General Router Question

[Technical Ben]

Got a NetGear DG834Gv5. Works fine. But I just noticed, on the logs, all the timestamps are for 2003. How do I set a date/time on this thing, as it's confusing and difficult to tract times of disconnects. I'm getting a couple lately after the major outage at the exchange last month. So I want to make a note of when it is.

[Rik]

You should have a page in the set up menus that allows you to set the time and/or chose to use an NTP server to keep it correct automatically, Ben.

[Technical Ben]

EEks. Well, this is stupid. I have "accept the current time" which is wrong, as there is no option to set an ACTUAL time. 
Or use a NTP server, but I can use IP address only, and I only know how to use the web addresses etc. 

[Glenn]

Ping the web address, it will give you the IP

[Rik]

Try 139.143.5.31, Ben, it's one of the NPL time servers.

[Technical Ben]

Thanks, gone with a NIST one, as they list the IP as well. It was simpler, and more obvious on the O2 router, just under general settings. The Netgear is better, just hidden away under "schedules".

[Bill]

Anything on my LAN that needs the time gets it from the iMac, which uses one of the NPL timeservers... keeps everything nice and tidy

[pctech]

Netgears seem to lose the time when you power them down (as they don't have a battery backed Real Time Clock) or reboot them so the first entires in the log will always have an odd time/date until they acquire the time from an NTP server.

[Bill]

My 3Com is the same (in fact I think most domestic routers are the same). First thing it does after it's established an internet connection is to get the time... it's not bright enough to realise that its time server is on the LAN, not the WAN

[Rik]

Why limit yourself when there's so many to choose from.

[pctech]

It doesn't matter really does it?

[Bill]

Why limit yourself when there's so many to choose from.

Inaccurate clocks are a minor obsession of mine... one way or another, every Level 1 NTP server in the UK gets its time from NPL.

So when my computer wants the time, it asks the organ grinder

[pctech]

 

Are you one of these people that has those radio controlled clocks?

[Bill]

Are you one of these people that has those radio controlled clocks?

Several of them... and my wristwatch is radio controlled as well

[Rik]

Me too as it happens... 

[pctech]

I did think about buying of those as inaccurate clocks used to be an obsession of mine too but 7 years ago I received a really nice Rotary watch as a Christmas gift from my parents and its the best timekeeper I've ever had.

[Rik]

Sue works as a good timekeeper for me.

[Bill]

Rotary watches are good... but the one I had would lose a couple of seconds or so a week. Not good enough!

The radio watches are a bit bulky, if I ever have serious need for a "dress" watch I'd think about a Rotary or similar.

[Rik]

Or Skagen, Bill. Very elegant. The best conventional watch I have is a Citizen solar-powered perpetual calendar model. It keeps time to within -15 seconds/year.

[Bill]

Or Skagen, Bill. Very elegant.

I'd like this one:

http://www.nauticalia.com/uk-info/jewellery_and_watches/skagen_watches/skagen_titanium_watch/99773.html

Only 4mm thick...

[Rik]

Got it, the day/date is hard on the eyes.

[pctech]

When I do land a job as a network engineer I might buy myself a Junghans one as timing is very important in networking.

Interestingly the GSM mobile phone standard included a capability for the network to transmit a time signal, not sure about elsehwere but none of the networks in the UK implmented it.

[Bill]

Got it, the day/date is hard on the eyes.

It's for showing off, not telling the time

[Rik]

 

[Bill]

When I do land a job as a network engineer I might buy myself a Junghans one as timing is very important in networking.

Interestingly the GSM mobile phone standard included a capability for the network to transmit a time signal, not sure about elsehwere but none of the networks in the UK implmented it.

My old Nokia (Vodaphone) had a "Get time from Network" setting... it never worked