NTP Server for Clock Synchronization
Network Time Protocol (NTP) is an internet protocol used to synchronize clocks of different servers in a network.
An NTP server provides accurate time to its clients. It can function as a primary server (directly synchronized to an authoritative time source, such as an atomic clock or GPS) or a secondary server synchronized with a primary NTP server.
Time Synchronization is essential for ensuring accurate time stamping of logs and events, which is instrumental in debugging issues.
GigaVUE‑FM allows you to configure multiple NTP servers and ensures NTP settings are retained after upgrades. You can configure NTP using the server's DNS Name or IPv6 or IPv4 address.
In GigaVUE‑FM, you can add, delete, and view the status of each NTP server configured. You can authenticate NTP servers to verify that time updates come from a trusted server, ensuring the integrity and security of synchronization.
GigaVUE‑FM allows you to authenticate NTP servers only with valid Chrony keys. If the keys are invalid, the server will be connected in anonymous mode and will not allow a retry of the authentication process and will not fall back on the authentication process.
Rules and Notes
Keep in mind the following rules and notes when adding NTP servers in GigaVUE-FM:
| In GigaVUE‑FM, Rocky Linux 8 and 9 use Chrony services for time synchronization by default. |
| During the Back Up and Restore operation, GigaVUE‑FM will not perform the backup and restore of GigaVUE‑FM NTP Servers. |
| GigaVUE‑FM supports the following algorithms for authenticating the NTP servers: |
| MD5 |
| SHA1 |
| SHA256 |
| SHA384 |
| SHA512 |
Add NTP Server for Clock Synchronization
You should add the NTP server to GigaVUE‑FM for time synchronization. You can also authenticate the server by providing the key details such as key ID, key value, key type when adding the server.
Before you begin
You must enable the NTP service in GigaVUE‑FM before adding the NTP servers for clock synchronization. To enable the NTP service, go to NTP page (Go to 
> Settings > System > NTP) and click Enable NTP.
To add the server:
| 1. | Go to > Settings > System > NTP. |
| 2. | Click Add Server. The Add NTP Server page appears. |
| 3. | In the Server IP/Host Name field, specify the server's address or the hostname. |
| 4. | In the Version field, select the NTP version. |
If you want to authenticate the NTP server, you should enable the authentication, which is optional. When you enable the authentication, you must specify the following:
| In the Key ID, specify a key ID from 1 to 65535. |
| From the Key Type drop-down list, select one of the following key types: The key type is a name of a cryptographic hash function which is used to generate and verify the MAC. |
| MD5 |
| SHA1 |
| SHA256 |
| SHA384 |
| SHA512 |
| In the Key Value field, specify a value. You can specify the key value as a string of ASCII characters without white space with an optional ASCII: prefix, or as a hexadecimal number with the HEX: prefix. The maximum length of the line is 2047 characters. |
Note: To generate keys and to use them using chronyd, you must ensure that the chronyd is installed and it is in active state in NTP server. To generate keys refer to Generate Keys.
| 5. | Click Add to add the NTP server. |
You can view the server details added to the NTP page.
You can also update the NTP server details in GigaVUE‑FM. To update the NTP server details:
| 1. | From the NTP page, select the server that you want to update. |
| 2. | From the Actions drop-down list, select Edit to update the details. You can edit details such as version, key type, and key value except Server IP or Host Name. |
| 3. | Click Apply to view the updated server details in the NTP page. |
Note: In GigaVUE‑FM High Availability, for the clock synchronization of the GigaVUE‑FM present in a High Availability cluster, you must configure the NTP server for each GigaVUE-FM.
Generate Keys
To generate the keys, you must execute the following command in NTP server:
chronyc keygen <key-id> <key-type>
key-id and key type are optional, the server will pick the default ones.
For example
chronyc keygen 4 SHA1
In the string 4 SHA1 HEX:2B5FBA344EE7C8B3B7D97431B33CEA3AEFCA6B81
key-id: 4
key-type: SHA1
key value: HEX:2B5FBA344EE7C8B3B7D97431B33CEA3AEFCA6B81
