iKVM
Secure Login
Network Cards
Hard drives
Time
SSHFS
Basic DNS
Website DNS
Certbot SSL
Apache and PHP
Maria DB
Mail Server Basics
Mail Server SSL
Mail Server Filters
Checklist
Backup
Synchronising Time
Note: This article series covers configuring Debian 12 for hosting multiple domains and web sites on a single dedicated server. As such, some strategies may be inappropriate for your environment. Sockets for example are appropriate for communication between services hosted on the same machine but not suited to a set up with distributed services (where you'd use ports). Please consult the overview for more information.
One thing you need to make sure is working early on because it becomes very important for doing things like validating secure certificates is synchronise your time with an internet time service.
Depending on the installation options you chose, this may already be set up and running.
First off, check it:
timedatectl status
Local time: Fri 2025-12-12 04:11:56 GMT Universal time: Fri 2025-12-12 04:11:56 UTC RTC time: Fri 2025-12-12 04:11:56 Time zone: GB (GMT, +0000) System clock synchronized: yes NTP service: active RTC in local TZ: noYou are looking for NTP service: active and System clock synchronized: yes in the output.
If you don't see those then you may need to install, enable and start the service.
Install it:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install systemd-timesyncd
Enable it:
sudo systemctl enable systemd-timesyncd
Start the service:
sudo systemctl start systemd-timesyncd
Enable NTP (Network Time Protocol) Sync:
sudo timedatectl set-ntp true
Check it again to make sure it's working correctly:
timedatectl status