*Setup Time server

Owned by Tom Polman
Last updated: Sept 19, 2022
3 min read

Software Installation Article | SIA-20200930-TP-01

VDG Sense | Software Installation

VDG Sense uses the Meinberg NTP server for time synchronization. It can be installed optionally when running the VDG Sense Setup. Configuration of the NTP server needs to be done manually and for each of the VDG systems which need synchronization. Within an VDG Sense installation, it is recommended to synchronize all VDG systems, both servers and clients, to the VDG Sense Management Server.

Installation and Updating

When installing VDG Sense, the Meinberg NTP server can be installed by checking the NTP Server in the components screen. VDG Sense will install version NTP version 4.2.8 (2015) and version 4.2.8p13 (2019) as off VDG Sense 2.5.15 and 2.6.3. It is possible, and recommended, to manually update the NTP server by going to the Meinberg website download page when a new stable version is released.

Configuration

For ease of configuration the NTP Time Server Monitor needs to be installed. The setup file for this program can be found in the following directory:

For 2.4 and earlier:

C:/Program Files (x86)/TKH Security/Sense/Software/NTPServer

For 2.5 and later (64 bit):

C:/Program Files/TKH Security/Sense/Software/NTPServer

Run file ‘ntp-time-server-monitor-104.exe’ as administrator user and install the software with default options. The NTP Time Server Monitor needs to be started with administrator rights. Right-click on the ‘NTP Time Server Monitor’ icon on the desktop and select ‘Run as administrator’. To configure to which NTP server the system needs to synchronize, open the tab ‘NTP Configuration File’. Default configuration for the NTP Time server is shown below which basically means that it does not synchronize to any time server:

Change value 127.127.1.0 to the IP address of the actual time server and add the option ‘iburst’ to this line. Assuming NTP time server is at ip address 172.21.0.1 the complete text will be as follows:

server 172.21.0.1 iburst
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 6

Press ‘Save configuration’ and confirm restarting the service.

To check if the NTP server is reachable and correctly configured open ‘NTP Status’ tab. The line with the NTP address will be green if it is reachable. Normally the time is synchronized instantly, but in some cases it can take up to 10 minutes before the time is synchronized. This could happen if the difference between the time of the server is too big compared to the time of the NTP server. However, if it is not synchronized within 10 minutes either the NTP server address is wrong or a (windows) firewall is blocking communication. The next paragraph explains how to add an exception for the NTP server to Windows Firewall.

Windows Firewall

On Windows 10 systems it is possible the NTP server is blocked by the firewall. In that case an exception needs to be added to the Windows Firewall configuration. Open the Firewall configuration and select the option ‘Allow an app of feature through Windows Firewall’, see below:

In the dialog which appears the NTP application can be chosen. Press the button ‘Allow another app’ and select the ‘ntpd.exe’ file, see below: