I've been having a lot of problems with my System Clock (as shown in settings tab on UnRAID) always being out. I think part of the problem is I suspect the BIOS on my motherboard is not keeping the time correct. However, I'd really like some help in determining whether that's the case or not and then sorting out a course of action to fix the problem. Here's a quick log of what I've done...

 

* Stop UnRAID and power down cleanly

* Hit hardware reboot button

* Enter BIOS and note time displayed

* Time/Date displayed in BIOS is Friday 01/15/2010 21:42

* ACTUAL Time/Date is Monday 12/28/2009 08:54

* Reset BIOS clock to correct Time/Date - Monday 12/28/2009 08:56

* Save changes in BIOS & allow UnRAID to start

* Check Time/Date in UnRAID web browser settings tab

* Time zone is listed as (custom), Use NTP: No, NTP Server 1: pool.ntp.org

* Current date & time: 12/28/2009 10:00:15 PM (NZDT)

* Actual date & time: 12/28/2009 09:02 AM

 

I note that even just after starting UnRAID up, although the date is now correct, the clock has already advanced about 13 hours!

 

Also, when I look on the main UnRAID page I can see the last successful parity check occurred 1/7/2010 12:01:32!

 

If anyone can help get me started I'd be grateful! 

 

Ross

 

One thing to know is that Linux/unix systems keep the system clock on GMT.  So, if you're setting it in the bios and thinking you're going to see the same date/time, you will need to be somewhere in England.

 

I would highly recommend that you use NTP as it's a protocol designed to try to keep hardware in sync even if it drifts. 

Thanks. That is handy to know.

 

However, it still looks like I have an issue. If I change the time zone to GMT + 13 hours (which should be correct while we are on daylight saving time) and change the "Use NTP:" field to "YES", and apply the change, it's now showing the date/time as 12/30/2009 3:12 AM, when the ACTUAL date/time is 12/28/2009 13:16 (PM).

 

Is it still referencing the BIOS clock somehow?

 

BTW...I'm using UnRAID v4.3.3.

Thanks. That is handy to know.

 

However, it still looks like I have an issue. If I change the time zone to GMT + 13 hours (which should be correct while we are on daylight saving time) and change the "Use NTP:" field to "YES", and apply the change, it's now showing the date/time as 12/30/2009 3:12 AM, when the ACTUAL date/time is 12/28/2009 13:16 (PM).

 

Is it still referencing the BIOS clock somehow?

 

BTW...I'm using UnRAID v4.3.3.

The time-zone +13 is probably what is confusing you.  Unlike most notation, the offset on the unRAID settings page is from your point of view, not from GMT. 

 

For example, I'm on the east coast of the US, my time-zone should be 5 hours behind GMT, but if I was using the time-zone offset feature of unRAID, I'd have to set it to +5 hours, as GMT is 5 hours ahead of me.

 

If you use the explicit time-zone you will not automatically change time at daylight-savings-time (if it is used in your country)

Instead, you should download and put into place the custom "timezone" file corresponding to your location and set your time-zone to "(custom)"

 

Not knowing which time-zone file you have installed, it would be difficult to know how it is affecting your time display.  I'd re-download the one for your location and put into place on your flash drive.  (Not sure if you need to reboot to have it take effect or not)

 

Joe L. 

Thanks Joe!

 

I do vaguely remember using a "custom" timezone file. However, the link in the wiki used for downloading the timezone files doesn't appear to be working at the moment - "http://download.lime-technology.com/timezone/" - I get a 509 Bandwidth Limit Exceeded message, and I can't seem to find timezone mentioned anywhere else on the main site. So, for the moment, I can't re-download my timezone file.

Is this the same problem you have

 

Dec 28 09:08:14 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 09:14:41 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.913377 s
Dec 28 09:17:30 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 09:29:29 Tower kernel: mdcmd (259): spindown 6
Dec 28 09:29:50 Tower kernel: mdcmd (263): spindown 2
Dec 28 09:30:01 Tower kernel: mdcmd (266): spindown 3
Dec 28 09:30:02 Tower kernel: mdcmd (267): spindown 4
Dec 28 09:30:13 Tower kernel: mdcmd (270): spindown 5
Dec 28 09:30:14 Tower kernel: mdcmd (271): spindown 7
Dec 28 09:30:14 Tower kernel: mdcmd (272): spindown 8
Dec 28 09:30:22 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.955040 s
Dec 28 09:31:12 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 09:47:12 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.996864 s
Dec 28 09:47:44 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 10:03:37 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.985678 s
Dec 28 10:04:09 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 10:04:20 Tower kernel: mdcmd (575): spindown 0
Dec 28 10:20:01 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.979302 s
Dec 28 10:20:59 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 10:36:59 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.997432 s
Dec 28 10:40:45 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2
Dec 28 10:52:37 Tower ntpd[1282]: time reset +1.948542 s
Dec 28 10:55:17 Tower ntpd[1282]: synchronized to 83.226.240.252, stratum 2

I don't think so, but then again I haven't looked at any logs yet.

 

If UnRAID is still using the custom timezone files then the link in the wiki doesn't seem to be pointing to the correct place.

I don't think so, but then again I haven't looked at any logs yet.

 

If UnRAID is still using the custom timezone files then the link in the wiki doesn't seem to be pointing to the correct place.

Tom is in the process of changing hosts for the web-site.

 

This post has a link to the newer download area by its IP address, but the directory with the time-zone files are not yet there.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=4937.0

 

Joe L.

Tom is in the process of changing hosts for the web-site.

 

This post has a link to the newer download area by its IP address, but the directory with the time-zone files are not yet there.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=4937.0

 

Joe L.

 

Thanks Joe.

I guess I'll just wait until the timezone directory is in place before trying this out again. In the meantime I will reboot my UnRAID server, enter the BIOS and see whether the date/time has shifted again - I suspect it might have but I'll check to see.

Tom is in the process of changing hosts for the web-site.

 

This post has a link to the newer download area by its IP address, but the directory with the time-zone files are not yet there.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=4937.0

 

Joe L.

 

Thanks Joe.

I guess I'll just wait until the timezone directory is in place before trying this out again. In the meantime I will reboot my UnRAID server, enter the BIOS and see whether the date/time has shifted again - I suspect it might have but I'll check to see.

 

You could try replacing the motherboard battery in the unRAID machine to see if that makes any difference.

BTW...I'm using UnRAID v4.3.3

 

Also be aware that if you decide to turn on NTP, it did not work correctly for many users until unRAID v4.5-beta6 (I believe), so I recommend upgrading.

OK, it looks like the timezone files are back up again. However, I'm not sure which one to use.

 

I would normally be +12 hours on GMT, but because of daylight saving I think we're now +13 hours. I live in New Zealand so, in the absence of a NZ Timezone file, Australia comes close, but maybe Pacific.

 

Any thoughts as to which it should be?

OK, it looks like the timezone files are back up again. However, I'm not sure which one to use.

 

I would normally be +12 hours on GMT, but because of daylight saving I think we're now +13 hours. I live in New Zealand so, in the absence of a NZ Timezone file, Australia comes close, but maybe Pacific.

 

Any thoughts as to which it should be?

 

Here's the NZ Timezone file:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/4jzmwtw4uim/NZ

MD5: 2BCF2F33917BED5122C58A4F208066A9

 

 

purko, thanks very much for that!

 

BTW....RobJ, I'm not following your comment - "if you decide to turn on NTP..."  so is this something I SHOULD do, or SHOULDN'T do? I've installed purko's NZ Timezone file. In that case do I need to turn on NTP?

BTW....RobJ, I'm not following your comment - "if you decide to turn on NTP..."  so is this something I SHOULD do, or SHOULDN'T do? I've installed purko's NZ Timezone file. In that case do I need to turn on NTP?

Well, if you want your server to keep correct time then yes, you should turn on ntp.

It may not work correctly on that old unRAID version though. You better upgrade to the latest unRAID.

The timezone file by itself doesn't do you any good without ntp.

 

If your clock drifts (all of them do) by a fair amount (minutes per day) then you will likely want to enable NTP. It doesn't take much (any?) cpu but will use minor network resources. The theory behind NTP is it learns the drift rate of your clock, adjusting the compensation factors until it's able to retain accurate time without having to do large adjustments. It may take some time (a day or two?) until this occurs. Until then, it will check with the various NTP servers you selected and adjust it's local clock frequently (every 5-15 minutes ?).

Thanks purko & BRiT,

 

Sounds like an Unraid upgrade is on the cards!