Chapter 6: Administration: Time Settings - Cisco 300 Series Administration Manual

Administration: Time Settings
NOTE
Cisco Small Business 200, 300 and 500 Series Managed Switch Administration Guide (Internal Version)
Synchronized system clocks provide a frame of reference between all devices on
the network. Network time synchronization is critical because every aspect of
managing, securing, planning, and debugging a network involves determining
when events occur. Without synchronized clocks, accurately correlating log files
between devices when tracking security breaches or network usage is
impossible.
Synchronized 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
file systems reside.
For these reasons, it is important that the time configured on all of the devices on
the network is accurate.
The device supports Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) and when enabled, the
device dynamically synchronizes the device time with time from an SNTP server.
The device operates only as an SNTP client, and cannot provide time services to
other devices.
This section describes the options for configuring the system time, time zone, and
Daylight Savings Time (DST). It covers the following topics:
• System Time Options
• SNTP Modes
• Configuring System Time
6
72