Late-ish yesterday evening (March 31, 2020) I was asked to comment on the following --
| | Ntfcn | | |
| Entity | Code | Description | Date/Time |
|-----------------|-------|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
| system | Minor | SNTP server not found | 2020-03-31,21:37:41 |
There wasn't much I could say . . .
But I asked how the device was configured. In return I was shown --
:--> sntpclient <tab>
mode Set SNTP client mode
server Configure the system to use the simple network
timing protocol (SNTP) to request and accept
Network Timing Protocol traffic from a time
server
:--> sntpclient server <tab>
<address> IP Address (e.g. 10.10.1.1)
:--> sntpclient mode <tab>
anycast Enable simple network timing protocol (SNTP)
anycast mode. This mode will use broadcast
packets to locate the SNTP server. On response
from the first server it will establish a link
for future operations in unicast mode.
disable Disable simple network timing protocol (SNTP)
mode.
unicast Enable simple network timing protocol (SNTP)
unicast mode. The system will use a
specified unicast IP address to sync the
client to the server.
:-->
That example shows an RFC1918 address for the time server. I guess that was used for convenience and a routeable address would also be viable. (I have very little experience with configuring (S)NTP clients, other than pointing simple devices to [0-3].uk.pool.ntp.org)
Continuing to "pull teeth", I asked what was the actual configuration
that the device was currently using. The response was --
:--> show sntpclient
SNTP Client Information:
Mode: Unicast
Active Server: 0.0.0.0
Available Unicast SNTP Servers:
| Server Address | Active | Type |
|------------------|--------|---------|
| 204.2.134.162 | false | static |
:-->
Unicast mode, o.k., I think.
Explicit IPv4 address, hmm . . . I wonder who/where?
A reverse DNS look-up shows --
[bcat ~]$ host 204.2.134.162
162.134.2.204.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer paladin.latt.net.
[bcat ~]$
Which means nothing, to me.
Pointing a web-browser at "latt.net" results in a clear, white, page, with one centred line that reads --
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
So how about a "whois"?
[bcat ~]$ whois 204.2.134.162
[Querying whois.arin.net]
[Redirected to rwhois.gin.ntt.net:4321]
[Querying rwhois.gin.ntt.net]
[rwhois.gin.ntt.net]
%rwhois V-1.5:0078b6:00 rwhois.gin.ntt.net (Vipar 0.1a. Comments to vipar@us.ntt.net)
network:Class-Name:network
network:Auth-Area:204.2.128.0/20
network:ID:BBBA-204-2-134-0.127.0.0.1/32
network:Handle:BBBA-204-2-134-0
network:Network-Name:BBBA-204-2-134-0
network:IP-Network:204.2.134.0/24
network:In-Addr-Server;I:PDTI1-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:PDTI2-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:PDTI3-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:PDTI4-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:IP-Network-Block:204.2.134.0 - 204.2.134.255
network:Org-Name:Pacific Data & Telephony
network:Street-Address:11 Great Oaks Blvd, 1st Fir-Cage
network:City:San Jose
network:State:CA
network:Postal-Code:95119
network:Country-Code:US
network:Tech-Contact;I:PDTI-NTTA.127.0.0.1/32
network:Created:2012-06-05 14:44:47.128037+00
network:Updated:2019-02-26 15:56:47.78261+00
network:Class-Name:network
network:Auth-Area:204.2.128.0/20
network:ID:NETBLK-USV4-204-2-128.127.0.0.1/32
network:Handle:NETBLK-USV4-204-2-128
network:Network-Name:USV4-204-2-128
network:IP-Network:204.2.128.0/20
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN1-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN2-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN3-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN4-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN5-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:IP-Network-Block:204.2.128.0 - 204.2.143.255
network:Org-Name:NTT America
network:Street-Address:8300 E Maplewood Ave. Suite 400
network:City:Greenwood Village
network:State:CO
network:Postal-Code:80111
network:Country-Code:US
network:Tech-Contact;I:GIN-BBV4.127.0.0.1/32
network:Created:2005-06-08 19:40:00+00
network:Updated:2019-02-26 15:56:39.42529+00
network:Class-Name:network
network:Auth-Area:204.2.128.0/20
network:ID:NETBLK-VRIOBB-204-002-128.127.0.0.1/32
network:Handle:NETBLK-VRIOBB-204-002-128
network:Network-Name:VRIOBB-204-002-128
network:IP-Network:204.2.128.0/17
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN1-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN2-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN3-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN4-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN5-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:IP-Network-Block:204.2.128.0 - 204.2.255.255
network:Org-Name:NTT America, Inc.
network:Street-Address:8300 E Maplewood Ave. Suite 400
network:City:Greenwood Village
network:State:CO
network:Postal-Code:80111
network:Country-Code:US
network:Tech-Contact;I:VIA4-ORG-ARIN.127.0.0.1/32
network:Created:2001-02-16 05:27:11+00
network:Updated:2008-03-01 00:34:17+00
network:Class-Name:network
network:Auth-Area:204.2.128.0/20
network:ID:NETBLK-VRIO-204-000.127.0.0.1/32
network:Handle:NETBLK-VRIO-204-000
network:Network-Name:VRIO-204-000
network:IP-Network:204.0.0.0/14
network:In-Addr-Server;I:AUTH21-GIN-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:AUTH22-GIN-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:AUTH23-GIN-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:AUTH24-GIN-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:AUTH25-GIN-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:IP-Network-Block:204.0.0.0 - 204.3.255.255
network:Org-Name:NTT America, Inc.
network:Street-Address:8300 E Maplewood Ave. Suite 400
network:City:Greenwood Village
network:State:CO
network:Postal-Code:80111
network:Country-Code:US
network:Tech-Contact;I:VIA4-ORG-ARIN.127.0.0.1/32
network:Created:2000-07-16 17:02:46+00
network:Updated:2007-07-18 23:10:07+00
network:Class-Name:network
network:Auth-Area:204.2.128.0/20
network:ID:NETBLK-USV4-204-2-128.127.0.0.1/32
network:Handle:NETBLK-USV4-204-2-128
network:Network-Name:USV4-204-2-128
network:IP-Network:204.2.128.0/20
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN1-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN2-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN3-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN4-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:In-Addr-Server;I:GIN5-HST.127.0.0.1/32
network:IP-Network-Block:204.2.128.0 - 204.2.143.255
network:Org-Name:NTT America
network:Street-Address:8300 E Maplewood Ave. Suite 400
network:City:Greenwood Village
network:State:CO
network:Postal-Code:80111
network:Country-Code:US
network:Tech-Contact;I:GIN-BBV4.127.0.0.1/32
network:Created:2005-06-08 19:40:00+00
network:Updated:2019-02-26 15:56:39.42529+00
%ok
[bcat ~]$
I guess that address points to a time-server in the USA. As for its status . . .
Finally, my query about the device configuration. The device, an SNTP client, is set to unicast mode. Is that sensible? I think so - as long as it is pointed to a viable NTP server, which is addressed by its IPv4 address.