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4.1. Synchronizing your systems time
Since Ubuntu 16.04 timedatectl / timesyncd (which are part of systemd) replace most of ntpdate / ntp.
timesyncd is available by default and replaces not only ntpdate, but also the client portion of chrony (or formerly ntpd). So on top of the one-shot action that ntpdate provided on boot and network activation, now timesyncd by default regularly checks and keeps your local time in sync. It also stores time updates locally, so that after reboots monotonically advances if applicable.
If chrony is installed timedatectl steps back to let chrony do the time keeping. That shall ensure that no two time syncing services are fighting. While no more recommended to be used, this still also applies to ntpd being installed to retain any kind of old behavior/config that you had through an upgrade. But it also implies that on an upgrade from a former release ntp/ntpdate might still be installed and therefore renders the new systemd based services disabled.
ntpdate is considered deprecated in favor of timedatectl (or chrony) and thereby no more installed by default. timesyncd will generally do the right thing keeping your time in sync, and chrony will help with more complex cases. But if you had one of a few known special ntpdate use cases, consider the following:
• If you require a one-shot sync use: chronyd -q
• If you require a one-shot time check, without setting the time use: chronyd -Q