Messaging Gateway clock drifts even though NTP is configured

Products

• Messaging Gateway

Issue/Introduction

The clock on Messaging Gateway (SMG) drifts even though a time server is configured in Administration->Configuration->host->DNS / Time

 

Cause

When Messaging Gateway (SMG) is configured with a hostname rather than an IP for the network time protocol (NTP) servers in the Control Center Administration->Configuration->host->DNS / Time page, changes to the IPs associated with those hostnames are not detected by SMG until after the appliance is rebooted or a change is made to the listed NTP servers.

Resolution

When using hostnames for NTP time sources, the SMG systems should be rebooted or the local NTP server reloaded via the `service osconfig restart` command whenever changes are made to the DNS address (A) record which lists the IP addresses to which the NTP hostname resolves.