Dell POWEREDGE M1000E - Manual (Page 71)

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 71
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Date and time settings
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Setting the time zone interactively
Use the following procedure to set the current time zone to PST using interactive mode:
1. Connect to the switch and log in using an account assigned to the admin role and with the
chassis-role permission.
2. Enter the tsTimeZone --interactive command.
You are prompted to select a general location.
Please identify a location so that time zone rules can be set correctly.
3. Enter the appropriate number or press Ctrl-D to quit.
4. Select a country location at the prompt.
5. Enter the appropriate number at the prompt to specify the time zone region of Ctrl-D to quit.
Network time protocol
You can synchronize the local time of the principal and primary FCS switch to a maximum of eight
external Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers. To keep the time in your SAN current, it is
recommended that the principal or primary FCS switch has its time synchronized with at least one
external NTP server. The other switches in the fabric automatically take their time from the principal
or primary FCS switch, as described in
“Synchronizing the local time with an external source.”
All switches in the fabric maintain the current clock server value in nonvolatile memory. By default,
this value is the local clock server (LOCL) of the principal or primary FCS switch. Changes to the
clock server value on the principal or primary FCS switch are propagated to all switches in the
fabric.
In a Virtual Fabric, all the switches in the fabric must have the same NTP clock server configured.
This includes any Fabric OS v6.2.0 or earlier switches in the fabric. This ensures that time does not
go out of sync in the logical fabric. It is not recommended to have LOCL in the server list.
When a new switch enters the fabric, the time server daemon of the principal or primary FCS switch
sends out the addresses of all existing clock servers and the time to the new switch. When a switch
enters the fabric, it stores the list and the active servers.
NOTE
In a Virtual Fabric, multiple logical switches can share a single chassis. Therefore, the NTP server
list must be the same across all fabrics.
Synchronizing the local time with an external source
The tsClockServer command accepts multiple server addresses in IPv4, IPv6, or Domain Name
System (DNS) name formats. When multiple NTP server addresses are passed, tsClockServer sets
the first obtainable address as the active NTP server. The rest are stored as backup servers that
can take over if the active NTP server fails. The principal or primary FCS switch synchronizes its
time with the NTP server every 64 seconds.