Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0 -- Configuring Time and Time Zones for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace

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System Clock

Each Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server has a system clock that is independent of the time zone. In a failover deployment, the system clocks on the active and standby Application Servers must be synchronized with each other.


The system clock should always be set to match UTC (also called GMT). If the system clock is not consistent with UTC, then the system will not behave as expected. To display the time and date of the system clock in UTC, enter date --utc in the Application Server CLI. (See Using the Command-Line Interface (CLI) on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server, Table Command Reference:Application Commands for the Application Server.)


Caution! Do not change the system clock to correct for time zone issues. Doing so can result in long-term system problems. If the available time zone options do not work for you, then contact Cisco TAC.


Related Topics

Recommendations for Time and Time Zone Configurations

  • Keep the following default configurations:
    • Web Servers and Hardware Media Servers use the Application Server as the NTP server.
    • (For Cisco WebEx integration) If you install a Cisco WebEx Node for MCS, then the Application Server is automatically configured to use the Cisco WebEx Node as the NTP server. This synchronizes the time between the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace system and the Cisco WebEx site.
  • If your deployment does not include the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS, then configure NTP for the Application Server using an accurate external time reference. The NTP server should reference an atomic clock or satellite receiver.
  • Configure the clocks, time zones, and NTP correctly during installation.
Post-installation changes, especially to the system clock on the Application Server, may corrupt existing meeting data on your system, such as meeting start and end times, overbook port availability, and log messages.


Related Topics


Configuring the Time and Time Zone for the Application Server


Changing the Time Zone of the Application Server

Complete this task if you physically moved your Application Server to a location in a different time zone.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server operating system as the root user.
  2. Select Applications > System Settings > Date & Time.
  3. Select the Time Zone tab.
  4. Select the new time zone.
  5. Select OK.


Related Topics


Configuring NTP on the Application Server

Choose from one of the following methods:


Restrictions for Configuring NTP on the Application Server

  • Do not modify the NTP configuration if your deployment includes the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS. If you install the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS, then the Application Server is automatically configured to use the Cisco WebEx Node as the NTP server.
  • If setting NTP shifts the time of the system clock, then any existing meeting data may be affected by the time shifts.


Related Topics


Configuring NTP from the Application Server CLI

Before You Begin

Read the Restrictions for Configuring NTP on the Application Server.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server CLI as the root user.
  2. Enter mpx_sys stop to stop the Application Server software.
  3. Enter net to access the network configuration utility.
    The system displays the following:
    1) List current configuration
    2) Configure Ethernet
    3) Set host name
    4) Set domain name
    5) Configure DNS service
    6) Configure NTP service
    7) Done
    Select:
  4. Enter 6 to configure the NTP service.
  5. Enter the IP address or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the new NTP server.
  6. Press Enter at the prompt to enter additional servers.
  7. When finished, enter 1 to verify the NTP configuration.
  8. Enter 7 to indicate that you are done.
  9. Enter y when asked if you want to save your changes.
  10. Enter reboot to restart the system.


Related Topics

Configuring NTP from the Application Server OS Desktop

Before You Begin

Read the Restrictions for Configuring NTP on the Application Server.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server operating system as the root user.
  2. Select Applications > System Settings > Date & Time.
  3. Select the Network Time Protocol tab.
  4. Enter the IP address or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the NTP server in the Server field.
  5. Select Add.
  6. Select OK.


Related Topics


Synchronizing the Application Server System Clock with the NTP Server

Before You Begin

Read the Restrictions for Configuring NTP on the Application Server.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server CLI as the root user.
  2. Enter mpx_sys stop to stop the Application Server software.
  3. Enter ntpdate -u ntp-server to immediately synchronize the system clock with the NTP server, specified by hostname or IP address.
  4. Enter reboot to restart the system.


Related Topics


Manually Changing the Time of the Application Server System Clock

Caution! Do not use this procedure to change the system clock to an earlier time. Instead, see System Clock is Wrong-Need to Set it to an Earlier Time in the Troubleshooting Time and Time Zone Issues for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace module.


Restrictions
  • We do not recommend using this manual method of setting the system clock. Instead, you should configure NTP to synchronize the system clock to a reliable external NTP server.
  • Users may not be able to attend meetings that are scheduled to begin close to when you change the time of the system clock.
  • The time stamps on log messages may reflect the previous system time.
    • If you sort log messages by time, then the messages may appear in the wrong order.
    • If you filter log messages by time, then some messages may be lost due to incorrect time stamps.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server CLI as the root user.
  2. Enter mpx_sys stop to stop the Application Server software.
  3. Enter date MMDDhhmm[YYYY][.ss] to specify the month, day, hour, minute, and optionally the calendar year and seconds.
  4. Enter reboot to restart the system.


Related Topics


Viewing the Application Server System Clock

Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Application Server CLI.
  2. Enter the date command.
    [root@application-server ~]# date
    Tue Sep 29 00:40:46 PDT 2009
    [root@application-server ~]#


Related Topics

Configuring the Time for the Web Server

Caution! Do not manually adjust the clock on the Web Server. Doing so could cause the Web Server to crash. If a one-time manual adjustment is necessary, then stop the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Master Service, make the manual adjustment, and then restart the Web Master Service.


Configuring NTP on the Web Server

Notes:


Cisco Unified MeetingPlace automatically sets up the Web Server to use the Application Server as the NTP server for clock synchronization. We recommend that you keep this default configuration, but if you need to synchronize the Web Server with an alternate NTP server, then use this procedure to do so.


Before You Begin
  • Read the Recommendations for Time and Time Zone Configurations.
  • By default, NTP uses UDP port 123. If your Web Server is in the DMZ and your Application Server is not, you will have to open UDP port 123 inbound in your firewall for the default NTP configuration to work. In the default configuration, the Web Server clock is synchronized with the Application Server as the NTP server.
  • If you decide to use an alternate NTP server for your Web Server time synchronization, make sure that your NTP setup keeps the Application Server and Web Server perfectly synchronized with each other. If the time is not synchronized between the two servers, certain features will not work.


Procedure
  1. Stop the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Master Service.
  2. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel.
  3. Double-click Date and Time.
  4. Select the Internet Time tab.
  5. Check the Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server check box.
  6. Select or enter the FQDN of the NTP server in the Server field.
  7. Select Update Now.
  8. Select OK.
  9. Start the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Master Service.


Verifying

We highly recommend that you verify clock synchronization between the Application Server and the Web Server. To obtain the current date and time for each server:

  • Application Server-Use the date command.
  • Web Server-Double-click the displayed time at the bottom right corner of the Web Server desktop.


Related Topics

Configuring NTP on a Web Server in a Domain

Notes:


Complete the following tasks in the order shown:

  1. Pointing the Domain Controller to the External NTP Source
  2. Changing the Registry Setting Manually on the Web Server


Pointing the Domain Controller to the External NTP Source

Before You Begin
  • Read the Before You Begin.
  • This procedure is completed on the Domain Controller that includes the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server as part of its domain.


Procedure
  1. Open a command prompt.
  2. Enter net stop W32Time.
  3. Enter w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:NTP-server /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update
    An example of an NTP server is clock.cisco.com.
  4. Wait for the previous command to complete successfully.
  5. Enter net start W32Time.
  6. Enter w32tm /stripchart /NTP-provider /samples:2/dataonly.
  7. Verify that the command output shows no difference between the local time and the external NTP provider time.


What to Do Next

Proceed to Changing the Registry Setting Manually on the Web Server.


Changing the Registry Setting Manually on the Web Server

Before You Begin
  • This procedure is completed on the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server that is part of the domain.
  • Complete Pointing the Domain Controller to the External NTP Source.
  • Export the current registry key to a flat file. The registry key is located at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters.


Procedure
  1. Open a DOS command window on the Web Server.
  2. Enter net stop W32Time.
  3. Enter w32tm /unregister.
  4. Enter w32tm / register.
  5. Change the value of the registry setting "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\Type" to NT5DS.
    Initially, this will be set to NTP.
  6. Enter net start W32Time.
  7. Enter w32tm /dumpreg to verify that all of the registry settings are correct.
    Do not expect the Web Server to match the external NTP source immediately after starting the w32time service. Synchronizing the time between the two systems will occur gradually.


Related Topics

Synchronizing the Time Between the Web Server and the NTP Server Via the Web Master Service and Windows Time Service

At each Web Master Service restart or Web Server reboot, the Web Server software invokes the Windows Time Service to synchronize the time with the NTP server. This synchronization occurs regardless of the time difference.


Once the Web Master Service is started, the Web Server time is synchronized with the NTP server every hour, but only if the time difference is 30 seconds or less.


To synchronize the time between the Web Server and the NTP server, complete the following tasks in the order shown:

  1. Verifying That the Windows Time Service is Running
  2. Restarting the Web Master Service in the Stopping, Starting, or Restarting the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Master Service module


Verifying That the Windows Time Service is Running

Procedure
  1. Go to the Windows Start menu on the Web Server.
  2. Select Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
  3. Find the Windows Time service.
  4. Make sure that the Startup Type for the Windows Time service is Automatic.
    If not, then do the following:
    1. Double-click Windows Time.
    2. Select Automatic in the Startup type field.
    3. Select OK.
  5. Verify that the Status for the Windows Time service is Started.
    Proceed only if you do not see "Started" in the Status column for the Windows Time service.
  6. Right-click Windows Time.
  7. Select Start.
  8. Verify that Started now appears in the Status column for the Windows Time service.


What To Do Next

If you are trying to synchronize the time between the Web Server to the NTP server, then proceed to Restarting the Web Master Service in the Stopping, Starting, or Restarting the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Master Service module.


Viewing the Web Server Clock

Procedure
  1. Go to the Web Server desktop.
  2. Double-click the time in the bottom right-hand corner.
  3. The date and time is displayed.


Related Topics


Configuring the Time for the Hardware Media Server

This topic applies only to deployments which include the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Media Server.


For the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3515 Media Server, one audio blade is built into the chassis. For the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3545 Media Server, you may install multiple audio blades, each of which has a clock. Video blades do not have any clocks.


Configuring NTP on the Audio Blade

Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Media Server Administrator (MSA) for the Hardware Media Server.
  2. On the left side of the MSA for the Hardware Media Server, do one of the following:
    • Select Board for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3515 Media Server
    • Select Device for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3545 Media Server
  3. Select the Basics tab.
  4. Find the Date/Time field.


Related Topics


Viewing the Audio Blade Clock

Procedure
  1. Sign in to the Media Server Administrator (MSA) for the Hardware Media Server.
  2. On the left side of the MSA for the Hardware Media Server, do one of the following:
    • Select Board for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3515 Media Server
    • Select Device for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace 3545 Media Server
  3. Select the Basics tab.
  4. Find the Date/Time field.


Related Topics


Configuring the Time for the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS


Viewing the Cisco WebEx Node Clock

The clock on the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS is always synchronized to the Cisco WebEx site.


Procedure
  1. Sign in to the CLI of the Cisco WebEx Node.
  2. Enter the show system date command.
    cisco-webex-node > show system date
    Tue Sep 29 09:00:04 GMT 2009


Related Topics

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