LPIC-1 Administrative Tasks Practice Question
An administrator notices the system clock is drifting. Which command can be used to enable automatic time synchronization using NTP on a system with systemd?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse one-time synchronization commands (like `ntpdate` or `date --set`) with the persistent enabling of automatic NTP synchronization, or they assume starting the `ntpd` service alone is sufficient without using `timedatectl` to manage systemd's time synchronization framework.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
timedatectl set-ntp yes
`timedatectl set-ntp yes` enables automatic time synchronization via NTP on systems using systemd. This command configures the `systemd-timesyncd` service, which is the default NTP client for systemd-based distributions, to synchronize the system clock with remote NTP servers. It is the standard, modern method for managing NTP settings in such environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
ntpdate pool.ntp.org
Why it's wrong here
Ntpdate performs a one-time clock correction but does not enable continuous synchronization.
- ✓
timedatectl set-ntp yes
Why this is correct
This enables automatic time synchronization using NTP.
- ✗
systemctl start ntpd
Why it's wrong here
This starts the NTP daemon, but on some systems, timedatectl manages this automatically. However, the command itself does not enable the feature; it only starts the service temporarily.
- ✗
date --set
Why it's wrong here
This manually sets the date and time, not automatic synchronization.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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