NTP

Agent Check

Overview

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) integration is enabled by default and reports the time offset from an ntp server every 15 minutes. 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:

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

Setup

Follow the instructions below to install and configure this check for an Agent running on a host. For containerized environments, see the Autodiscovery Integration Templates for guidance on applying these instructions.

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 configuration 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
#   use_local_defined_servers: false # Use the NTP servers defined in the localhost; default is false

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
• use_local_defined_servers (Optional) - True to use NTP servers defined in the localhost. For Unix system, the servers defined in /etc/ntp.conf and etc/xntp.conf are used. For Windows system, the servers defined in registry key HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\NtpServer are used. Caveat: Enabling this option will make the NTP check unable to detect issues if the clock of the target NTP server of the system is skewed

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

Events

The NTP check does not include any events.

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.

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