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Linux Interview Questions

Timedatectl

1. What is timedatectl?
A) timedatectl is a command-line utility in systemd-based Linux systems used to query and change system clock, time zone, and NTP (network time synchronization) settings.

2. How do you check the current system time ?
A)

timedatectl

It displays local time, universal time, RTC time, time zone, and NTP status.

3. How do you list available time zones?
A)

timedatectl list-timezones

4. How do you change the time zone with timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata

5. How do you set the system time manually with timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl set-time "2025-09-19 16:30:00"

6. What is the difference between system time and RTC (hardware clock)?
A)

  •  System time: Software clock maintained by the kernel.
  • RTC (Hardware clock): Time maintained by the BIOS/firmware, independent of OS.

7. How do you check if NTP synchronization is enabled using timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl show | grep NTPSynchronized

or simply:

timedatectl

Look for NTP service and System clock synchronized.

8. How do you enable NTP synchronization?
A)

timedatectl set-ntp true

9. How do you disable NTP synchronization?
A)

timedatectl set-ntp false

10. What is the difference between timedatectl and date command?
A)

  • date: Shows or sets the system time only.
  • timedatectl: Manages time, date, timezone, RTC, and NTP settings (more advanced).

11. How do you check only the current timezone using timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl show --property=Timezone

12. What happens when you change the time zone with timedatectl?
A) It updates the system time zone symlink at /etc/localtime to point to the selected zone in /usr/share/zoneinfo/.

13. How do you set only the date with timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl set-time "2025-09-19"

14. How do you set only the time with timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl set-time "18:45:00"

15. How do you check the RTC (hardware clock) time with timedatectl?
A)

timedatectl | grep "RTC time"
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