NTP

Agent Check

Supported OS:

Overview

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) integration is enabled by default and reports the time offset from an ntp server every 15-20 seconds. When the local agent’s time is more than 15 seconds off from the Datadog service and the other hosts that you are monitoring, you may experience:

Incorrect alert triggers
Metric delays
Gaps in graphs of metrics

Default NTP servers reached:

1.datadog.pool.ntp.org
2.datadog.pool.ntp.org
3.datadog.pool.ntp.org

Setup

Installation

The NTP check is included in the Datadog Agent package, so you don’t need to install anything else on your servers.

Configuration

The Agent enables the NTP check by default, but if you want to configure the check yourself, edit the file ntp.d/conf.yaml in the conf.d/ folder at the root of your Agent’s directory. See the sample ntp.d/conf.yaml for all available configuration options:

init_config:

instances:
  - offset_threshold: 60 # seconds difference between local clock and NTP server when ntp.in_sync service check becomes CRITICAL; default is 60
#   host: pool.ntp.org # set to use an NTP server of your choosing
#   port: 1234         # set along with host
#   version: 3         # to use a specific NTP version
#   timeout: 5         # seconds to wait for a response from the NTP server; default is 1

Configuration Options:

host (Optional) - Host name of alternate ntp server, for example pool.ntp.org
port (Optional) - What port to use
version (Optional) - ntp version
timeout (Optional) - Response timeout

Restart the Agent to effect any configuration changes.

Validation

Run the Agent’s status subcommand and look for ntp under the Checks section.

Data Collected

Metrics

ntp.offset
(gauge)

The time difference between the local clock and the NTP reference clock.
shown as second

Events

The NTP check does not include any events at this time.

Service Checks

ntp.in_sync:

Returns CRITICAL if the NTP offset is greater than the threshold specified in ntp.yaml, otherwise OK.

Troubleshooting

Need help? Contact Datadog Support.

NTP