This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I can't seem to get a persistent NTP setting. Whenever I click on the Device Time gear icon, the NTP seetting are always unchecked. I enable it, add some ntp servers and a message disaplays that NTP has been enabled (I even get an email notiication and there's a record in the log). The time seems to be correct, as I can see that it syncs.
But, if I click on it again, the ntp servers list is empty and the box in uncheked. I tried runnig timdatectl and I get this:
Local time: Thu 2017-02-09 09:18:56 ART
Universal time: Thu 2017-02-09 12:18:56 UTC
RTC time: Thu 2017-02-09 12:18:59
Time zone: America/Buenos_Aires (ART, -0300)
Network time on: n/a
NTP synchronized: no
RTC in local TZ: no
So NTP is not really enabled. I read about editing the /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf and add the servers manually, and then do:
Google is pretty amazing. I typed "readynas ntp settings don't stick" and this thread, posted just today, was first.
I'm setting up an RN3138, and having the exact same issue. It had 6.4.1, and I just updated to 6.6.1, but the same problem. I'm working on it, and I'll post what I find here.
By the way, you might want to reconsider that video sharing site you linked to. It generated a porn popup, something I'm not happy about, certainly on my work computer.
I've connected two of the four NICs. One has a private static IP address, with no gateway or DNS configured, and my other I haven't even configured, so it's got an APIPA address. You know how sometimes appliance firmware developers assume all of us will connect our devices to the Internet, and their code might trip up if a gateway or DNS setting is missing.
In my case, though, time is not syncing. I don't get a message popup, or anything in the logs, saying that NTP is working. In fact, there is just one log entry from when I first started this up saying NTP is disabled.
Our NAS is on the local LAN, with a fixed IP and has all the correct DNS and Gateway settings. It's obviously able to reach the internet since its sending out email alerts and check for firmware updates, etc. I did a test just now and set the DC as the time server. The clock on the NAS synchronized immediately with the clock on the domain controller. I even put the screens side by side and both were ticking in sync. The log reports that NTP is enabled and I receive an email alert, yet when I open the settings panel again, the box unchecks itself and the server disappears from the list.
Interesting. Well, I tried F12 on Google to see what happens when I open the NTP config window, and saw it making AJAX calls. It seems to just close instantly, so I thought maybe it wasn't even saving it, and the hidden window was just displaying what I had last before clearing it with an AJAX call to get the current setting the next time I opened it. But, it was saving it (or at least trying), which matches your experience.
I tried a different browser too, and rebooted my unit, in case that's it.
We're a NETGEAR partner, so I've got a ticket open with them. They didn't have a NAS expert available, so maybe someone will call me tomorrow who has some inside knowledge.
This is why we love NETGEAR, right? Half the cost of Cisco, but only almost twice the headaches with these interface quirks. Like their GS switches. When you set up NTP on those, the UI immediately switches back to Local. I sat there clicking around so much trying to figure out how to get that to stick, and it turns out on the switches, the UI shows Local until it successfully syncs with your NTP server, which can take a few moments. Then when you refresh the screen, it shows the NTP information. It's been like this for years also. No one has bothered to fix it. And don't even get me started on the interface quirks trying to configure VLANs and PVIDs and port VLAN memberships, and especially how you have to use Opera 18 or you can't see membership in VLANs or LAGs at all!
If you download the logs do the Time Servers you've specified show in network_settings.log ?
Have you checked for a browser caching issue (i.e. have you cleared your web browser cache, closed your web browser and then reopened the web admin page and checked if your settings change has stuck?).
...You know how sometimes appliance firmware developers assume all of us will connect our devices to the Internet, and their code might trip up if a gateway or DNS setting is missing.
In my case, though, time is not syncing. I don't get a message popup, or anything in the logs, saying that NTP is working. In fact, there is just one log entry from when I first started this up saying NTP is disabled.
Clearly using an internet NTP server requires both a connection that reaches the internet and a DNS server.
His problem sounds different than yours - he's entering the NTP servers, and that appears to work (once). Then the setting reverts back to not using NTP.
Yeah, mine is essentially empty in the network_settings file. I even saved the NTP setting in the UI and didn't go back (in case opening that window is what makes it clear out), and it's still not there. It does show, for Time Servers, the IP address for a default gateway which I entered for testing (to see if a blank default gateway was causing the problem), but which has been deleted. Nothing else is listed for Time Servers. What I enter is completely ignored.
By the way, the NAS doesn't have to be able to reach the Internet to use NTP. My NTP server is on a dual-homed host, and the NAS and my server communicate over an isolated network.
By, the NAS doesn't have to be able to reach the Internet to use NTP. My NTP server is on a dual-homed host, and the NAS and my server communicate over an isolated network.
Which is I qualified my statement ("internet NTP server").
I'm only using one NIC (the 526X is connected to a 10 gbit switch), and I don't use AD.
I'm wondering how your setups compare (in particular what they have in common that is different from mine).
Mine's brand new. I installed two hard drives, plugged it in, connected with a browser, gave it a host name, configured IP addressing, and then tried to configure NTP.
Mine's brand new. I installed two hard drives, plugged it in, connected with a browser, gave it a host name, configured IP addressing, and then tried to configure NTP.
And you aren't using Active Directory, and you are only using one NIC connection?
BTW, if you purchased a new unit within the last 90 days you have phone support. So you might try my.netgear.com.
We have AD but I haven't configured the ReadyNAS yet, is still using local authentications (I've a post about it here). It doesn't matter if I use our domain controller (192.168.1.220) as the NTP server or any other from ntp.org, neither will stay.
It's obviously something regarding the Timeserver = [ ] portion of the config. Perhaps editing it manually? I'm not really sure.
Well, I solved it on my end. I don't think it will apply to EKroboter, though. In my case, it was a combination of my incompetence and the bad NETGEAR ReadyNAS UI.
Somehow I missed it before, but I finally saw in systemd-journal.log an entry for ntpdate, reporting that no suitable server was found, timestamped right at the moment I tried to save the setting in the UI. And a NETGEAR support rep told me the UI will just quietly not save the address of any server it can't sync with when you add it in the UI. So I looked again at my NTP server. As I mentioned, my ReadyNAS syncs to a local NTP server I set up for it, since the ReadyNAS is isolated and has no route to the Internet. Now I noticed my NTP server was reporting stratum 16, because... well, because I just set it up wrong. Derp. Once I fixed that (it's now stratum 5), I entered the address back into the ReadyNAS interface, and I saw the clock step to the correct time, and the settings have finally stuck.
EKroboter, you've said repeatedly that your ReadyNAS does its initial sync, so it doesn't seem like the fault in my network would apply to yours. But, you never know. Maybe this will get you to look more closely and get to the cause in your case.
The reason I said part of the problem was the NETGEAR UI is because it would be nice if there was a pop-up that informed me that it couldn't sync with the specified server, instead just annoyingly making me wonder if there's a bug in the UI because of its obtuse behavior.
Jeffrey, I really appreciate your thoroughness on this. Unfortunatelly as you very well point out, this does not apply to my case. I've tried both internal (DC) and external (npt.org, netgear) NTP servers and none of them stick. The clock syncs, but the setting is not persistent across reboots and the setting is somehow lost everytime I click the gear icon and the modal window appears. This is one of the reasons Im hoilding back on integrating our ReadyNAS to our Active Directory domain, since time sync errors can bring up issues with authentication.
I do believe there is a way to edit the settings manually. Hopefully someone from Netgear sees this and is kind enough to point out where the setting is actually stored.
I have. Clear all caches, history and cookies. Re-opwn the browser and go to the admin page and enter NTP settings. Re-open again and delete all history and caches once more. Open up Frontview and the same thing happens: In a split second the box is uncheked and the ntp servers are gone from the list.
