno.

ERRORS         top

       EFAULT buf does not point to writable memory.
       EINVAL (kernels before Linux 2.6.26)
              An attempt was made to set buf.freq to a value outside the
              range (-33554432, +33554432).
       EINVAL (kernels before Linux 2.6.26)
              An attempt was made to set buf.offset to a value outside the
              permitted range.  In kernels before Linux 2.0, the permitted
              range was (-131072, +131072).  From Linux 2.0 onwards, the
              permitted range was (-512000, +512000).
       EINVAL An attempt was made to set buf.status to a value other than
              those listed above.
       EINVAL An attempt was made to set buf.tick to a value outside the
              range 900000/HZ to 1100000/HZ, where HZ is the system timer
              interrupt frequency.
       EPERM  buf.modes is neither 0 nor ADJ_OFFSET_SS_READ, and the caller
              does not have sufficient privilege.  Under Linux, the
              CAP_SYS_TIME capability is required.

ATTRIBUTES         top

       For an explanation of the terms used in this section, see
       attributes(7).
       ┌──────────────┬───────────────┬─────────┐
       │Interface     Attribute     Value   │
       ├──────────────┼───────────────┼─────────┤
       │ntp_adjtime() │ Thread safety │ MT-Safe │
       └──────────────┴───────────────┴─────────┘

CONFORMING TO         top

       Neither of these interfaces is described in POSIX.1
       adjtimex() is Linux-specific and should not be used in programs
       intended to be portable.
       The preferred API for the NTP daemon is ntp_adjtime().

NOTES         top

       In struct timex, freq, ppsfreq, and stabil are ppm (parts per
       million) with a 16-bit fractional part, which means that a value of 1
       in one of those fields actually means 2^-16 ppm, and 2^16=65536 is 1
       ppm.  This is the case for both input values (in the case of freq)
       and output values.
       The leap-second processing triggered by STA_INS and STA_DEL is done
       by the kernel in timer context Thus, it will take one tick into the
       second for the leap second to be inserted or deleted.

SEE ALSO         top

       settimeofday(2), adjtime(3), ntp_gettime(3), capabilities(7),
       time(7), adjtimex(8), hwclock(8)
       NTP "Kernel Application Program Interface" 
       ⟨http://www.slac.stanford.edu/comp/unix/package/rtems/src/ssrlApps/ntpNanoclock/api.htm

COLOPHON         top

       This page is part of release 4.12 of the Linux man-pages project.  A
       description of the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
       latest version of this page, can be found at
       https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
Linux                            2016-10-08                      ADJTIMEX(2)

Pages that refer to this page: gettimeofday(2)syscalls(2)adjtime(3)ntp_gettime(3)rtc(4)systemd.exec(5)capabilities(7)time(7)