Set up a local NTP server for every other LAN device
Set up a local NTP server for every other LAN device
You bring up a solid observation, though it falls outside the scope of the original question. I’m someone who considers how technology should be used—if I don’t need it online, I’d prefer it to stay offline without my consent. That means I don’t have any IoT gadgets connected.
I’m assuming you’re joking a bit here. It’s pretty easy to get by using a shared adapter in the virtual machine! You should probably check out some third-party solutions—definitely not a bad idea. As for what else could be discussed, I brought up virtual machines, Wi-Fi routers with OpenWrt, and I wanted to emphasize that this approach makes sense. So let me restate it: Each device relies on a unique network server to fetch the same data. That’s why many are tied to specific brands or models, which is something that both bothers me. Instead of switching between 7–10 different time servers daily, one local PC or virtual machine—or even a compatible Wi-Fi router—could make a single request once a week. That’s sufficient to keep clocks in sync. But some of you raise strong objections. If you need another machine to handle this, it adds extra effort. To conserve energy, since certain gadgets won’t function unless they’re updated or connected to a heartbeat ping, you’d have to restart them after those devices establish a local NTP connection. I run a full desktop just for Pi-hole, and it’s served me well for a while. It blocks over 90% of unnecessary network traffic, which helps reduce power use. But how much energy does that actually save? If I’m running a 50-watt device 12 hours a day, what impact would that have? Is it worth the savings? If I bought a Raspberry Pi, how would the carbon footprint from shipping it offset by using just 4–5 watts compared to 50? I’m not overly concerned. India and other regions are ramping up solar power, and those systems can provide about 70% of their original output for 20–30 years. We also have wind farms, which I think are a better option—no need to mine silicon for them. My point here is to encourage us to examine what devices are actually connecting on our machines and whether they’re all relying on default tracking domains provided by the manufacturer. What benefits do you see from having a single time server—like a Linux pool, Amazon, Android, or Windows—compared to multiple local servers? Why not consolidate everything into one NTP call to the Linux pool? Then every device could sync using just one server on the local network. To me, this setup feels quite logical. If you’re using Android and want the best firewall available, it’s RethinkDNS. The latest version (v54) even lets you block domains locally before they leave your device, without needing Pi-hole or similar. With this, I can often disable my desktop PC while still blocking unwanted traffic over Wi-Fi or mobile data. This might seem a bit off-topic, but I’ll likely post more about it soon—many people are interested in logging and blocking on their devices, and the sooner we act, the better. Saving power could free up cellular data for others.