Solved: different time zones in a network and ntp

sarahr202 · ‎09-08-2012

Hi everybody.

reference clock---NTP-s1(time zone: UTC+4)---------------------ntp serv-2( time zone :UTC +6)---------switch

s1----ntp server at stratum 1 located in time zone: utc+4

s2----ntp server at stratum 2 located in time zone: utc+6

Do we need to configure the time zone: UTC+4 on ntp server-2 though it is located in different time zone i.e utc+6?

Here is my reasoning:

Ideally speaking, all the networking devices that includes servers,routers,switches etc should have synchronized clocks so we could co relate different event correctly among other things which is not possible in practice( delay, processing delay which vary in response to load on network/processor)

If we want our networking devices to have synchronised clocks, we must agree on common time zone too even though networking devices might be located in different time zones.

In my scenario, ntp-s1 is located in time zone : UTC+4 while ntp-ser2 is located in time zone: utc+6. If the clock at ntp ser2 has to match ntp-ser1's clock, then we need to configure ntp-ser-2 with the timezone the ntp-s1 is located in.

Is my understanding correct ?

thanks and have a great weekend

Richard Burts · ‎09-08-2012

The first part of the answer to this question is easy - ntp always communicates time using UTC. So assuming that you have consistent and accurate NTP time sources for these various routers then their clock will be accurately coordinated.

The second part of the answer to this question is a bit more complicated. When routers are operating in different time zones it is more complicated knowing what is best in configuring their clocks for time zone. Some people prefer to set the timezone to match the loca environment , but I would advocate that the timezone should adopt a common setting. My rationale for this is that frequently we are wanting to match logging entries between various routers or to match debug output between various routers. And to do this the routers should use the same time zone setting.

HTH

Rick

HTH

Rick

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Leo Laohoo · ‎09-09-2012

I used to work for a world-wide WAN network. All our routers and switches were set to UTC because it was our defacto timezone to everything, including fault management.

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Peter Paluch · ‎09-09-2012

Hello Leo and everyone,

I am sure this is a well known fact but I just wanted to highlight that unless service timestamps log datetime localtime command is configured, the logging messages are indicated in UTC, regardless of the local timezone setting. So it has been my personal practice to recommend configuring the timezone for my geographic position and still have logging times indicated in UTC coordinates.

Best regards,

Peter

View solution in original post

Richard Burts · ‎09-08-2012

The first part of the answer to this question is easy - ntp always communicates time using UTC. So assuming that you have consistent and accurate NTP time sources for these various routers then their clock will be accurately coordinated.

The second part of the answer to this question is a bit more complicated. When routers are operating in different time zones it is more complicated knowing what is best in configuring their clocks for time zone. Some people prefer to set the timezone to match the loca environment , but I would advocate that the timezone should adopt a common setting. My rationale for this is that frequently we are wanting to match logging entries between various routers or to match debug output between various routers. And to do this the routers should use the same time zone setting.

HTH

Rick

HTH

Rick

sarahr202 · ‎09-08-2012

thanks Richard.

Leo Laohoo · ‎09-09-2012

I used to work for a world-wide WAN network. All our routers and switches were set to UTC because it was our defacto timezone to everything, including fault management.

Peter Paluch · ‎09-09-2012

Hello Leo and everyone,

I am sure this is a well known fact but I just wanted to highlight that unless service timestamps log datetime localtime command is configured, the logging messages are indicated in UTC, regardless of the local timezone setting. So it has been my personal practice to recommend configuring the timezone for my geographic position and still have logging times indicated in UTC coordinates.

Best regards,

Peter

sarahr202 · ‎09-09-2012

Thanks Peter.