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@n1zyy
Last active June 16, 2024 18:07
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Apple NTP servers

Apple runs a fleet of stratum 1 NTP servers at time.apple.com. In my experience, ntpd/chronyd are very happy with them.

It looks like, instead of doing anycast, they maybe use DNS to steer you to the closest one.

time.apple.com is a CNAME for time-osx.g.aaplimg.com. Querying a handful of DNS servers, I've identified the following locations:

IP Hostname Location
17.253.2.125 usdal4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Dallas
17.253.2.253 usdal4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Dallas
17.253.4.125 ussjc2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. San Jose
17.253.4.253 ussjc2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. San Jose
17.253.6.125 usatl4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Atlanta
17.253.6.253 usatl4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Atlanta
17.253.12.125 usmia1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Miami
17.253.12.253 usmia1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Miami
17.253.14.123 usnyc3-ntp-003.aaplimg.com. NYC
17.253.14.125 usnyc3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. NYC
17.253.14.251 usnyc3-ntp-004.aaplimg.com. NYC
17.253.14.253 usnyc3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. NYC
17.253.16.125 usscz2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Santa Cruz?
17.253.16.253 usscz2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Santa Cruz?
17.253.18.125 brsao4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. São Paulo
17.253.18.253 brsao4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. São Paulo
17.253.20.125 usqas2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Ashburn, VA
17.253.20.253 usqas2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Ashburn, VA
17.253.24.125 uschi5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Chicago
17.253.24.253 uschi5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Chicago
17.253.26.125 uslax1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Los Angeles
17.253.26.253 uslax1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Los Angeles
17.253.28.125 usmes1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Mesa, Arizona
17.253.28.253 usmes1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Mesa, Arizona
17.253.30.125 ussea4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Seattle
17.253.30.253 ussea4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Seattle
17.253.34.123 uklon5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com. London
17.253.34.125 uklon5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. London
17.253.34.251 uklon5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com. London
17.253.34.253 uklon5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. London
17.253.38.125 sesto4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Stockholm
17.253.38.253 sesto4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Stockholm
17.253.52.125 nlams2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Amsterdam
17.253.52.253 nlams2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Amsterdam
17.253.54.123 defra1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com. Frankfurt
17.253.54.125 defra1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Frankfurt
17.253.54.251 defra1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com. Frankfurt
17.253.54.253 defra1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Frankfurt
17.253.66.125 ausyd2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Sydney
17.253.66.253 ausyd2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Sydney
17.253.68.123 jptyo5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com. Tokyo
17.253.68.125 jptyo5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Tokyo
17.253.68.251 jptyo5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com. Tokyo
17.253.68.253 jptyo5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Tokyo
17.253.74.125 jposa3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Osaka, Japan
17.253.74.253 jposa3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Osaka, Japan
17.253.82.125 sgsin3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Singapore
17.253.82.253 sgsin3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Singapore
17.253.84.123 hkhkg1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com. Hong Kong
17.253.84.125 hkhkg1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Hong Kong
17.253.84.251 hkhkg1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com. Hong Kong
17.253.84.253 hkhkg1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Hong Kong
17.253.106.125 dkblp1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Denmark
17.253.106.253 dkblp1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Denmark
17.253.108.125 frcch1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. France
17.253.108.253 frcch1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. France
17.253.110.125 zaisd1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. South Africa
17.253.110.253 zaisd1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. South Africa
17.253.114.125 krsel6-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Seoul, Korea
17.253.114.253 krsel6-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Seoul, Korea
17.253.116.125 twtpe2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Taipei
17.253.116.253 twtpe2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Taipei
17.253.122.125 rumow2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com. Moscow
17.253.122.253 rumow2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com. Moscow
@n1zyy
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n1zyy commented Mar 28, 2023

It's worth noting that this list changes over time, and you're generally probably best off using pool time.apple.com rather than trying to rely on this maybe-outdated list. It seems like there's periodic IP renumbering that goes on too.

That said, looking at IP patterns, you can kind of enumerate them like so:

$ for i in {0..255}
host 17.253.$i.125 | grep -v NXDOMAIN
125.2.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usnyc3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.4.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer ussjc2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.6.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usatl4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.12.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usmia1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.14.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer defra1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.16.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usscz2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.20.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usqas2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.24.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer uschi5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.28.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usmes1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.28.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer uklon5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.30.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer ussea4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.34.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer ntp.euro.apple.com.
125.38.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer sesto4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.52.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer ntp.euro.apple.com.
125.52.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer nlams2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.60.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer sgsin3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.66.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer ausyd2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.68.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer jptyo5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.74.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer jposa3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.82.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer uslax1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.84.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer hkhkg1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.106.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer dkblp1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.108.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer frcch1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.110.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer zaisd1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.114.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer krsel6-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.116.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer twtpe2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.
125.126.253.17.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer usdal4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com.

Interesting (but not shocking) to note that Moscow has disappeared.

While many of these are stratum 1, there are some stratum 2 servers mixed in.

@olegkonevarts
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olegkonevarts commented Jun 9, 2024

Hi, n1zyy! Thanks for this list.

It was interesting to explore it!

I rescanned the 17.253... pool of IPv4 addresses. Here is the latest information about these Apple NTP servers:

# IPv4 address (↓) Domain name(s)
8804 17.253.34.99 auper2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
8836 17.253.34.131 auper2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
16934 17.253.66.37 ausyd2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
16942 17.253.66.45 ausyd2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
2710 17.253.10.149 brsao4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
2726 17.253.10.165 brsao4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
18676 17.253.72.243 deber5-gslb-004.aaplimg.com; krseo1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
3710 17.253.14.125 defra1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
3838 17.253.14.253 defra1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
3708 17.253.14.123 defra1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
3836 17.253.14.251 defra1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
27262 17.253.106.125 dkblp1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
27390 17.253.106.253 dkblp1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
27774 17.253.108.125 frcch1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
27902 17.253.108.253 frcch1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
21630 17.253.84.125 hkhkg1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
21758 17.253.84.253 hkhkg1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
21628 17.253.84.123 hkhkg1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
21756 17.253.84.251 hkhkg1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
4708 17.253.18.99 inbom5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
4740 17.253.18.131 inbom5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
19070 17.253.74.125 jposa3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
19198 17.253.74.253 jposa3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
17534 17.253.68.125 jptyo5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
17662 17.253.68.253 jptyo5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
17532 17.253.68.123 jptyo5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
17660 17.253.68.251 jptyo5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
17958 17.253.70.37 jptyo7-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
17966 17.253.70.45 jptyo7-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
29310 17.253.114.125 krsel6-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
29438 17.253.114.253 krsel6-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
18674 17.253.72.241 krseo1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
13438 17.253.52.125 ntp.euro.apple.com; nlams2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
13566 17.253.52.253 ntp.euro.apple.com; nlams2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
9854 17.253.38.125 sesto4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
9982 17.253.38.253 sesto4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
15486 17.253.60.125 sgsin3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
15614 17.253.60.253 sgsin3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
29822 17.253.116.125 twtpe2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
29950 17.253.116.253 twtpe2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
7422 17.253.28.253 uklon5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com; usmes1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com; ntp.euro.apple.com
7292 17.253.28.123 uklon5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
7420 17.253.28.251 uklon5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
1574 17.253.6.37 usatl4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
1582 17.253.6.45 usatl4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
6782 17.253.26.125 uschi5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
6910 17.253.26.253 uschi5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
6780 17.253.26.123 uschi5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
6908 17.253.26.251 uschi5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
32382 17.253.126.125 usdal4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
32510 17.253.126.253 usdal4-ntp-002.b.aaplimg.com; usdal4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
13924 17.253.54.99 ushnl2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
13956 17.253.54.131 ushnl2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
21118 17.253.82.125 uslax1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
21246 17.253.82.253 uslax1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
7294 17.253.28.125 usmes1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com; ntp.euro.apple.com; uklon5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
3110 17.253.12.37 usmia1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
3118 17.253.12.45 usmia1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
638 17.253.2.125 usnyc3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
766 17.253.2.253 usnyc3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
636 17.253.2.123 usnyc3-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
764 17.253.2.251 usnyc3-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
5246 17.253.20.125 usqas2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
5374 17.253.20.253 usqas2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
4222 17.253.16.125 usscz2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
4350 17.253.16.253 usscz2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
7806 17.253.30.125 ussea4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
7934 17.253.30.253 ussea4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
1150 17.253.4.125 ussjc2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
1278 17.253.4.253 ussjc2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
28286 17.253.110.125 zaisd1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
28414 17.253.110.253 zaisd1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
(↓) # IPv4 address Domain name(s)
636 17.253.2.123 usnyc3-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
638 17.253.2.125 usnyc3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
764 17.253.2.251 usnyc3-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
766 17.253.2.253 usnyc3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
1150 17.253.4.125 ussjc2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
1278 17.253.4.253 ussjc2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
1574 17.253.6.37 usatl4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
1582 17.253.6.45 usatl4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
2710 17.253.10.149 brsao4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
2726 17.253.10.165 brsao4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
3110 17.253.12.37 usmia1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
3118 17.253.12.45 usmia1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
3708 17.253.14.123 defra1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
3710 17.253.14.125 defra1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
3836 17.253.14.251 defra1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
3838 17.253.14.253 defra1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
4222 17.253.16.125 usscz2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
4350 17.253.16.253 usscz2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
4708 17.253.18.99 inbom5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
4740 17.253.18.131 inbom5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
5246 17.253.20.125 usqas2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
5374 17.253.20.253 usqas2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
6780 17.253.26.123 uschi5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
6782 17.253.26.125 uschi5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
6908 17.253.26.251 uschi5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
6910 17.253.26.253 uschi5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
7292 17.253.28.123 uklon5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
7294 17.253.28.125 usmes1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com; ntp.euro.apple.com; uklon5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
7420 17.253.28.251 uklon5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
7422 17.253.28.253 uklon5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com; usmes1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com; ntp.euro.apple.com
7806 17.253.30.125 ussea4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
7934 17.253.30.253 ussea4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
8804 17.253.34.99 auper2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
8836 17.253.34.131 auper2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
9854 17.253.38.125 sesto4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
9982 17.253.38.253 sesto4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
13438 17.253.52.125 ntp.euro.apple.com; nlams2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
13566 17.253.52.253 ntp.euro.apple.com; nlams2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
13924 17.253.54.99 ushnl2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
13956 17.253.54.131 ushnl2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
15486 17.253.60.125 sgsin3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
15614 17.253.60.253 sgsin3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
16934 17.253.66.37 ausyd2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
16942 17.253.66.45 ausyd2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
17532 17.253.68.123 jptyo5-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
17534 17.253.68.125 jptyo5-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
17660 17.253.68.251 jptyo5-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
17662 17.253.68.253 jptyo5-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
17958 17.253.70.37 jptyo7-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
17966 17.253.70.45 jptyo7-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
18674 17.253.72.241 krseo1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
18676 17.253.72.243 deber5-gslb-004.aaplimg.com; krseo1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
19070 17.253.74.125 jposa3-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
19198 17.253.74.253 jposa3-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
21118 17.253.82.125 uslax1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
21246 17.253.82.253 uslax1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
21628 17.253.84.123 hkhkg1-ntp-003.aaplimg.com
21630 17.253.84.125 hkhkg1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
21756 17.253.84.251 hkhkg1-ntp-004.aaplimg.com
21758 17.253.84.253 hkhkg1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
27262 17.253.106.125 dkblp1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
27390 17.253.106.253 dkblp1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
27774 17.253.108.125 frcch1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
27902 17.253.108.253 frcch1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
28286 17.253.110.125 zaisd1-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
28414 17.253.110.253 zaisd1-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
29310 17.253.114.125 krsel6-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
29438 17.253.114.253 krsel6-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
29822 17.253.116.125 twtpe2-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
29950 17.253.116.253 twtpe2-ntp-002.aaplimg.com
32382 17.253.126.125 usdal4-ntp-001.aaplimg.com
32510 17.253.126.253 usdal4-ntp-002.b.aaplimg.com; usdal4-ntp-002.aaplimg.com

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