Configuring the Time Synchronization Service
Original instructions
About us
Configuring the Time Service
You can configure the time service using either the module’s NTP Configuration page in Control Expert or the embedded Web page.
Configurable Time Service Parameters
Configure or change the following parameters on the NTP Configuration page.
  1. IP address of primary NTP server
    • Enter a valid IP address
  2. IP address of secondary NTP server
    • Enter a valid IP address
  3. Polling Period (in seconds)
    Enter a value
    • min = 1sec
    • max = 120sec
    • default = 5 sec
  4. Time Zone
    • Select from drop-down menu
      Universal Time, Coordinated (GMT) = default
    • Custom time zone
  5. Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving change
    • Parameter is selected by default (check mark appears) if daylight saving time is chosen.
Time Service Command Buttons
Execute the following commands:
Button
Description
Save
Stores new NTP (time service) configuration. Previous configuration is no longer valid.
Cancel
Cancels new NTP (time service) configuration. Previous configuration is valid.
Disable NTP
IP of Primary and Standby set = 0.
NTP server not polled.
Time in controller not updated.
Changing Time Service Parameters
To make any changes to the time synchronization service:
Step
Action
1
Enter changes in the appropriate field on the NTP Configuration page for one or all of the configurable parameters.
2
Click Save.
Important Information about the Time Service
NOTE: About the time service:
  1. Enable/Disable Daylight Savings Time parameter: If the Enable/Disable check box is selected, the module automatically corrects the local time to account for daylight savings time. Therefore, no action is required, since the daylight saving time start and end are automatically changed each year.
  2. Polling Time Parameter: The time (in seconds) is the time between time updates from the NTP server. The default is 5 seconds.
  3. Storing the Time Service Configuration: The last time service configuration is saved internally in the Ethernet module.
  4. Replacing the Ethernet Module: If the Ethernet module has to be replaced, the stored configuration is lost, and the system returns to the default configuration.
Customizing Time Zone Parameters
If you want a time zone not listed in the time zone table:
Step
Action
Comment
1
Write the text rules for the custom time zone.
2
Using an FTP client, store your rules in the file:
/FLASH0/wwwroot/conf/NTP/customrules
user ID: ntpupdate
password: ntpupdate
Root directory to store 'customrules' is set by the FTP server as:
/FLASH0/wwwroot/conf/NTP
3
When the rules are written, choose the drop down menu on the NTP Configuration web page, and configure (or reboot) the module by selecting
Time Zone = Custom
The NTP component looks for customrules, calls the tz compiler and generates a new file called 'tz_custom'. This file is binary file and should not be edited.
If the tz compiler detects a syntax error in customrules, the error is logged in the file:
/FLASH0/wwwroot/conf/NTP/error.log
  1. NTP component is not launched
  2. NTP Status field in diagnostic web page displays NOT OK.
4
If you want more information, the syntax to write those rules along with a few examples are found in the module in:
/FLASH0/wwwroot/conf/NTP/instructions.txt
Time Zone Parameters
Select a time zone from the drop-down menu.
Time Zone
Description
DST Available
Custom
Yes
(GMT-12:00)
Dateline Standard Time [Eniwetok Kwajalein]
No
(GMT-11:00)
Samoa Standard Time [Midway Is Samoa]
No
(GMT-10:00)
Hawaiian Standard Time [Hawaii Honolulu]
No
(GMT-09:00)
Alaskan Standard Time [Anchorage]
Yes
(GMT-08:00)
Pacific Standard Time [Los Angeles Tijuana]
Yes
(GMT-07:00)
Mexican Standard Time [Chihuahua La Paz Mazatlan]
Yes
(GMT-07:00)
Mountain Standard Time [Arizona Phoenix]
No
(GMT-07:00)
Mountain Standard Time [Denver]
Yes
(GMT-06:00)
Central Standard Time [Chicago]
Yes
(GMT-06:00)
Mexico Standard Time [Tegucigalpa]
No
(GMT-06:00)
Canada Central Standard Time [Saskatchewan Regina]
No
(GMT-06:00)
Central America Standard Time [Mexico_city]
Yes
(GMT-05:00)
SA Pacific Standard Time [Bogota Lima Quito]
No
(GMT-05:00)
Eastern Standard Time [New York]
Yes
(GMT-05:00)
Eastern Standard Time [Indiana (East)] [Indianapolis]
No
(GMT-04:00)
SA Western Standard Time [Caracas La Paz]
No
(GMT-04:00)
Pacific SA Standard Time [Santiago]
Yes
(GMT-03:30)
Newfoundland Standard Time [Newfoundland St Johns]
Yes
(GMT-03:00)
E. South America Standard Time [Brasilia Sao_Paulo]
Yes
(GMT-03:00)
SA Eastern Standard Time [Buenos Aires Georgetown]
No
(GMT-02:00)
Mid-Atlantic Standard Time [South_Georgia]
No
(GMT-01:00)
Azores Standard Time [Azores Cape Verde Island]
Yes
(GMT)
Universal Coordinated Time [Casablanca, Monrovia]
No
(GMT0)
Greenwich Mean Time [Dublin Edinburgh Lisbon London]
Yes
(GMT+01:00)
Romance Standard Time [Amsterdam CopenHagen Madrid Paris Vilnius]
Yes
(GMT+01:00)
Central European Standard Time [Belgrade Sarajevo Skopje Sofija Zagreb]
Yes
(GMT+01:00)
Central Europe Standard Time [Bratislava Budapest Ljubljana Prague Warsaw]
Yes
(GMT+01:00)
W. Europe Standard Time [Brussels Berlin Bern Rome Stockholm Vienna]
Yes
(GMT+02:00)
GTB Standard Time [Athens Istanbul Minsk]
Yes
(GMT+02:00)
E. Europe Standard Time [Bucharest]
Yes
(GMT+02:00)
Egypt Standard Time [Cairo]
Yes
(GMT+02:00)
South Africa Standard Time [Johannesburg Harare Pretoria]
No
(GMT+02:00)
FLE Standard Time [Helsinki Riga Tallinn]
Yes
(GMT+02:00)
Israel Standard Time [Israel Jerusalem]
Yes
(GMT+03:00)
Arabic Standard Time [Baghdad]
Yes
(GMT+03:00)
Arab Standard Time [Kuwait Riyadh]
No
(GMT+03:00)
Russian Standard Time [Moscow St. Petersburg Volgograd]
Yes
(GMT+03:00)
E. Africa Standard Time [Nairobi]
No
(GMT+03:30)
Iran Standard Time [Tehran]
Yes
(GMT+04:00)
Arabian Standard Time [Abu Dhabi Muscat]
No
(GMT+04:00)
Caucasus Standard Time [Baku Tbilisi]
Yes
(GMT+04:00)
Afghanistan Standard Time [Kabul]
No
(GMT+05:00)
Ekaterinburg Standard Time [Ekaterinburg]
Yes
(GMT+05:00)
West Asia Standard Time [Islamabad Karachi Tashkent]
No
(GMT+05:30)
India Standard Time [Bombay Calcutta Madras New Delhi]
No
(GMT+06:00)
Central Asia Standard Time [Almaty Dhaka]
Yes
(GMT+06:00)
Sri Lanka Standard Time [Columbo]
No
(GMT+07:00)
SE Asia Standard Time [Bangkok Hanoi Jakarta]
No
(GMT+08:00)
China Standard Time [Beijing Chongqing Hong Kong Urumqi]
No
(GMT+08:00)
W. Australia Standard Time [Perth]
No
(GMT+08:00)
Singapore Standard Time [Singapore]
No
(GMT+08:00)
Taipei Standard Time [Taipei]
No
(GMT+09:00)
Tokyo Standard Time [Osako Sapporo Tokyo]
No
(GMT+09:00)
Korea Standard Time [Seoul]
No
(GMT+09:00)
Yakutsk Standard Time [Yakutsk]
Yes
(GMT+09:30)
Cen. Australia Standard Time [Adelaide]
Yes
(GMT+09:30)
AUS Central Standard Time [Darwin]
No
(GMT+10:00)
E. Australia Standard Time [Brisbane]
No
(GMT+10:00)
AUS Eastern Standard Time [Canberra Melbourne Sydney]
Yes
(GMT+10:00)
West Pacific Standard Time [Guam Port Moresby]
No
(GMT+10:00)
Tasmania Standard Time [Hobart]
Yes
(GMT+10:00)
Vladivostok Standard Time [Vladivostok]
Yes
(GMT+11:00)
Central Pacific Standard Time [Magadan Solomon Is New Caledonia]
Yes
(GMT+12:00)
New Zealand Standard Time [Auckland Wellington]
Yes
(GMT+12:00)
Fiji Standard Time [Fiji Kamchatka Marshall Is]
No