During a polling interval, time servers exchange a configurable number of packets which they use to compare their current time with the responding server's time. The default is to send three packets, enough to adjust for network fluctuations but not so many as to flood the network with time synchronization packets.
A server does not always poll at the same interval. When a server is not synchronized with the network, the server polls according to the short interval value (the default is 10 seconds) until its time is synchronized with the network. Once time synchronization is established, the server gradually increases its polling interval until it matches the polling interval value (the default is 10 minutes).
For more information on configuring polling and its intervals, see the following variables in NetWare Setup: