<article lang="&language;" id="rdate"> <title>rdate</title> <para> A protocol to retrieve the date and time from a time server. </para> <para> It will query a &URL; of an <acronym>RFC</acronym> 868 time server. </para> <para> The syntax is <userinput>rdate://servername</userinput>, and the date will be returned in the format <computeroutput>DDD MMM DD HH:MM:SS YYYY</computeroutput></para> <para> Network operations require time synchronized information to ensure optimal network performance. </para> <para> Computer clocks are notorious for drifting. So it's a very good idea to set up time synchronization. You will need root privileges to do this. </para> <para> See the manual: <ulink url="man:/date">date</ulink> and <ulink url="man:/netdate">netdate</ulink>. </para> <para> See : <ulink url="http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp"> Time Synchronization Server </ulink>.</para> </article>