Optional software

Last update: April 17, 2024

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We strongly recommend you install NTP to ensure that cron-related tasks perform properly. (Server dates could be in the past or future, for example.)

The other optional utilities discussed in this topic might assist you with your installation; however, they are not required to install or use Adobe Commerce.

Installing and Configuring Network Time Protocol (NTP)

NTP enables servers to synchronize their system clocks using globally available pool servers. We recommend you use NTP servers you trust, whether they are dedicated hardware solutions your internal network or external, public servers.

If you are deploying Adobe Commerce on multiple hosts, NTP is a simple way to guarantee their clocks are all synchronized, no matter what time zone the servers are in. Also, cron-related tasks (such as indexing and transactional e-mails) depend on the server clock being accurate.

Install and configure NTP on Ubuntu

Enter the following command to install NTP:

apt-get install ntp

Continue with Use NTP pool servers.

Install and configure NTP on CentOS

To install and configure NTP:

  1. Enter the following command to find the appropriate NTP software:

    yum search ntp

  2. Select a package to install. For example, ntp.x86_64.

  3. Install the package.

    yum -y install ntp.x86_64

  4. Enter the following command so that NTP starts when the server starts.

    chkconfig ntpd on

  5. Continue with the next section.

Use NTP pool servers

Selecting pool servers is up to you. If you use NTP pool servers, ntp.org recommends you use pool servers that are close to your servers’ time zone as discussed on the NTP pool project page. If you have a private NTP server that is available to all hosts in your deployment, you can use that server instead.

  1. Open /etc/ntp.conf in a text editor.

  2. Look for lines similar to the following:

    server 0.centos.pool.ntp.org
server 1.centos.pool.ntp.org
server 2.centos.pool.ntp.org

  3. Replace those lines or add additional lines that specify your NTP pool server or other NTP servers. It’s a good idea to specify more than one.

  4. An example of using three United States-based NTP servers follows:

    server 0.us.pool.ntp.org
server 1.us.pool.ntp.org
server 2.us.pool.ntp.org

  5. Save your changes to /etc/ntp.conf and exit the text editor.

  6. Restart the service.

    • Ubuntu: service ntp restart

    • CentOS: service ntpd restart

  7. Enter date to check the server’s date.

    If the date is incorrect, make sure the NTP client port (typically, UDP 123) is open in your firewall.

    Try the ntpdate _[pool server hostname]_ command. If it fails, search for the error it returns.

    If all else fails, try rebooting the server.