This MIB module defines a MIB which provides mechanisms to monitor an NTP server.
The MIB is derived from the Technical Report #Management of the NTP with SNMP# TR No. 98-09 authored by A.S. Sethi and Dave Mills in the University of Delaware.
Below is a brief overview of NTP system architecture and implementation model. This will help understand the objects defined below and their relationships.
NTP Intro: The Network Time Protocol (NTP) Version 3, is used to synchronize timekeeping among a set of distributed time servers and clients. The service model is based on a returnable-time design which depends only on measured clock offsets, but does not require reliable message delivery. The synchronization subnet uses a self-organizing, hierarchical master-slave configuration, with synchronization paths determined by a minimum-weight spanning tree. While multiple masters (primary servers) may exist, there is no requirement for an election protocol.
System Archiecture: In the NTP model a number of primary reference sources, synchronized by wire or radio to national standards, are connected to widely accessible resources, such as backbone gateways, and operated as primary time servers. The purpose of NTP is to convey timekeeping information from these servers to other time servers via the Internet and also to cross-check clocks and mitigate errors due to equipment or propagation failures. Some number of local-net hosts or gateways, acting as secondary time servers, run NTP with one or more of the primary servers. In order to reduce the protocol overhead, the secondary servers distribute time via NTP to the remaining local-net hosts. In the interest of reliability, selected hosts can be equipped with less accurate but less expensive radio clocks and used for backup in case of failure of the primary and/or secondary servers or communication paths between them.
NTP is designed to produce three products: clock offset, round-trip delay and dispersion, all of which are relative to a selected reference clock. Clock offset represents the amount to adjust the local clock to bring it into correspondence with the reference clock. Roundtrip delay provides the capability to launch a message to arrive at the reference clock at a specified time. Dispersion represents the maximum error of the local clock relative to the reference clock. Since most host time servers will synchronize via another peer time server, there are two components in each of these three products, those determined by the peer relative to the primary reference source of standard time and those measured by the host relative to the peer. Each of these components are maintained separately in the protocol in order to facilitate error control and management of the subnet itself. They provide not only precision measurements of offset and delay, but also definitive maximum error bounds, so that the user interface can determine not only the time, but the quality of the time as well.
Implementation Model: In what may be the most common client/server model a client sends an NTP message to one or more servers and processes the replies as received. The server interchanges addresses and ports, overwrites certain fields in the message, recalculates the checksum and returns the message immediately. Information included in the NTP message allows the client to determine the server time with respect to local time and adjust the local clock accordingly. In addition, the message includes information to calculate the expected timekeeping accuracy and reliability, as well as select the best from possibly several servers.
While the client/server model may suffice for use on local nets involving a public server and perhaps many workstation clients, the full generality of NTP requires distributed participation of a number of client/servers or peers arranged in a dynamically reconfigurable, hierarchically distributed configuration. It also requires sophisticated algorithms for association management, data manipulation and local-clock control.
Glossary: 1. Host: Refers to an instantiation of the NTP protocol on a local processor. 2. Peer: Refers to an instantiation of the NTP protocol on a remote processor connected by a network path from the local host.
NTPLeapIndicator0 = noWarning1 = addSecond2 = subtractSecond3 = alarmThis is a two-bit code warning of an impending leap second to be inserted in the NTP timescale. The bits are set before 23:59 on the day of insertion and reset after 00:00 on the following day. This causes the number of seconds (rollover interval) in the day of insertion to be increased or decreased by one. The two bits are coded as below, 00, no warning 01, last minute has 61 seconds 10, last minute has 59 seconds 11, alarm condition (clock not synchronized)Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol(Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.1 · Integer32
Two-bit code warning of an impending leap second to be inserted in the NTP timescale. This object can be set only when the cntpSysStratum has a value of 1.
cntpSysStratum
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.2
NTPStratumIndicates the stratum of the clock. The stratum defines the accuracy of a time server. Higher the stratum, lower the accuracy. 0, unspecified 1, primary reference (e.g., calibrated atomic clock, radio clock) 2-255, secondary reference (via NTP)Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 2.2 (0..255) · Integer32
The stratum of the local clock. If the value is set to 1, i.e., this is a primary reference, then the Primary-Clock procedure described in Section 3.4.6, in RFC-1305 is invoked.
cntpSysPrecision
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.3
Integer32 (-20..20)
Signed integer indicating the precision of the system clock, in seconds to the nearest power of two. The value must be rounded to the next larger power of two; for instance, a 50-Hz (20 ms) or 60-Hz (16.67 ms) power-frequency clock would be assigned the value -5 (31.25 ms), while a 1000-Hz (1 ms) crystal-controlled clock would be assigned the value -9 (1.95 ms).
cntpSysRootDelay
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.4
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2.2, 3.2.1
A signed fixed-point number indicating the total round-trip delay in seconds, to the primary reference source at the root of the synchronization subnet.
cntpSysRootDispersion
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.5
NTPUnsignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent unsigned quantities like maximum error of the local clock with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The unsigned integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 2.2, 3.2.1
The maximum error in seconds, relative to the primary reference source at the root of the synchronization subnet. Only positive values greater than zero are possible.
cntpSysRefId
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.6
NTPRefIdThe reference clock identifier. In the case of stratum 0 (unspecified) or stratum 1 (primary reference source), this is a four-octet, left-justified, zero-padded ASCII string as defined in RFC-1305. In the case of stratum 2 and greater (secondary reference) this is the four-octet Internet address of the peer selected for synchronization.
Some examples of stratum 0 identifiers are, DCN, DCN routing protocol NIST, NIST public modem TSP, TSP time protocol DTS, Digital Time Service
Some examples of stratum 1 identifiers are, ATOM, Atomic clock (calibrated) VLF, VLF radio (OMEGA,, etc.) LORC, LORAN-C radionavigation GOES, GOES UHF environment satellite GPS, GPS UHF satellite positioningReference: D.L. Mills, Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING
The reference identifier of the local clock.
cntpSysRefTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.7
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The local time when the local clock was last updated. If the local clock has never been synchronized, the value is zero.
cntpSysPoll
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.8
NTPPollIntervalThe minimum interval between transmitted NTP messages, in seconds as a power of two. For instance, a value of six indicates a minimum interval of 64 seconds. (-20..20) · Integer32
The interval at which the NTP server polls other NTP servers to synchronize its clock.
cntpSysPeer
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.9
NTPAssocIdentifierThe association identifier of the peer. Every peer with which an NTP server is associated with is identified by an association identifier. (0..2147483647) · Integer32
The current synchronization source. This will contain the unique association identifier cntpPeersAssocId of the corresponding peer entry in the cntpPeersVarTable of the peer acting as the synchronization source. If there is no peer, the value will be 0.
cntpSysClock
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.1.10
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The current local time. Local time is derived from the hardware clock of the particular machine and increments at intervals depending on the design used.
Current state of the NTP server with values coded as follows: 1: server status is unknown 2: server is not running 3: server is not synchronized to any time source 4: server is synchronized to its own local clock 5: server is synchronized to a local hardware refclock (e.g. GPS) 6: server is synchronized to a remote NTP server
Table details
cntpPeersVarTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1
Index: cntpPeersAssocId
This table provides information on the peers with which the local NTP server has associations. The peers are also NTP servers but running on different hosts.
cntpPeersAssocId
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.1
NTPAssocIdentifierThe association identifier of the peer. Every peer with which an NTP server is associated with is identified by an association identifier. (0..2147483647) · Integer32
An integer value greater than 0 that uniquely identifies a peer with which the local NTP server is associated.
cntpPeersConfigured
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.2
TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32
This is a bit indicating that the association was created from configuration information and should not be de-associated even if the peer becomes unreachable.
cntpPeersPeerAddress
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.3
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address of the peer. When creating a new association, a value should be set either for this object or the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerName, before the row is made active.
cntpPeersPeerPort
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.4
Integer32 (1..65535)
The UDP port number on which the peer receives NTP messages.
cntpPeersHostAddress
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.5
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address of the local host. Multi-homing can be supported using this object.
cntpPeersHostPort
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.6
Integer32 (1..65535)
The UDP port number on which the local host receives NTP messages.
cntpPeersLeap
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.7
NTPLeapIndicator0 = noWarning1 = addSecond2 = subtractSecond3 = alarmThis is a two-bit code warning of an impending leap second to be inserted in the NTP timescale. The bits are set before 23:59 on the day of insertion and reset after 00:00 on the following day. This causes the number of seconds (rollover interval) in the day of insertion to be increased or decreased by one. The two bits are coded as below, 00, no warning 01, last minute has 61 seconds 10, last minute has 59 seconds 11, alarm condition (clock not synchronized)Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol(Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.1 · Integer32
Two-bit code warning of an impending leap second to be inserted in the NTP timescale of the peer.
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.3
The association mode of the NTP server, with values coded as follows, 0, unspecified 1, symmetric active - A host operating in this mode sends periodic messages regardless of the reachability state or stratum of its peer. By operating in this mode the host announces its willingness to synchronize and be synchronized by the peer 2, symmetric passive - This type of association is ordinarily created upon arrival of a message from a peer operating in the symmetric active mode and persists only as long as the peer is reachable and operating at a stratum level less than or equal to the host; otherwise, the association is dissolved. However, the association will always persist until at least one message has been sent in reply. By operating in this mode the host announces its willingness to synchronize and be synchronized by the peer
3, client - A host operating in this mode sends
periodic messages regardless of the reachability state or stratum of its peer. By operating in this mode the host, usually a LAN workstation, announces its willingness to be synchronized by, but not to synchronize the peer 4, server - This type of association is ordinarily created upon arrival of a client request message and exists only in order to reply to that request, after which the association is dissolved. By operating in this mode the host, usually a LAN time server, announces its willingness to synchronize, but not to be synchronized by the peer 5, broadcast - A host operating in this mode sends periodic messages regardless of the reachability state or stratum of the peers. By operating in this mode the host, usually a LAN time server operating on a high-speed broadcast medium, announces its willingness to synchronize all of the peers, but not to be synchronized by any of them 6, reserved for NTP control messages 7, reserved for private use.
When creating a new peer association, if no value is specified for this object, it defaults to symmetricActive(1).
cntpPeersStratum
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.9
NTPStratumIndicates the stratum of the clock. The stratum defines the accuracy of a time server. Higher the stratum, lower the accuracy. 0, unspecified 1, primary reference (e.g., calibrated atomic clock, radio clock) 2-255, secondary reference (via NTP)Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 2.2 (0..255) · Integer32
The stratum of the peer clock.
cntpPeersPeerPoll
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.10
NTPPollIntervalThe minimum interval between transmitted NTP messages, in seconds as a power of two. For instance, a value of six indicates a minimum interval of 64 seconds. (-20..20) · Integer32
The interval at which the peer polls the local host.
cntpPeersHostPoll
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.11
NTPPollIntervalThe minimum interval between transmitted NTP messages, in seconds as a power of two. For instance, a value of six indicates a minimum interval of 64 seconds. (-20..20) · Integer32
The interval at which the local host polls the peer.
cntpPeersPrecision
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.12
Integer32 (-20..20)
Signed integer indicating the precision of the peer clock, in seconds to the nearest power of two. The value must be rounded to the next larger power of two; for instance, a 50-Hz (20 ms) or 60-Hz (16.67 ms) power-frequency clock would be assigned the value -5 (31.25 ms), while a 1000-Hz (1 ms) crystal-controlled clock would be assigned the value -9 (1.95 ms).
cntpPeersRootDelay
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.13
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
A signed fixed-point number indicating the total round-trip delay in seconds, from the peer to the primary reference source at the root of the synchronization subnet.
cntpPeersRootDispersion
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.14
NTPUnsignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent unsigned quantities like maximum error of the local clock with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The unsigned integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
The maximum error in seconds, of the peer clock relative to the primary reference source at the root of the synchronization subnet. Only positive values greater than zero are possible.
cntpPeersRefId
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.15
NTPRefIdThe reference clock identifier. In the case of stratum 0 (unspecified) or stratum 1 (primary reference source), this is a four-octet, left-justified, zero-padded ASCII string as defined in RFC-1305. In the case of stratum 2 and greater (secondary reference) this is the four-octet Internet address of the peer selected for synchronization.
Some examples of stratum 0 identifiers are, DCN, DCN routing protocol NIST, NIST public modem TSP, TSP time protocol DTS, Digital Time Service
Some examples of stratum 1 identifiers are, ATOM, Atomic clock (calibrated) VLF, VLF radio (OMEGA,, etc.) LORC, LORAN-C radionavigation GOES, GOES UHF environment satellite GPS, GPS UHF satellite positioningReference: D.L. Mills, Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING
The reference identifier of the peer.
cntpPeersRefTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.16
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The local time at the peer when its clock was last updated. If the peer clock has never been synchronized, the value is zero.
cntpPeersOrgTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.17
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The local time at the peer, when its latest NTP message was sent. If the peer becomes unreachable the value is set to zero.
cntpPeersReceiveTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.18
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The local time, when the latest NTP message from the peer arrived. If the peer becomes unreachable the value is set to zero.
cntpPeersTransmitTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.19
NTPTimeStampNTP timestamps are represented as a 64-bit unsigned fixed-point number, in seconds relative to 00:00 on 1 January 1900. The integer part is in the first 32 bits and the fraction part is in the last 32 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.1 SIZE (8) · OCTET STRING
The local time at which the NTP message departed the sender.
cntpPeersUpdateTime
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.20
Integer32 (0..2147483647)
The local time, when the most recent NTP message was received from the peer that was used to calculate the skew dispersion. This represents only the 32-bit integer part of the NTPTimestamp.
cntpPeersReach
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.21
Integer32 (0..255)
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.3
A shift register of used to determine the reachability status of the peer, with bits entering from the least significant (rightmost) end. A peer is considered reachable if at least one bit in this register is set to one i.e, if the value of this object is non-zero. The data in the shift register would be populated by the NTP protocol procedures.
cntpPeersTimer
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.22
Integer32 (0..2147483647) · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.3
The interval in seconds, between transmitted NTP messages from the local host to the peer.
cntpPeersOffset
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.23
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.5
The estimated offset of the peer clock relative to the local clock, in seconds. The host determines the value of this object using the NTP clock-filter algorithm.
cntpPeersDelay
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.24
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.5
The estimated round-trip delay of the peer clock relative to the local clock over the network path between them, in seconds. The host determines the value of this object using the NTP clock-filter algorithm.
cntpPeersDispersion
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.25
NTPUnsignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent unsigned quantities like maximum error of the local clock with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The unsigned integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.5
The estimated maximum error of the peer clock relative to the local clock over the network path between them, in seconds. The host determines the value of this object using the NTP clock-filter algorithm.
cntpPeersFilterValidEntries
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.26
Gauge32
The number of valid entries for a peer in the Filter Register Table. Since, the Filter Register Table is optional, this object will have a value 0 if the Filter Register Table is not implemented.
cntpPeersEntryStatus
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.27
RowStatus1 = active2 = notInService3 = notReady4 = createAndGo5 = createAndWait6 = destroyThe RowStatus textual convention is used to manage the creation and deletion of conceptual rows, and is used as the value of the SYNTAX clause for the status column of a conceptual row (as described in Section 7.7.1 of [2].)
The status column has six defined values:
- `active', which indicates that the conceptual row is available for use by the managed device;
- `notInService', which indicates that the conceptual row exists in the agent, but is unavailable for use by the managed device (see NOTE below); 'notInService' has no implication regarding the internal consistency of the row, availability of resources, or consistency with the current state of the managed device;
- `notReady', which indicates that the conceptual row exists in the agent, but is missing information necessary in order to be available for use by the managed device (i.e., one or more required columns in the conceptual row have not been instanciated);
- `createAndGo', which is supplied by a management station wishing to create a new instance of a conceptual row and to have its status automatically set to active, making it available for use by the managed device;
- `createAndWait', which is supplied by a management station wishing to create a new instance of a conceptual row (but not make it available for use by the managed device); and, - `destroy', which is supplied by a management station wishing to delete all of the instances associated with an existing conceptual row.
Whereas five of the six values (all except `notReady') may be specified in a management protocol set operation, only three values will be returned in response to a management
protocol retrieval operation: `notReady', `notInService' or
`active'. That is, when queried, an existing conceptual row
has only three states: it is either available for use by
the managed device (the status column has value `active'); it is not available for use by the managed device, though the agent has sufficient information to attempt to make it so (the status column has value `notInService'); or, it is not available for use by the managed device, and an attempt to make it so would fail because the agent has insufficient information (the state column has value `notReady').
NOTE WELL
This textual convention may be used for a MIB table, irrespective of whether the values of that table's conceptual rows are able to be modified while it is active, or whether its conceptual rows must be taken out of service in order to be modified. That is, it is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to specify whether the status column must not be `active' in order for the value of some other column of the same conceptual row to be modified. If such a specification is made, affected columns may be changed by an SNMP set PDU if the RowStatus would not be equal to `active' either immediately before or after processing the PDU. In other words, if the PDU also contained a varbind that would change the RowStatus value, the column in question may be changed if the RowStatus was not equal to `active' as the PDU was received, or if the varbind sets the status to a value other than 'active'.
Also note that whenever any elements of a row exist, the RowStatus column must also exist.
To summarize the effect of having a conceptual row with a status column having a SYNTAX clause value of RowStatus, consider the following state diagram:
STATE +--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
| A | B | C | D
| |status col.|status column|
|status column | is | is |status column
ACTION |does not exist| notReady | notInService| is active
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set status |noError ->D|inconsist- |inconsistent-|inconsistent-
column to | or | entValue| Value| Value
createAndGo |inconsistent- | | |
| Value| | |
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set status |noError see 1|inconsist- |inconsistent-|inconsistent-
column to | or | entValue| Value| Value
createAndWait |wrongValue | | |
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set status |inconsistent- |inconsist- |noError |noError
column to | Value| entValue| |
active | | | |
| | or | |
| | | |
| |see 2 ->D|see 8 ->D| ->D
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set status |inconsistent- |inconsist- |noError |noError ->C
column to | Value| entValue| |
notInService | | | |
| | or | | or
| | | |
| |see 3 ->C| ->C|see 6
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set status |noError |noError |noError |noError ->A
column to | | | | or
destroy | ->A| ->A| ->A|see 7
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
set any other |see 4 |noError |noError |see 5
column to some| | | |
value | | see 1| ->C| ->D
--------------+--------------+-----------+-------------+-------------
(1) goto B or C, depending on information available to the agent.
(2) if other variable bindings included in the same PDU, provide values for all columns which are missing but required, and all columns have acceptable values, then return noError and goto D.
(3) if other variable bindings included in the same PDU, provide legal values for all columns which are missing but required, then return noError and goto C.
(4) at the discretion of the agent, the return value may be either:
inconsistentName: because the agent does not choose to
create such an instance when the corresponding RowStatus instance does not exist, or
inconsistentValue: if the supplied value is
inconsistent with the state of some other MIB object's value, or
noError: because the agent chooses to create the instance.
If noError is returned, then the instance of the status column must also be created, and the new state is B or C, depending on the information available to the agent. If inconsistentName or inconsistentValue is returned, the row remains in state A.
(5) depending on the MIB definition for the column/table, either noError or inconsistentValue may be returned.
(6) the return value can indicate one of the following errors:
wrongValue: because the agent does not support notInService (e.g., an agent which does not support createAndWait), or
inconsistentValue: because the agent is unable to take the row out of service at this time, perhaps because it is in use and cannot be de-activated.
(7) the return value can indicate the following error:
inconsistentValue: because the agent is unable to remove the row at this time, perhaps because it is in use and cannot be de-activated.
(8) the transition to D can fail, e.g., if the values of the conceptual row are inconsistent, then the error code would be inconsistentValue.
NOTE: Other processing of (this and other varbinds of) the set request may result in a response other than noError being returned, e.g., wrongValue, noCreation, etc.
Conceptual Row Creation
There are four potential interactions when creating a
conceptual row: selecting an instance-identifier which is
not in use; creating the conceptual row; initializing any objects for which the agent does not supply a default; and, making the conceptual row available for use by the managed device.
Interaction 1: Selecting an Instance-Identifier
The algorithm used to select an instance-identifier varies for each conceptual row. In some cases, the instance- identifier is semantically significant, e.g., the destination address of a route, and a management station selects the instance-identifier according to the semantics.
In other cases, the instance-identifier is used solely to distinguish conceptual rows, and a management station without specific knowledge of the conceptual row might examine the instances present in order to determine an unused instance-identifier. (This approach may be used, but it is often highly sub-optimal; however, it is also a questionable practice for a naive management station to attempt conceptual row creation.)
Alternately, the MIB module which defines the conceptual row might provide one or more objects which provide assistance in determining an unused instance-identifier. For example, if the conceptual row is indexed by an integer-value, then an object having an integer-valued SYNTAX clause might be defined for such a purpose, allowing a management station to issue a management protocol retrieval operation. In order to avoid unnecessary collisions between competing management stations, `adjacent' retrievals of this object should be different.
Finally, the management station could select a pseudo-random number to use as the index. In the event that this index
was already in use and an inconsistentValue was returned in response to the management protocol set operation, the management station should simply select a new pseudo-random number and retry the operation.
A MIB designer should choose between the two latter algorithms based on the size of the table (and therefore the efficiency of each algorithm). For tables in which a large number of entries are expected, it is recommended that a MIB object be defined that returns an acceptable index for creation. For tables with small numbers of entries, it is recommended that the latter pseudo-random index mechanism be used.
Interaction 2: Creating the Conceptual Row
Once an unused instance-identifier has been selected, the management station determines if it wishes to create and activate the conceptual row in one transaction or in a negotiated set of interactions.
Interaction 2a: Creating and Activating the Conceptual Row
The management station must first determine the column requirements, i.e., it must determine those columns for which it must or must not provide values. Depending on the complexity of the table and the management station's knowledge of the agent's capabilities, this determination can be made locally by the management station. Alternately, the management station issues a management protocol get operation to examine all columns in the conceptual row that it wishes to create. In response, for each column, there are three possible outcomes:
- a value is returned, indicating that some other management station has already created this conceptual row. We return to interaction 1.
- the exception `noSuchInstance' is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column, and that this column in at least one conceptual row would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval were it to exist. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access, the `noSuchInstance' exception tells the management station that it should supply a value for this column when the conceptual row is to be created.
- the exception `noSuchObject' is returned, indicating that the agent does not implement the object-type associated with this column or that there is no conceptual row for which this column would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval. As such, the management station can not issue any management protocol set operations to create an instance of this column.
Once the column requirements have been determined, a management protocol set operation is accordingly issued. This operation also sets the new instance of the status column to `createAndGo'.
When the agent processes the set operation, it verifies that it has sufficient information to make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device. The information
available to the agent is provided by two sources: the
management protocol set operation which creates the conceptual row, and, implementation-specific defaults supplied by the agent (note that an agent must provide implementation-specific defaults for at least those objects which it implements as read-only). If there is sufficient information available, then the conceptual row is created, a `noError' response is returned, the status column is set to `active', and no further interactions are necessary (i.e., interactions 3 and 4 are skipped). If there is insufficient information, then the conceptual row is not created, and the set operation fails with an error of `inconsistentValue'. On this error, the management station can issue a management protocol retrieval operation to determine if this was because it failed to specify a value for a required column, or, because the selected instance of the status column already existed. In the latter case, we return to interaction 1. In the former case, the management station can re-issue the set operation with the additional information, or begin interaction 2 again using `createAndWait' in order to negotiate creation of the conceptual row.
NOTE WELL
Regardless of the method used to determine the column requirements, it is possible that the management station might deem a column necessary when, in fact, the agent will not allow that particular columnar instance to be created or written. In this case, the management protocol set operation will fail with an error such as `noCreation' or `notWritable'. In this case, the management station decides whether it needs to be able to set a value for that particular columnar instance. If not, the management station re-issues the management protocol set operation, but without setting a value for that particular columnar instance; otherwise, the management station aborts the row creation algorithm.
Interaction 2b: Negotiating the Creation of the Conceptual Row
The management station issues a management protocol set operation which sets the desired instance of the status column to `createAndWait'. If the agent is unwilling to process a request of this sort, the set operation fails with an error of `wrongValue'. (As a consequence, such an agent must be prepared to accept a single management protocol set operation, i.e., interaction 2a above, containing all of the
columns indicated by its column requirements.) Otherwise,
the conceptual row is created, a `noError' response is returned, and the status column is immediately set to either `notInService' or `notReady', depending on whether it has sufficient information to (attempt to) make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device. If there is sufficient information available, then the status column is set to `notInService'; otherwise, if there is insufficient information, then the status column is set to `notReady'. Regardless, we proceed to interaction 3.
Interaction 3: Initializing non-defaulted Objects
The management station must now determine the column requirements. It issues a management protocol get operation to examine all columns in the created conceptual row. In the response, for each column, there are three possible outcomes:
- a value is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column and had sufficient information to provide a value. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access (and for which the agent allows their values to be changed after their creation), a value return tells the management station that it may issue additional management protocol set operations, if it desires, in order to change the value associated with this column.
- the exception `noSuchInstance' is returned, indicating that the agent implements the object-type associated with this column, and that this column in at least one conceptual row would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval were it to exist. However, the agent does not have sufficient information to provide a value, and until a value is provided, the conceptual row may not be made available for use by the managed device. For those columns to which the agent provides read-create access, the `noSuchInstance' exception tells the management station that it must issue additional management protocol set operations, in order to provide a value associated with this column.
- the exception `noSuchObject' is returned, indicating that the agent does not implement the object-type associated with this column or that there is no conceptual row for which this column would be accessible in the MIB view used by the retrieval. As such, the management station can not issue any management protocol set operations to create an instance of this column.
If the value associated with the status column is `notReady', then the management station must first deal with all `noSuchInstance' columns, if any. Having done so, the value of the status column becomes `notInService', and we proceed to interaction 4.
Interaction 4: Making the Conceptual Row Available
Once the management station is satisfied with the values associated with the columns of the conceptual row, it issues a management protocol set operation to set the status column to `active'. If the agent has sufficient information to make the conceptual row available for use by the managed device, the management protocol set operation succeeds (a `noError' response is returned). Otherwise, the management protocol set operation fails with an error of `inconsistentValue'.
NOTE WELL
A conceptual row having a status column with value `notInService' or `notReady' is unavailable to the managed device. As such, it is possible for the managed device to create its own instances during the time between the management protocol set operation which sets the status column to `createAndWait' and the management protocol set operation which sets the status column to `active'. In this case, when the management protocol set operation is issued to set the status column to `active', the values held in the agent supersede those used by the managed device.
If the management station is prevented from setting the status column to `active' (e.g., due to management station or network failure) the conceptual row will be left in the `notInService' or `notReady' state, consuming resources indefinitely. The agent must detect conceptual rows that have been in either state for an abnormally long period of time and remove them. It is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to indicate what an abnormally long period of time would be. This period of time should be long enough to allow for human response time (including `think time') between the creation of the conceptual row and the setting of the status to `active'. In the absence of such information in the DESCRIPTION clause, it is suggested that this period be approximately 5 minutes in length. This removal action applies not only to newly-created rows, but also to previously active rows which are set to, and left in, the notInService state for a prolonged period exceeding that which is considered normal for such a conceptual row.
Conceptual Row Suspension
When a conceptual row is `active', the management station may issue a management protocol set operation which sets the instance of the status column to `notInService'. If the agent is unwilling to do so, the set operation fails with an error of `wrongValue' or `inconsistentValue'. Otherwise, the conceptual row is taken out of service, and a `noError' response is returned. It is the responsibility of the DESCRIPTION clause of the status column to indicate under what circumstances the status column should be taken out of service (e.g., in order for the value of some other column of the same conceptual row to be modified).
Conceptual Row Deletion
For deletion of conceptual rows, a management protocol set operation is issued which sets the instance of the status column to `destroy'. This request may be made regardless of the current value of the status column (e.g., it is possible to delete conceptual rows which are either `notReady',
`notInService' or `active'.) If the operation succeeds,
then all instances associated with the conceptual row are immediately removed. · Integer32
The status object for this row. When a management station is creating a new row, it should set the value for cntpPeersPeerAddress at least, before the row can be made active(1).
cntpPeersUpdateTimeRev1
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.28
Unsigned32
The local time, when the most recent NTP message was received from the peer that was used to calculate the skew dispersion. This represents only the 32-bit integer part of the NTPTimestamp.
cntpPeersPrefPeer
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.29
TruthValue1 = true2 = falseRepresents a boolean value. · Integer32
This object specifies whether this peer is the preferred one over the others. By default, when the value of this object is 'false', NTP chooses the peer with which to synchronize the time on the local system. If this object is set to 'true', NTP will choose the corresponding peer to synchronize the time with. If multiple entries have this object set to 'true', NTP will choose the first one to be set. This object is a means to override the selection of the peer by NTP.
cntpPeersPeerType
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.30
InetAddressType0 = unknown1 = ipv42 = ipv63 = ipv4z4 = ipv6z16 = dnsA value that represents a type of Internet address.
unknown(0) An unknown address type. This value MUST
be used if the value of the corresponding InetAddress object is a zero-length string. It may also be used to indicate an IP address that is not in one of the formats defined below.
ipv4(1) An IPv4 address as defined by the
InetAddressIPv4 textual convention.
ipv6(2) An IPv6 address as defined by the
InetAddressIPv6 textual convention.
ipv4z(3) A non-global IPv4 address including a zone
index as defined by the InetAddressIPv4z textual convention.
ipv6z(4) A non-global IPv6 address including a zone
index as defined by the InetAddressIPv6z textual convention.
dns(16) A DNS domain name as defined by the
InetAddressDNS textual convention.
Each definition of a concrete InetAddressType value must be accompanied by a definition of a textual convention for use with that InetAddressType.
To support future extensions, the InetAddressType textual convention SHOULD NOT be sub-typed in object type definitions. It MAY be sub-typed in compliance statements in order to require only a subset of these address types for a compliant implementation.
Implementations must ensure that InetAddressType objects and any dependent objects (e.g., InetAddress objects) are consistent. An inconsistentValue error must be generated if an attempt to change an InetAddressType object would, for example, lead to an undefined InetAddress value. In particular, InetAddressType/InetAddress pairs must be changed together if the address type changes (e.g., from ipv6(2) to ipv4(1)). · Integer32
Represents the type of the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerName object.
cntpPeersPeerName
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.31
InetAddressDenotes a generic Internet address.
An InetAddress value is always interpreted within the context of an InetAddressType value. Every usage of the InetAddress textual convention is required to specify the InetAddressType object that provides the context. It is suggested that the InetAddressType object be logically registered before the object(s) that use the InetAddress textual convention, if they appear in the same logical row.
The value of an InetAddress object must always be consistent with the value of the associated InetAddressType object. Attempts to set an InetAddress object to a value inconsistent with the associated InetAddressType must fail with an inconsistentValue error.
When this textual convention is used as the syntax of an index object, there may be issues with the limit of 128 sub-identifiers specified in SMIv2, STD 58. In this case, the object definition MUST include a 'SIZE' clause to limit the number of potential instance sub-identifiers; otherwise the applicable constraints MUST be stated in the appropriate conceptual row DESCRIPTION clauses, or in the surrounding documentation if there is no single DESCRIPTION clause that is appropriate. SIZE (0..255) · OCTET STRING
The address of the peer. When creating a new association, a value must be set for either this object or the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerAddress object, before the row is made active.
cntpFilterRegisterTable
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.3.2
Index: cntpPeersAssocId · cntpFilterIndex
Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Section 3.2.5
The following table contains NTP state variables used by the NTP clock filter and selection algorithms. This table depicts a shift register. Each stage in the shift register is a 3-tuple consisting of the measured clock offset, measured clock delay and measured clock dispersion associated with a single observation.
An important factor affecting the accuracy and reliability of time distribution is the complex of algorithms used to reduce the effect of statistical errors and falsetickers due to failure of various subnet components, reference sources or propagation media. The NTP clock-filter and selection algorithms are designed to do exactly this. The objects in the filter register table below are used by these algorthims to minimize the error in the calculated time.
cntpFilterIndex
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.3.2.1.1
Integer32 (1..8)
An integer value in the specified range that is used to index into the table. The size of the table is fixed at 8. Each entry identifies a particular reading of the clock filter variables in the shift register.
Entries are added starting at index 1. The index wraps back to 1 when it reaches 8. When the index wraps back, the new entries will overwrite the old entries effectively deleting the old entry.
cntpFilterPeersOffset
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.3.2.1.2
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
The offset of the peer clock relative to the local clock in seconds.
cntpFilterPeersDelay
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.3.2.1.3
NTPSignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent signed quantities like time delay with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The signed integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)',
RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
Round-trip delay of the peer clock relative to the local clock over the network path between them, in seconds. This variable can take on both positive and negative values, depending on clock precision and skew-error accumulation.
cntpFilterPeersDispersion
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.3.2.1.4
NTPUnsignedTimeValueThe time in seconds that could represent unsigned quantities like maximum error of the local clock with respect to some source. This textual-convention is specific to Cisco implementation of NTP where 32-bit integers are used for such quantities. The unsigned integer part is in the first 16 bits and the fraction part is in the last 16 bits.Reference: D.L. Mills, 'Network Time Protocol (Version 3)', RFC-1305, March 1992, Sections 2, 3.2.1 SIZE (4) · OCTET STRING · seconds
The maximum error of the peer clock relative to the local clock over the network path between them, in seconds. Only positive values greater than zero are possible.
Trap details
ciscoNtpSrvStatusChange
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.0.1
This notification is generated whenever the value of cntpSysSrvStatus changes.
Current state of the NTP server with values coded as follows: 1: server status is unknown 2: server is not running 3: server is not synchronized to any time source 4: server is synchronized to its own local clock 5: server is synchronized to a local hardware refclock (e.g. GPS) 6: server is synchronized to a remote NTP server
ciscoNtpHighPriorityConnFailure
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.0.2
A failure to connect with an high priority NTP server (e.g. a server at the lowest stratum) is detected.
cntpPeersPeerAddress
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.3
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address of the peer. When creating a new association, a value should be set either for this object or the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerName, before the row is made active.
ciscoNtpHighPriorityConnRestore
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.0.3
A connection with an high priority NTP server (e.g. a server at the lowest stratum) is restored.
cntpPeersPeerAddress
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.3
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address of the peer. When creating a new association, a value should be set either for this object or the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerName, before the row is made active.
ciscoNtpGeneralConnFailure
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.0.4
This trap is sent when the device loses connectivity to all NTP servers.
ciscoNtpGeneralConnRestore
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.0.5
This trap is sent when the connection with at least one NTP server has been restored (e.g. after a ciscoNtpGeneralConnFailure).
cntpPeersPeerAddress
1.3.6.1.4.1.9.9.168.1.2.1.1.3
IpAddress SIZE (4)
The IP address of the peer. When creating a new association, a value should be set either for this object or the corresponding instance of cntpPeersPeerName, before the row is made active.