On cnPilot access points there is no internal clock mechanism to synchronize Date/Time on itself. cnPilot access points will either need to sync with cnMaestro or external NTP server to synchronize Date/Time.
If the access point is managed by cnMaestro, automatically AP will sync its Date/Time with the Date/Time currently cnMaestro is holding. If the cnPilot Access Point is in standalone mode or in Autopilot mode (Both Master and Member APs) should be configured with proper reachable NTP server details.
Here is an example of cnPilot Access Point managed by cnMaestro:
Though the NTP server settings are not configured on AP still the cnPilot Access Point is in sync with Date/Time as it is getting this information from cnMaestro.
If the cnPilot Access Point is in Standalone Mode
cnPilot will not sync date and time (Tue 01 Sep 2015 05:30:29 IST is taken from the factory default code date/time and it is inaccurate)
Whenever we see date and time on cnPilot access point with year as 2015 which means AP date/time is not in sync.
Reasons for cnPilot Access Points not showing correct date and time:
- NTP Server details are not configured on cnPilot access point.
- cnPilot access point is unable to reach the NTP server.
- cnPilot access point is unable to resolve NTP server FQDN due to DNS issue.
- cnPilot access point unable to sync date/time even when it can ping NTP server / even able to resolve NTP server FQDN.
Troubleshooting:
Scenario 1: NTP Server details are not configured on cnPilot access point.
Make sure cnPilot access point is configured with Proper NTP server details (Internal or External NTP Server)
cnPilot web GUI >> Configure >> System >> Time Settings
Configure NTP Server settings using IP addresses:
Configure NTP Server settings using FQDN:
Scenario 2: cnPilot access point is unable to reach the NTP server.
If the NTP server settings on the cnPilot Access Point are correct and still the date/time is not syncing correctly. We need to check if cnPilot Access Point can reach the NTP server details.
Check ping: cnPilot AP GUI: Troubleshoot >> Connectivity >> Test Type: Ping
Ping tests showing successful for both NTP IP and FQDN.
Scenario 3: cnPilot access point is unable to resolve NTP server FQDN due to DNS issue.
If AP obtains IP via DHCP check if AP has received proper DNS server details. In case of static IP configuration on cnPilot access point, make sure DNS server details are also configured correctly
cnPilot GUI: Configure >> Network >> Routing & DNS: DNS Server 1 and 2
We can check the DNS lookup result for the NTP server FQDN from cnPilot GUI: Troubleshoot >> Connectivity >> Test Type: DNS Lookup
Scenario 4: cnPilot access point unable to sync date/time even when it can ping NTP server / even able to resolve NTP server FQDN. This is due to NTP port being blocked in the network.
We can perform a packet capture from the cnPilot GUI: Troubleshoot >> Packet Capture
Use filter udp port ntp
If you are seeing only request from the cnPilot access point and no response from the NTP server then they are high chances of NTP port 123 is blocked somewhere in the network. If you are getting response from NTP server then NTP sync will be successful.
