Debian 12: systemctl-timesyncd Inactive at Boot

Debian 12: Troubleshooting systemd-timesyncd Inactive at Boot

In this article, we will discuss the steps to troubleshoot the issue where the systemd-timesyncd service is inactive at boot time in Debian 12. We will cover the key concepts related to the topic and provide a detailed context to help you understand and resolve the issue.

What is systemd-timesyncd?

systemd-timesyncd is a system service that synchronizes the system clock with a remote NTP server. It is a lightweight alternative to the chrony and ntp services and is enabled by default in most modern Linux distributions, including Debian 12.

Checking the Status of systemd-timesyncd

To check the status of the systemd-timesyncd service, you can use the following command:

sudo systemctl status systemd-timesyncd

If the service is active and running, you should see an output similar to the following:

● systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/systemd-timesyncd.service; enabled-runtime; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Tue 2023-03-21 12:34:56 EDT; 1h 4min ago
Docs: man:systemd-timesyncd.service(8)
Main PID: 428 (systemd-timesyn)
Tasks: 2 (limit: 4915)
CGroup: /system.slice/systemd-timesyncd.service
└─428 /lib/systemd/systemd-timesyncd

Troubleshooting Inactive systemd-timesyncd at Boot

If the systemd-timesyncd service is inactive at boot time, you can try the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check if the service is enabled:

   sudo systemctl is-enabled systemd-timesyncd

   If the output is enabled, then the service is enabled to start at boot time.

2. Check if the service is running:

   sudo systemctl is-active systemd-timesyncd

   If the output is inactive, then the service is not running.

3. Try restarting the service:

   sudo systemctl restart systemd-timesyncd

   Check if the service is running again using the is-active command.

4. If the service is still inactive, try setting the NTP server manually:

   sudo timedatectl set-ntp yes

5. Check if the service is running again using the is-active command.

6. If the service is still inactive, try rebooting the system:

   sudo reboot

   Check if the service is running again using the is-active command after the reboot.

References

• systemd-timesyncd.service(8)

• Debian Wiki: systemd

• Arch Linux Wiki: systemd-timesyncd

In conclusion, if you are facing the issue where the systemd-timesyncd service is inactive at boot time in Debian 12, you can try the above steps to troubleshoot the issue. By understanding the key concepts related to the topic and following the detailed context provided in this article, you should be able to resolve the issue and ensure that the system clock is synchronized with a remote NTP server.