LFCS: Linux Foundation Certified System AdministratorDemo

NTP clients work by comparing the local system clock to a reference clock — an authoritative time source such as a stratum-1 server — and calculating the offset or skew between them. The client then adjusts the system clock (via gradual slewing or, if the difference is large, stepping) to bring it into synchronization with that reference. NTP operates strictly in UTC and has no concept of time zones or Daylight Saving Time, which are handled separately by the operating system. Likewise, reconciling the system clock with the hardware (RTC) clock is a distinct OS-level task, not part of the NTP protocol itself.