How To Install ntpdate on Ubuntu 18.04
Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install ntpdate on Ubuntu 18.04.
What is ntpdate
ntpdate is:
NTP, the Network Time Protocol, is used to keep computer clocks accurate by synchronizing them over the Internet or a local network, or by following an accurate hardware receiver that interprets GPS, DCF-77, NIST or similar time signals.
ntpdate is a simple NTP client that sets a system’s clock to match the time obtained by communicating with one or more NTP servers. It is not sufficient, however, for maintaining an accurate clock in the long run. ntpdate by itself is useful for occasionally setting the time on machines that do not have full-time network access, such as laptops.
If the full NTP daemon from the package “ntp” is installed, then ntpdate is not necessary.
There are three methods to install ntpdate on Ubuntu 18.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install ntpdate Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install ntpdate using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install ntpdate
Install ntpdate Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install ntpdate using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install ntpdate
Install ntpdate Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install ntpdate using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install ntpdate
How To Uninstall ntpdate on Ubuntu 18.04
To uninstall only the ntpdate package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove ntpdate
Uninstall ntpdate And Its Dependencies
To uninstall ntpdate and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 18.04, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove ntpdate
Remove ntpdate Configurations and Data
To remove ntpdate configuration and data from Ubuntu 18.04 we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge ntpdate
Remove ntpdate configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove ntpdate configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge ntpdate
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install ntpdate package on Ubuntu 18.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.
