NTP

Supported OS Linux Mac OS Windows

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 other hosts you are monitoring, you may experience:

  • Incorrect alert triggers
  • Metric delays
  • Gaps in graphs of metrics

By default, the check detects which cloud provider the Agent is running on and uses the private NTP server of that cloud provider, if available. If no cloud provider is detected, the agent will default to the NTP servers below:

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

Note: NTP requests do not support proxy settings.

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

    Host

    The Agent enables the NTP check by default. 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.

    Outgoing UDP traffic over the port 123 should be allowed so the Agent can confirm that the local server time is reasonably accurate according to the Datadog NTP servers.

    Note: If you edit the Datadog-NTP check configuration file, restart the Agent to effect any configuration changes.

    Containerized

    For containerized environments, see the documentation concerning Autodiscovery configurations for guidance on applying the parameters below. See the sample ntp.d/conf.yaml for all available configuration options.

    Metric collection
    ParameterValue
    <INTEGRATION_NAME>["ntp"]
    <INIT_CONFIG>[{}]
    <INSTANCE_CONFIG>[{"host": "<NTP_SERVER>"}]

    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 NTP reference clock and the local clock.
    Shown as second

    Events

    The NTP check does not include any events.

    Service Checks

    ntp.in_sync
    Returns CRITICAL if the host clock is more than the configured threshold away from the NTP time. Returns UNKNOWN if the Agent can not connect to the NTP server. Returns OK otherwise.
    Statuses: ok, critical, unknown

    Troubleshooting

    Need help? Contact Datadog support.