******************************************* ** QBOX version 2 TIME SYNCHRONISATION ** ******************************************* There are two time sync options. Autocue Time Sync Daemon, and the standard NTP. Which time sync method to use? If you have the PC and QBox on the same LAN, use Autocue Time Sync. NTP is recommended when your QBoxes are located remotely and/or on a slow network link. Note that you will need to provide NTP client software for the PC. Autocue does not provide one. Only one time sync option must be used at any time. The other must be disabled. Therefore: If using NTP, make sure the Time Sync Sources list is empty. If using Time Sync Daemon, make sure the NTP Time Servers list is empty. With Autocue Time Sync Daemon, it is recommended that the QBox be set to get the time from the QMaster PC. This makes the PC the time server, and the QBox the time client. Thus the QBox time will match the time on the PC. With NTP, the PC and QBox must both be set to point to an NTP server. If possible, it is recommended that this NTP source be local (on your network). ******************************* ** AUTOCUE TIME SYNC DAEMON ** ******************************* Procedure for Synchronizing clock between QBox and QMaster PC: On the PC, right-click the Time Sync Monitor Icon in the system tray. Choose Configure.. Make sure the entry in there is set to ‘Local Clock’. Make sure the service stops and restarts OK when you click OK. You will see a green checkmark in the system tray indicating that the PC time sync is active. The next step is to make the QBox time sync daemon point to the QMaster PC’s IP address. Connect a USB or PS/2 keyboard to the QBox. If PS/2 keyboard, you will need to reboot the QBox. After the QBox is finished booting up, Press F8 and choose configuration option. Choose Time and Date. Choose Time Sync Daemon. If there is currently an entry, remove it. To remove the current entry, Press tab key then down arrow key to highlight the item in the list. Press DEL key to delete. ADD Network Host. To add a new entry, press Insert key. Choose Network Host. Under Hostname, enter the IP address of the QMaster PC. Press Enter. The service will restart. Press F10 key to close the screen and return to the prompter mode. Check that time sync is now locked to the PC (procedure below). Remove the keyboard. How to Check if the QBox is time synchronized to the PC: In QMaster, go to Prompt->QBox Status Panel. Right-click on the QBox, choose 'show system information'. (You can also get there by pressing F5 on a keyboard connected to the QBox) On the QBox video output, make sure under 'TimeSync Status' that it shows the QMaster PC's hostname or IP address. If it says 'Not Locked', this means the QBox clock is NOT synchronized to a time source, or it means no time sync configuration has been entered. Note about firewall: You may need to open up UDP port 3104 on the firewall, as the Autocue time synchronization uses that port for communications. ********** ** NTP ** ********** For the prompter PC, you will need to provide NTP client software. Autocue does not provide one. On the PC, right-click the Time Sync Monitor Icon in the system tray. Choose Configure.. Make sure the entry is set to Local Clock. Make sure the service stops and restarts OK when you click OK. You will see a green checkmark in the system tray indicating that the PC time sync is active. Connect a USB or PS/2 keyboard to the QBox. If PS/2 keyboard, you will need to reboot the QBox. After the QBox is finished booting up, Press F8 and choose configuration option. Choose Time and Date. Choose NTP. Once you are in the NTP menu, you will see tabs "servers", "clocks", "miscellaneous", with "servers" highlighted. Press tab key. If there is currently an entry, remove it. To remove the current entry, Press down arrow to highlight the item in the list. Press DEL key to delete. Then press Insert key to add the NTP server information. Note: You may enter an IP address for the NTP server. If you use a hostnamename or FQDN, you will need to configure DNS on the QBox, under network configuration. Leave all other NTP settings as is. Press Enter. The NTP service will restart. Press F10 key to close the screen and return to prompt mode. Check that NTP sync is now locked (procedure below). Note: It may take several minutes for the QBox to sync up with an NTP server. Remove the keyboard. How to Check if the QBox is time synchronized to NTP: In QMaster, go to Prompt->QBox Status Panel. Right-click on the QBox, choose 'show system information'. (You can also get there by pressing F5 on a keyboard connected to the QBox) On the QBox video output, make sure under 'NTP status' that it shows the NTP server hostname, FQDN, or IP address. If it says 'Not Locked', this means the QBox clock is NOT synchronized to NTP, or it means no NTP configuration has been entered. Note about firewall: You may need to open up port UDP port 123 on the firewall, as NTP uses that port for communications.