Via Web UI Via CLI

Objective

This article provides instructions on how to configure the system time settings on your Cisco Business 250 or 350 series switch.

Applicable Devices | Software Version

• CBS250 (DataSheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350 (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350-2X (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350-4X (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)

Introduction

System time configuration is of great importance in a network. Synchronized system clocks provide a frame of reference between all devices on the network. Network time synchronization is critical because every aspect of managing, securing, planning, and debugging a network involves determining when events occur. Without synchronized clocks, accurately correlating log files between devices when tracking security breaches or network usage is impossible.

Synchronized time also reduces confusion in shared file systems, as it is important for the modification times to be consistent, regardless of the machine on which the file systems reside.

The Cisco Small Business Switches support Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) and when enabled, the switch dynamically synchronizes the device time with time from an SNTP server. The switch operates only as an SNTP client, and cannot provide time services to other devices.

Configure System Time Settings on your Switch

Access the System Time Page

The System Time page of the web-based utility provides ways to configure system time, time zone, and Daylight Saving Time (DST).

Step 1. Log in to the web-based utility of your switch then choose Administration > Time Settings > System Time.

The following fields are displayed:

• Actual Time (From SNTP Server) - System time on the device. This shows the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) time zone or the acronym for the user-defined time zone if these were defined.
• Last Synchronized Server - Address, stratum and type of the SNTP server from which system time was last taken.

Step 2. Choose your preferred system time configuration:

• Automatic Settings - If this is enabled, the system time is obtained from an SNTP server.
• Manual Settings - Set the date and time manually. The local time is used when there is no alternate source of time, such as an SNTP server.

Configure Automatic Time Settings

Important: Before configuring this feature, you must first configure a connection to an SNTP server. To learn how, click here for instructions.

Step 1. In the Main Clock Source (SNTP Servers) area under Clock Source Settings, check the Enable check box to dynamically synchronize the switch time with time from an SNTP server.

Step 2. (Optional) In the Alternate Clock Source (PC via active HTTP/HTTPS sessions) area, check the Enable check box to set the date and time from the configuring computer using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Step 3. Click Apply.

Step 4. (Optional) Click Save to save settings to the startup configuration file.

You should now have successfully configured the automatic system time settings of your switch.

Configure Manual Time Settings

Step 1. In the Main Clock Source (SNTP Servers) area under Clock Source Settings, uncheck the Enable check box to allow manual configuration of time settings.

Step 2. (Optional) In the Alternate Clock Source (PC via active HTTP/HTTPS sessions) area, check the Enable check box to set the date and time from the configuring computer using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

Step 3. In the Manual Settings area, enter the current date in the Date field in YYYY-MMM-DD format.

Step 4. In the Local Time field, enter the time in the HH:MM:SS format.

Step 5. (Optional) Under the Time Zone Settings area, check the Get Time Zone from DHCP to enable dynamic configuration of the time zone and the DST from the DHCP server. Whether one or both of these parameters can be configured depends on the information found in the DHCP packet. If this option is enabled, DHCP client must be enabled on the device.

Note: The DHCP Client supports Option 100 providing dynamic time zone setting. Enabling this feature will reset Manual Settings entered in Steps 3 and 4. If you enabled this feature, skip to Step 8.

The Time Zone from DHCP area displays the acronym of the time zone configured from the DHCP server. This acronym appears in the Actual area.

Step 6. Choose the time zone offset from the Time Zone Offset drop-down list.

Step 7. Enter the time zone acronym next to the Time Zone Acronym field.

Step 8. In the Daylight Savings Settings area, check the Enable check box to enable automatic adjustment of the current time for Daylight Saving Time.

Step 9. In the Time Set Offset field, enter the number of minutes offset from GMT ranging from 1 to 1440. The default value is 60.

Step 10. In the Daylight Savings Type area, choose the Daylight Savings Type that you want to implement.

The options are:

• USA - Daylight Savings Time (DST) is set according to the dates used in the USA.
• European - DST is set according to the dates used by the European Union and other countries that use this standard.
• By dates - DST is set manually, typically for a country other than the USA or a European country. Enter the parameters described below. If this option is chosen, skip to Step 11.
• Recurring - DST occurs on the same date every year. If this option is chosen, skip to Step 12.

Step 11. (Optional) If By dates was chosen, enter the time and date for which Daylight Savings takes place.

• From - Day and time that DST starts.
• To - Day and time that DST ends.

Step 12. (Optional) If Recurring was chosen, enter the appropriate information in the highlighted From and To fields.

• From - Chooses the date which DST begins each year.

- Day - Day of the week when DST begins every year.

- Week - Week within the month when DST begins every year.

- Month - Month of the year when DST begins every year.

- Time - Time when DST begins every year.

• To - Date when DST ends each year.

- Day - Day of the week when DST ends every year.

- Week - Week within the month when DST ends every year.

- Month - Month of the year when DST ends every year.

- Time - Time when DST ends every year.

Step 13. Click Apply to save the settings.

Step 14. (Optional) Click Save to save the settings to the startup configuration file.

You have now successfully configured the manual system time settings of your Cisco Business 250 or 350 series switch.

Looking for more articles on your CBS250 or CBS350 switch? Check out any of the links below for more information!

Article Skeleton w/ Content

Objective

This article provides instructions on how to configure the system time settings on your switch through the Command Line Interface (CLI).

Applicable Devices | Firmware Version

• CBS250 (DataSheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350 (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350-2X (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)
• CBS350-4X (Data Sheet) | 3.0.0.69 (Download latest)

Introduction

System time configuration is of great importance in a network. Synchronized system clocks provide a frame of reference between all devices on the network. Network time synchronization is critical because every aspect of managing, securing, planning, and debugging a network involves determining when events occur. Without synchronized clocks, accurately correlating log files between devices when tracking security breaches or network usage is impossible.

Synchronized time also reduces confusion in shared file systems, as it is important for the modification times to be consistent, regardless of the machine on which the file systems reside. The Cisco Small Business Switches support Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP), and when enabled, the switch dynamically synchronizes the device time with time from an SNTP server.

You can manage the system time and date settings on your switch using automatic configuration, such as the SNTP, or manual configuration methods. The switch operates only as an SNTP client, and cannot provide time services to other devices.

To configure the system time settings on your switch through the Web User Interface (UI), click here.

Configure System Time Settings on your Switch through the CLI

By default, there is no configured network policy on the switch. The default LLDP-MED global and interface settings are the following:

View System Time Settings on the Switch

Step 1

Log in to the switch console. The default username and password is cisco/cisco. If you have configured a new username or password, enter the credentials instead.

Step 2

To display the current configuration settings of the port or ports that you want to configure, enter the following:

CBS350#show clock [detail]

• detail - (Optional) Displays the time zone and summer time configuration.

The following information are displayed:

• Actual Time - System time on the device. This shows the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) time zone and the acronym of the time zone.
• Time source - The external time source for the system clock.
• Time from Browser - Specifies if the date and time of the switch is set from the configuring computer using a web browser.
• Time zone (Static) - The time zone for display purposes.
• DHCP timezone - Specifies that the time zone and the Summer Time or Daylight Saving Time (DST) settings of the system can be taken from the DHCP Timezone option.

Step 3

Choose your preferred system time configuration:

• Automatic Settings - If this is enabled, the system time is obtained from an SNTP server.
• Manual Settings - Set the date and time manually. The local time is used when there is no alternate source of time, such as an SNTP server.

Configure Automatic Time Settings

Step 1

In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, enter the Global Configuration context by entering the following:

CBS350#configure terminal

Step 2

To configure an external time source, enter the following:

CBS350(config)#clock source [sntp|browser]

The options are:

• sntp - (Optional) Specifies that an SNTP server is the external clock source.
• browser - (Optional) Specifies that if the system clock is not already set (either manually or by SNTP), the system clock will be set according to the time information of the web browser once a user logs in to the switch, either via Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or HTTP Secure (HTTPS).

Step 3 (Optional)

To display the configured system time settings, enter the following:

CBS350#show clock detail

Step 4 (Optional)

In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, save the configured settings to the startup configuration file, by entering the following:

CBS350#copy running-config startup-config

Step 5 (Optional)

Press Y for Yes or N for No on your keyboard once the Overwrite file [startup-config]… prompt appears.

You should now have automatically configured the system time settings on your switch through the CLI.

Configure Manual Time Settings

If no other source of time is available, you can manually configure the time and date after the system is restarted. The time remains accurate until the next system restart. It is recommended that you use manual configuration only as a last resort. If you have an outside source to which the switch can synchronize, you do not need to manually set the system clock.

Important: If you have an outside source on the network that provides time services such as an SNTP server, you do not need to manually set the system clock.

To manually configure the system time settings on your switch, follow these steps:

Step 1

In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, enter the following:

CBS350#clock set [hh:mm:ss] [month] [day] [year]

The options are:

• hh:mm:ss - Specifies the current time in hours (military format), minutes, and seconds. The range are the following:

- hh - 0 to 23

- mm - 0 to 59

- ss - 0 to 59

• day - Specifies the current day of the month. The range is from 1 to 31.
• month - Specifies the current month using the first three letters of the month name. The range is from Jan (January) to Dec (December).
• year - Specifies the current year. The range is from year 2000 up to 2037.

Step 2

In the Privileged EXEC mode of the switch, enter the Global Configuration context by entering the following:

CBS350#configure terminal

Step 3

To disable the SNTP as the time source for the system clock, enter the following:

CBS350(config)#no clock source sntp

Step 4 (Optional)

To set the time zone for display purposes, enter the following:

CBS350(config)#clock timezone [zone] [hours-offset] [minutes-offset]

The options are:

• zone - The acronym of the time zone. The range is up to four characters.
• hours-offset - The hours difference from UTC. The range is from -12 to +13.
• minutes-offset - (Optional) The minutes difference from UTC. The range is from 0 to 59.

Step 5 (Optional)

To restore the default time zone configuration settings, enter the following:

CBS350(config)#no clock timezone

Step 6 (Optional)

To specify that the time zone and the Summer Time (DST) of the system can be taken from the DHCP time zone option, enter the following:

CBS350(config)#clock dhcp timezone

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