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V1.03
15.4.29
Time Client
Selecting “Yes” in the Enable SNTP property of the Time Client section will instruct MonicoView II to run its
SNTP client. MonicoView II will then attempt to synchronize its clock with another MonicoView II-based
device, or to another network-accessible SNTP time source such as a computer running Windows. The time
client has the following additional properties…
The
Linked DST
property is used to instruct the SNTP client to attempt to read the current Daylight
Savings Time setting from the SNTP server. As this facility is not a standard part of the SNTP
protocol, it will only operate if another MonicoView II device is specified as the server. The facility
is useful, in that it allows the Daylight Savings Time adjustment to be made via a single device on
the factory network, with the other devices then following the central setting.
The
SNTP Mode
and
SNTP Server
properties are used to configure the IP address of the Simple
Network Time Service server. If Configured via DHCP is selected, at least one Ethernet port must be
configured to use DHCP, and the server must be configured to designate a server via option 42.
The
Frequency
property specifies how often MonicoView II should attempt to synchronize its time
by the methods enabled above. MonicoView II will always attempt to sync twenty seconds after
power-up, and will then sync as specified by this property. If a given attempt to sync fails, the unit
will retry every 30 seconds until it is successful in finding a suitable time source.
6.1.3.1.2
Choosing an SNTP Server
When configuring the SNTP client, you have several options when selecting a server. If you have a
Windows- or Unix-based time server as part of your network infrastructure, you should ultimately
synchronize to this source to ensure enterprise-wide synchronization. If you have several MonicoView II
devices on the same network, though, you will find it better to nominate one of these as the master device
for the purpose of setting Daylight Savings Time, and then have that device alone synchronize to the
enterprise time source. You can then configure the other devices to synchronize to the master device, and
enable the Linked DST facility to propagate the Daylight Savings Time setting amongst your units. If you
have no enterprise time source available, you may choose to nominate a single MonicoView II device as
the point where an operator will set the time, and then have other devices synchronize to that source.
Alternatively, if your installation provides TCP/IP access to the Internet via either Ethernet, you may
configure the SNTP client to synchronize to a public time server. An example of this would be 192.6.15.28,
which is the current IP address of a public time server provided by NIST. A list of other servers can be found
at…
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/262680
Note that since MonicoView II uses an IP address and not a host name to reference the SNTP server, it will
lose connection with any server that is relocated to a new network address. While such relocations are
very rare, they are beyond your control and that of Red Lion. The use of an enterprise time source which
accesses its own source via DNS is thus considered preferable!
6.1.3.1.3
Time-Zone Configuration
As mentioned above, a MonicoView II device must have knowledge of the current time-zone if it is to use
advanced time management. This information can be provided in two ways. The easiest method is to use
the Send Time command on the Link menu of the MonicoView II configuration software. In addition to
setting the clock, this command also sends the PC’s current time zone and the status of Daylight Savings
Time. MonicoView II will store this data in non-volatile memory, and use it from that point forward.
Obviously, you should be sure that the PC contains valid time and date information before sending it to the
Summary of Contents for CDL
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