Why Is The System Time Needed; How Does Sntp Work; Default General System Information - Dell PowerConnect 8024 User Configuration Manual

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Why is the System Time Needed?

The switch uses the system clock to provide time stamps on log messages.

Additionally, some show commands include the time in the command

output. For example, the show users login-history command includes a Login

Time field. The system clock provides the information for the Login Time

SNTP assures accurate switch clock time synchronization. Time

synchronization is performed by a network SNTP server.

Time sources are established by Stratums. Stratums define the accuracy of

the reference clock. The higher the stratum (where zero is the highest), the

more accurate the clock. The switch is at a stratum that is one lower than its

time source. For example, if the SNTP server in an internal network is a

Stratum 3 device, the switch is a Stratum 4 device.

You can configure the switch to request the time from an SNTP server on the

network, or you can allow the switch to receive SNTP broadcasts.

Requesting the time from a unicast SNTP server is more secure. Use this

method if you know the IP address of the SNTP server on your network. If you

allow the switch to receive SNTP broadcasts, any clock synchronization

information is accepted, even if it has not been requested by the device. This

method is less secure than polling a specified SNTP server.

To increase security, you can require authentication between the configured

SNTP server and the SNTP client on the switch. Authentication is provided

by Message Digest 5 (MD5). MD5 verifies the integrity of the

communication and authenticates the origin of the communication.

By default, no system information or time information is configured, and the

SNTP client is disabled. The default SDM Template applied to the switch is

the Dual IPv4-IPv6 template.

Managing General System Settings

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