.PP
You should be aware of another way that the Hardware Clock is kept
synchronized in some systems. The Linux kernel has a mode wherein it
-copies the System Time to the Hardware Clock every 11 minutes.
+copies the System Time to the Hardware Clock every 11 minutes. This mode
+is a compile time option, so not all kernels will have this capability.
This is a good mode to use when you are using something sophisticated
like NTP to keep your System Clock synchronized. (NTP is a way to keep
your System Time synchronized either to a time server somewhere on the
network or to a radio clock hooked up to your system. See RFC 1305.)
.PP
-This mode (we'll call it \%'11\ minute\ mode') is off until something
-turns it on. The NTP daemon ntpd is one thing that turns it on. You
-can turn it off by running anything, including
+If the kernel is compiled with the \%'11\ minute\ mode' option it will
+be active when the kernel's clock discipline is in a synchronized state.
+When in this state the binary 64's bit of the kernel's
+.I \%time_status
+variable is unset (10111111). This value is output as the 'status' line of the
+.BR \%adjtimex\ --print " or " \%ntptime " commands."
+.PP
+It takes an outside influence, like the NTP daemon
+.BR ntpd (1),
+to put the kernel's clock discipline into a synchronized state, and
+therefore turn on \%'11\ minute\ mode'.
+It can be turned off by running anything, including
.BR \%hwclock\ \-\-hctosys ,
that sets the System Clock the old fashioned way. However, if the NTP daemon is
-still running, it will turn 11 minute mode back on again the next time it
+still running, it will turn \%'11\ minute\ mode' back on again the next time it
synchronizes the System Clock.
.PP
-When \%'11\ minute\ mode' is active the 64 bit of the kernel's
-.I time_status
-variable is unset. The status variable can be checked with the
-.BR \%adjtimex\ --print " or " \%ntptime " commands."
-.PP
If your system runs with \%'11\ minute\ mode' on, it may need to use either
.BR \%\-\-hctosys " or " \%\-\-systz
in a startup script, especially if the Hardware Clock is configured to use