Monitoring NTP
After you configure the system as an NTP client, you can use show commands to view information about the NTP servers you assigned and the status of NTP on the interface.
Note: For about 30 minutes after you configure the system as an NTP client, the data varies rapidly, and then starts to stabilize. Wait at least 1 hour before using the data to make decisions about NTP servers.![]()
Many of the fields in the display of these show commands take their values from the NTP messages. The NTP client uses this data to compare the performance of its NTP servers and to choose a master.
show ntp associations
- * (Master) - system is synchronizing to this server
- # (Master - unsynchronized) - system has chosen this server as master, but the master has not yet synchronized to UTC
- + (Selected) - system will consider this server when it chooses the master
- - (Candidate) - system may consider this server when it chooses the master
- x (Unusable) - server does not meet the initial criteria for master
- p (Preferred) - server that you specified as the preferred server
- ~ (Configured) - server is a configured server; no tilde indicates a broadcast server
- Peer Address - IP address of server
- Stratum - number of hops between the server and the accurate time source
- Poll - time between NTP requests from system to server
- Reachable - 8-bit number that shows whether or not the NTP server responded to the last eight requests from the system; one indicates a response, zero indicates no response. For example, 11111111 indicates that the NTP server responded to the last eight requests. If the system reaches one server less often than it does other servers, that server is not a good choice for the master.
- Precision - length of the clock tick (interrupt interval) of server's clock
- Delay - round-trip delay, with the lowest dispersion value in the sample buffer, between the system and the server
- Offset - difference, with the lowest dispersion in the sample buffer, between the system's clock and the server's clock
- Disp. - lowest measure, in the sample buffer, of the error associated with the peer offset, based on the peer delay
host1#show ntp associationsPeer Address Stratum Poll Reachable Precision Delay Offset Disp.- 10.6.129.58 3 512s 01111111 0.000000s 0.000s 0.052s 0.010s+~152.2.21.1 2 256s 11111111 0.000015s 0.070s 0.039s 0.020s+~128.182.58.100 2 256s 11011111 0.000004s 0.030s 0.019s 0.074s*p128.118.25.3 2 256s 10111111 0.000015s 0.020s 0.038s 0.073s(* Master, + Selected, - Candidate, x Unusable) (p Preferred, ~ Configured)show ntp associations detail
- Peer - IP address of server, status of the server: configured, master, selected, candidate, correct, unusable
- configured - confirmation that you assigned this NTP server to the system
- master - system has chosen this server as the master
- selected - system will consider this server when it chooses the master
- candidate - system may consider this server when it chooses the master
- correct - system considers the server's clock to be reasonably correct
- unusable - server does not meet the initial criteria for the master
- stratum - number of hops between the server and its stratum 1 server
- Peer is a Broadcast/Configured Server - type of NTP server: one that broadcasts NTP messages or one you have configured for NTP services
- version - version of NTP on the server
- polled every - time between NTP requests from the system to the server
- polls every - time between NTP requests from the server to its NTP servers
- Root Delay - round-trip time between the server and its stratum 1 root server
- Root Dispersion - measure of all the errors associated with the network hops and servers between the server and its stratum 1 server
- Sync Dist. - measure of the total time error since the update in the path to the stratum 1 server
- Peer Delay - round-trip delay, with the lowest dispersion value in the sample buffer, between the system and the server
- Peer Dispersion - lowest measure, in the sample buffer, of the error associated with the peer offset, based on the peer delay and precision
- Offset - difference, with the lowest dispersion in the sample buffer, between the system's clock and the server's clock
- Reachability - 8-bit number that shows whether or not the NTP server responded to the last eight requests from the system; one indicates a response; zero indicates no response. For example, 11111111 indicates that the NTP server responded to the last eight requests. If the system reaches one server less often than it does other servers, that server is not a good choice for the master.
- Precision - length of the clock tick (interrupt interval) of the server's clock
- Source - IP address of the interface to which NTP servers should send NTP responses
- Timestamps of latest time samples from this peer; actual timestamps displayed depends on how the server is configured
- Root reference at - last time at which the stratum 1 server sent an NTP reply to the server
- Last request sent - last time at which the system sent an NTP request to the server
- Response/Broadcast was sent - last time at which the server sent an NTP reply or broadcast to the system
- Response/Broadcast received - last time at which the system received an NTP reply or broadcast from this server
- Delay - round-trip delay from client to server
- Offset - difference between client's and server's clocks
- Dispersion - measure of the errors of the offset values, based on the round-trip delay and the precisions of the system and the server
host1#show ntp associations detailPeer 10.6.129.58 is selected, stratum 3Peer is a Broadcast Server, version 3, broadcasts every 64 secRoot Delay 0.059052 sec, Dispersion 0.189056 sec, Sync Dist. 0.229679 secPeer Delay -0.000016 sec, Dispersion 0.009665 sec, Offset 0.050714 secReachability 11111110, Precision 0.000000 sec'Source' Interface : default (transmit interface)Timestamps of latest time sample from this peer:Root reference at: Thu, Apr 13 2000 17:27:17.145 from 128.118.25.3Broadcast was sent: Thu, Apr 13 2000 17:42:02.118Broadcast received: Thu, Apr 13 2000 17:42:02.067Sample buffer for this peer contains the following samples:Delay (sec): 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000Offset (sec): 0.049 0.050 0.050 0.050 0.050 0.050 0.051 0.051Dispersion (sec): 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.013 0.012 0.011 0.010 0.009show ntp status
- Status - state of NTP on the system and the stratum number of the server
- Offset Error - time difference between the system and the master
- Frequency Error - error in the frequency of the system's clock
- Last Update - last time received from the master
- Root Dispersion - measure of all the errors associated with the network hops and servers between the system and its stratum 1 server
- Admin. State - status of NTP on the router (enabled or disabled)
- Virtual Router Name - name of the virtual router to which you attached NTP
- Broadcast Delay - time for a broadcast message to travel between the server and the client
- Client Mode - NTP client status
- Stratum No. - stratum number of system if configured as NTP server
- Summer Time - status of seasonal time
- Summer Timezone Name - name of summer time zone
- Timezone Name - name of time zone
- Timezone Offset - time difference between the time zone and UTC
- Access List - identities of access lists of servers from which the system will not accept broadcasts
- Source Interface - IP address of the interface to which NTP servers should send NTP responses
- Address - IP address of interface
- NTP Enable - status of NTP on the interface
- BroadcastClient - indication of whether or not this interface accepts broadcasts from NTP servers
- Name - type of interface and its location
host1#show ntp statusNetwork Time Protocol (NTP v.4)Clock Status:Status : Initializing: calibrating frequency (15 min.)Offset Error : 0 sec, amortizing asymptoticallyFrequency Error : 0 sec/sec, compensating every secondLast Update :Root Dispersion : 0.001605 secConfiguration:Admin. State : NTP EnabledVirtual Router Name : defaultBroadcast Delay : 3000 microsecondsClient Mode : TrueMaster Mode : TrueStratum No. : 5Summer Time : FalseSummer Timezone Name :Timezone Name : UTCTimezone Offset : 00:0 hours:minutesAccess List :'Source' Interface : default (transmit interface)Interface Configuration:Address NTP Enable BroadcastClient Name