Cisco Routers for the Desperate, 2nd Edition

NTP

If you're relying on system logs to identify problems (as opposed to traditional troubleshooting methods such as "blind guesswork"), having your logs properly timestamped can make the difference between useful and useless records. Network management systems often use a system's reported timestamp to record events. In the event someone breaks into your network and you have to involve law enforcement, inaccurate system time will effectively invalidate your records and your logs in the eyes of the legal system. While all of these combine to make network time important, maintaining synchronized network time across a variety of operating systems can be an annoyance. Cisco routers support Network Time Protocol (NTP), which is supported by all major ...