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Time Sync Triage: Read chronyc, Find the Dead Source

MediumRHCSA Prep15-25 min
The brief

The clock is drifting and chrony isn't syncing cleanly. The output of chronyc sources -v and chronyc tracking was saved to /root/case/. Read them and record three findings — this is time-sync diagnosis, the counterpart to configuring chrony.

(1) The synced source — the one chrony is actually synchronised to (^* in sources; also the Reference ID in tracking). Record its name as chronyc sources shows it → /root/case/answers/synced.txt.

(2) The dead source — the configured source that is unreachable (^?, Reach 0). Don't confuse it with the ^- candidate, which is reachable, just not selected → /root/case/answers/dead.txt.

(3) This host's stratum, from tracking → /root/case/answers/stratum.txt.

The first column of chronyc sources is the source state. See /root/case/brief.txt.

What you'll do
  • Read chronyc sources/tracking to assess time synchronisation
  • Tell an unreachable source (^?) apart from a reachable-but-unselected one (^-)
  • Identify the synced source and the local stratum

Hands-on lab: you work on a real Linux box in your browser, graded on the machine's actual state.