NTP Management¶
On this screen, you can view and modify the date and time configuration of the SambaBox server.
Timezone & NTP Settings¶
Local time zone selection is made from the Timezone drop-down box. This selection sets the server’s time as the UTC +/- timezone value.
Orphan Mode¶
Sometimes an NTP subnet is isolated from all UTC sources like local reference cloks or internet time servers. In such cases, subnet servers and clients may require to be synchronized to a common timescale but not to an UTC timescale. Previously, this function provided by local time driver to simulate a UTC source. A server with this driver can be used to synchronize other hosts on the subnet directly on indirectly.
Orphan Mode specifies the layer at which time server will switch to Orphan Mode. For example, a time server using a value of 6 will not switch to Orphan Mode as long as the time source is accessible from layer 1 through 5. The recommended value is 2 more than the accessible time source, worst-case externally.
Orphan Mode allows a group of ntpd servers to automatically choose a leader if all real-time clock sources become unavailable.
Hint
A common configuration for private networks includes one or more core servers running at the lowest layer. It is best practice to configure each of these servers to be a backup for the others, using symmetric or broadcast modes. As long as at least one core server can reach a UTC resource, the entire subnet can be synchronized with it.
Orphan Wait¶
The delay time in seconds to switch to Orphan Mode. To avoid activating Orphan Mode early, a wait delay occurs when the daemon is first started and all resources are lost after that. The delay is intended to allow time for other resources to become accessible and selectable. Orphan Mode will be activated only when the delay ends without a resource.
NTP Server Settings¶
NTP (Network Time Procotol) servers defined on SambaBox are added or removed from this screen.
Add NTP Server¶
Click the [Add Server] button. Enter the IP address or hostname (which has to be resolved by DNS) in the box added to the interface. Select iburst and/or prefer boxes and click to [Save] button to activate your new NTP server.
Hint
iburst
When the time server is unreachable (trying to find out if a host is reachable) it sends a payload of eight packets and then shortens that time until the first sync. Used for faster clock synchronization. Normally the gap between NTP packets is about 16 seconds to allow the call to complete. After reaching the server, the gap between packets decreases to about 2 seconds.
Hint
prefer
Marks the time server as the preferred server. When conditions are equal, this host will be selected for synchronization among a number of properly functioning hosts. This option can be used with any peer or server, but is most commonly used with a radio clock.
Change NTP Server¶
The information of the time servers is activated by pressing the [Save] button after the changes to be made in the relevant boxes.
Delete NTP Server¶
If the [Remove Server] button is pressed, the server information at the end of the list will be removed from the interface, but unless the [Save] button is pressed, the old settings will remain active in the system.
Hint
Load Original Servers
If the [Save] button is not pressed, it allows the old settings to be restored after making changes to the time servers.
Query Time¶
To query time from another existing server, enter the network address or hostname of the server in the ntp server box and click the [Query Time] button to determine whether the server is a time server.
Manual Time Synchronization¶
To synchronize the time with another existing server, enter the network address or name of the server in the ntp server box and synchronize the time of the server with the time of the other server with the [Synchronize Time] button.
Set Manual Time¶
To set the time manually, a calendar is opened when the box with the date is clicked on. After the desired time information is selected, the server’s time is set to the desired date with the [Set The Date and Time] button.