Technical data

IronWare Software Release 07.2.02j for Brocade FastIron switches
Release Notes v 1.0 Page 15 of 79
the specified stratum number (or the default value of 1). When it is synchronized with the upstream
server, the Brocade device will use the upstream server’s stratum number plus 1.
If you do not include the use-local-clock option the Brocade device will function as specified by RFC
4330: when the Brocade device loses upstream synchronization, it will respond to client SNTP requests
with a “kiss-of-death” response (stratum value=0).
To enable the use-local-clock option, you must set the internal clock of the Brocade device either by
SNTP synchronization (see “Specifying an SNTP server” on page 17) or by using the clock set command
(see “Setting the system clock” on page 30). Until the internal clock is set, the Brocade device will
continue to rely exclusively on an upstream SNTP server if one is reachable. If none, the SNTP server of
the Brocade device is disabled (down).
To require a code string for authentication of SNTP communication from clients, use the authentication-
key option and enter a key string of up to 16 characters. When this option is used, authentication
parameters are required in clients’ SNTP request messages. If authentication fails, the Brocade device
will reply with stratum 0 and a reference ID code of “CRYP” (cryptographic authentication or
identification failed), and messages received without the required parameters will be dropped.
NOTE: Once entered, the authentication key cannot be viewed. Using the show running-config
command will show output similar to the following when an authentication key has been set:
sntp server-mode authentication-key 2 $QHMiR3NzQA=
The 2 indicates that the key is encrypted using base-64 encryption; the characters following the 2 are
the encrypted authentication string.
You cannot enable or disable the use-local-clock option (or its stratum number) or change the
authentication string when the SNTP server is up. To change these settings after enabling SNTP server
mode, you must disable server mode using the command no sntp server-mode, then re-enable it with
the new parameters.
Displaying SNTP server information
Use the show sntp server-mode command to display the status of the SNTP server and its configuration.
Brocade# show sntp server-mode
Status : up
Stratum : 4
Authentication : md5
Clock source : 10.50.2.121
Last upstream sync: 15:55:00 Pacific Sun Jul 5 2009
Last 5 unique responses sent to downstream clients :
Client Address Reference Time
10.1.50.23 16:10:32 Pacific Sun Jul 5 2009
10.1.52.34 15:50:40 Pacific Sun Jul 5 2009
10.1.50.41 10:22:08 Pacific Fri Jul 3 2009
10.1.50.10 06:21:03 Pacific Fri Jul 3 2009
10.1.50.29 21:17:39 Pacific Fri Jul 2 2009
Syntax: show sntp server-mode