How to Setup an NTP Server on Windows 10

This article will be discussing how a Windows 10 workstation can be configured as an NTP-Server. Sometimes in a small organization, due to budget constraints, we cannot deploy a Window Server only for providing time synchronization. Microsoft has given us the liberty to configure this simple NTP service in Window 10 which can act as a NTP-server for all the nodes in your network.

To recall NTP is called Network Time Protocol that runs in transport layer using UDP on port 123. The NTP role is to keep the node time synchronized with whole world or on a closed network with all nodes on your network.

NTP Server Setup

1. At first, enable the Windows Time services from Services console. Open Services console using by typing services.msc at run window (Windows Key + R). Click in Standard Services and look for Windows Time service. Once you find the service, click on it and set the Start Up type as Automatic and click on Start to start the service.

2. Next, we will enable the NTP-server by manipulating Window registry file for Service W32Time. Open Window registry via the run option (Windows + R) and then entering regedit and navigate to the below location.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer

Once you reach above location, click on Enabled entry and change the value data from 0 to 1 as shown below.

3. Checked the NTP configuration from command line using command w32tm /query /configuration. Below output will indicate that NTP-server is not enabled yet.

4. Next, restart Windows Time service which was enabled in step 1 or update the W32tm from command line using command w32tm /config /update. This will enable the Window10 machine as an NTP Server.

You now have your NTP server running and can now point all your nodes on your network to the IP address of the machine.