Time Sync Triage: Read chronyc, Find the Dead Source
MediumRHCSA Prep15-25 minThe 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.
- 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.
