Does FPP include an operating NTP server?

[Aaron Maue]

All of my FPP devices are on a standalone network, with none of them connected to the internet.  I'd like to sync time from one of them to the rest (I have about 25 FPP devices in the system).  Is there an NTP server running as part of FPP that I could point the rest of them to so that they can sync their time?  Or, do I need to enable/install an NTP server on one of the devices so that the rest of them can make the connection?

I've tried to point my remote devices to my master (player) device's IP address, hoping that might work, but time doesn't sync.  I'm assuming that might be because there's not an NTP server running on the master, but I don't know how to tell.

Thanks in advance.

[JonD]

The last person you should listen to Linux advice is me.  NTP server is not listed in the FPP manual, but I would guess you could install it.  Typically NTP is part of the Linux OS, but not installed by default.  With that said, there is a chance a future update will kill it at some point.  Often when it is not part of the standard installation, the updates are not making sure the feature is working when the product is upgraded.  If you set it up on the FPP, make sure you document how you did it, and be prepared the next update may require you to install it again.   My best guess is this would not be a good first choice device for NTP service, but you could probably get it to work.

To the best of my knowledge FPP is running Debian 11.  Below are directions on how to set it up for Debian 11.   I can not tell you if the below directions will work.  Did I mention you should not listen to me for Linux advice?

https://vitux.com/how-to-setup-ntp-server-and-client-on-debian-11/

[dkulp]

ntpd is running by default on FPP 6.x images. You should be able to point all the other FPP instances to the one that does have an accurate time source. 

[Aaron Maue]

ntpd is running by default on FPP 6.x images. You should be able to point all the other FPP instances to the one that does have an accurate time source.

Thanks, Dan. You've undoubtedly got more pressing things to work on than this, but would I just enter the IP address of the FPP I want to use as the time source? 

I've tried to enter just the IP address as aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd. I've tried it http://aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd. Neither seem to work. 

Something else I can try? Again - this isn't urgent, but if I'm missing something easy, lemme know. Only a couple of the other devices really "need" the time and I can manually set those if I need to. 

[JonD]

If it is running by default can you just enter the FPP master ip address into the time settings?

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[Aaron Maue]

If it is running by default can you just enter the FPP master ip address into the time settings?

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That's what I tried to do, but didn't work. I'm sure I've got something messed up, but hoping Dan can point in the right direction. 

[JonD]

You cannot view this attachment. You cannot view this attachment. 

I changed the date and time on two of my spares to a couple of decades back.  Then pointed the NTP server ip address to the one that was still current, and both of them updated within a couple of minutes.  NTP is often not immediate, it might take a few minutes to update, also the time up in the status bar will not change unless you hit refresh on your browser. 

Looks like everything is ready to go out of the box and nothing you need to do, other than type in the address of the device you want it to pull time from.

[algerdes]

Just as a test, I set 4 of mine to http://192.168.2.10 (my main RPI/FPP) and they too came into line within a couple of minutes. Good information to have.

The next question would be, in this new environment (6.2), how often does the time get checked?

[JonD]

The next question would be, in this new environment (6.2), how often does the time get checked?

The NTP polling interval is a variable that can be configured.  That would typically be a client side setting and not a server side.  Server just responds when asked.  From what I can tell the debian linux default is between 64 secs minimum and 1024 secs maximum.  I did not notice any parameters set to alter the default, so assuming it is the default whatever that is.

[k6ccc]

There's always my solution (not specifically for FPP, but on my home LAN):
https://centerclick.com/ntp/
This is a small stand alone GPS based NTP server that I am using and works very well.

[k6ccc]

As I understand it, the NTP server field on the Time tab is the NTP server that FPP will use to get time.  According to the help popup, FPP will use the Debian pool if nothing is entered in that field.  That appears not to be working as I would expect.  As mentioned in a previous post, I have a GPS based NTP server device on my local LAN.  I have set the FPP to use my local NTP server, however according to my NTP server, neither FPP instance is using my NTP server.  When I go to the About > Troubleshooting commands > Date, it would appear that FPP is still using the Debian pool:

Date:    date

Thu Nov 17 09:03:41 PST 2022

NTP Peers:    pgrep ntpd > /dev/null && ntpq -c peers

     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
==============================================================================
 0.debian.pool.n .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.002
 1.debian.pool.n .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.002
 2.debian.pool.n .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.002
 3.debian.pool.n .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.002
-108.61.73.244   128.59.0.245     2 u   78  128  377   78.282   -1.033   1.820
-triton.ellipse. 162.254.66.243   2 u  131  128  377   56.325   -3.097   1.045
*time.ecansol.ne .ECAN.           1 u    1  128  377   86.603   -2.851   0.400
-ntp1a.versadns. .GPS.            1 u   98  128  377   89.895   +2.756   0.566
-ny-time.gofile. 128.59.0.245     2 u   96  128  377   76.516   +1.615   1.779
+ntp1.glypnod.co 171.64.7.67      2 u   91  128  377   18.480   +0.410   1.560
+38.229.54.9     172.18.54.10     2 u   99  128  377   71.871   -2.008   0.803




Version Info    
FPP Version:   6.2
Platform:   BeagleBone Black (PocketBeagle)
FPP OS Build:   v2022-11
OS Version:   Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)
Hardware Serial Number:   1744GPB10423
Kernel Version:   5.10.109-fpp
System Boot Time:   2022-11-17 08:47:28
fppd Uptime:   22:48
Local Git Version:   4decdb9 ChangeLog
Remote Git Version:   4decdb9
Upgrade FPP:   
FPP Upgrade Source:   
github.com
Upgrade OS:   
-- Choose an OS Version --

 
     
System Utilization    
CPU Usage:   51.85%
Memory Usage:   20.74%
Sensors:   
     
Uptime    
09:11:28 up 24 min, load average: 0.05, 0.27, 0.37

[dkulp]

Yea.. we don't disable the debian pools.  We just add the server entry to the bottom of the ntp.conf.    Thus, if the pools are reachable, they'll still be used along with the local server.  

[algerdes]

Thanks for that information.  And thanks to Dan for letting us know that NTP is up and running by default.  This just simplified a LOT of things for me in the way of not having to check each of the FPP instances around the display for time sync.  (Just set all to http://192.168.2.2 - our main FPP - and all are working.)

[Aaron Maue]

deleting.  inadvertent quote.

[Aaron Maue]

Thanks for that information.  And thanks to Dan for letting us know that NTP is up and running by default.  This just simplified a LOT of things for me in the way of not having to check each of the FPP instances around the display for time sync.  (Just set all to http://192.168.2.2 - our main FPP - and all are working.)

Any ideas where I can start to troubleshoot this?  I've tried this with a number of my devices.  Most recently on one remote that is running 6.1.1 and one that is running 5.3, with the main show player (which I want as the time source) running 6.1.1.  Neither of them come into sync with the show player.  Attached is a screenshot of the time setup page, where the IP address shown is the address of the show player.