Chapter 5: System Time - Cisco SF200-24 Administration Manual

System Time
NOTE
Cisco Small Business 200 1. 1 Series Smart Switch Administration Guide
Network time synchronization is critical because every aspect of managing,
securing, planning, and debugging a network involves determining when events
occur. Time provides a frame of reference between all devices on the network.
Without synchronized time, accurately correlating log files between devices, for
instance when tracking security breaches or network usage, is not possible.
Problems affecting a large number of components can be nearly impossible to
track if timestamps in logs are inaccurate.
Time also reduces confusion in shared file systems, as it is important for the
modification times to be consistent, regardless of the machine on which the files
systems reside.
For these reasons, it is important that the time configured on the all devices on the
network be accurate.
The switch supports Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) and when enabled, the
switch dynamically synchronizes the switch time with the SNTP server time. The
switch operates only as an SNTP client, and cannot provide time services to other
devices.
This section describes the options for configuring system time, time zone, and
Daylight Savings Time (DST). It includes the following topics:
• System Time Options
• Configuring System Time
• Adding an SNTP Server
• Defining SNTP Authentication
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