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synchronized only to that of the server that passes the authentication. This improves network security.
Table 1-2 shows the roles of devices in the NTP authentication function.
Table 1-2 Description on the roles of devices in NTP authentication function
Role of device Working mode
Client in the server/client mode
Client in the broadcast mode
Client in the multicast mode
Client
Symmetric-active peer in the symmetric peer mode
Server in the server/client mode
Server in the broadcast mode
Server in the multicast mode
Server
Symmetric-passive peer in the symmetric peer mode
Configuration Prerequisites
NTP authentication configuration involves:
z Configuring NTP authentication on the client
z Configuring NTP authentication on the server
Observe the following principles when configuring NTP authentication:
z If the NTP authentication function is not enabled on the client, the clock of the client can be
synchronized to a server no matter whether the NTP authentication function is enabled on the
server (assuming that other related configurations are properly performed).
z For the NTP authentication function to take effect, a trusted key needs to be configured on both the
client and server after the NTP authentication is enabled on them.
z The local clock of the client is only synchronized to the server that provides a trusted key.
z In addition, for the server/client mode and the symmetric peer mode, you need to associate a
specific key on the client (the symmetric-active peer in the symmetric peer mode) with the
corresponding NTP server (the symmetric-passive peer in the symmetric peer mode); for the NTP
broadcast/multicast mode, you need to associate a specific key on the broadcast/multicast server
with the corresponding NTP broadcast/multicast client. Otherwise, NTP authentication cannot be
enabled normally.
z Configurations on the server and the client must be consistent.
Configuration Procedure
Configuring NTP authentication on the client
Follow these steps to configure NTP authentication on the client:
To do… Use the command… Remarks
Enter system view system-view —
Enable the NTP authentication
function ntp-service authentication
enable Required
Disabled by default.