Grading Checklist

• Identifies NTP/chrony failure on node-2 as the root cause of clock skew.
• Uses timedatectl and chronyc tracking to diagnose the time synchronization state.
• Checks chronyc sources -v for NTP server reachability and stratum information.
• Identifies why NTP is unreachable (network, firewall, or misconfigured NTP server address).
• Explains the impact of clock skew on distributed systems: consensus failures, TLS validation, log ordering.
• Provides immediate fix: force time synchronization with chronyc makestep or ntpdate.
• Provides permanent fix: restore NTP service configuration and ensure it starts on boot.
• Mentions checking the hardware clock: hwclock --show and syncing with hwclock --systohc.
• Notes that etcd has a default clock skew tolerance (typically 1 second) far below the observed drift.
• Recommends monitoring clock offset with alerting on skew > 100ms.
• Warns against large time jumps on running systems and suggests chronyc makestep with appropriate parameters.