Configuring the Interface Ports and NTP

Use the Main tab... in the Test Server Configuration window to define the configuration of the test server's interfaces, and to monitor the test server's synchronization with its NTP server. See the field descriptions for guidelines and rules for the field values.

NOTE:

Use the TAS Manager Console or to view the TAS NTP status and synchronize the TAS.
Virtual machines should not be used for NTP timing sources. Generally it is not advisable to run a VM as time server for other machines since the time provided by such server is usually less accurate and provides significantly more jitter than a physical machine acting as time server.
In most cases, it is advised to synchronize test servers to the TAS IP address and then synchronize the TAS with a reliable NTP source. However, this should be avoided if the TAS is a virtual machine. When using a virtual TAS, the TAS and all connected test servers should be synchronized to the same reliable NTP source.

NTP Configuration

The synchronization status with the NTP server is displayed with color-coded text in the NTP Sync Status pane, and the results of the last ReSync command are displayed to the right of the status. You can click ReSync to attempt to synchronize the test server with its current NTP server. The following status indicators are used:

NTP Sync Status

Status	Color	Description
N/A	White	If there is no trace reported
Not-In-Sync	Red	If first row of trace contains stratum15 or stratum16 or stratum 16
In-Sync	White	If there are more than 2 rows
In-Sync (See trace)	Green	If there are 2 or fewer rows

To change the NTP server:

Open the Configuration window...
Display a saved configuration... or modify the current configuration.
Select NTP or PTP option. PTP is available on Test Servers with Ubuntu > = 20.04. If a test server supports PTP, "timeSyncProtocol" will appear in the .tsConfig file with a value of "ntp" or "ptp".
If NTP is selected, Enter the NTP address in NTP Servers. - Enter up to 3 IP address for NTP servers in the GUI boxes. Active displays the IP address of the active NTP server. In this example, 10.70.50.20 is the active NTP server.

The source of the trace is provided by the OS ntptrace command:

root@tas40:/home/cfguser# ntptrace
localhost: stratum 5, offset 0.005680, synch distance 0.254829
10.70.50.20: timed out, nothing received
***Request timed out
root@tas40:/home/cfguser#

Please note that the request timed out message is coming from the NTP no query command added for security and is not an error indicator. Note : The active box shrunk when no active NTP servers are available:
If PTP (Precision Time Protocol - IEEE-1588 - it can achieve clock accuracy to the sub-microsecond range) is selected then select the following:
Select PTP Transport Mode - "Ipv4" or Ethernet. If Ipv4 is selected then configure PTP IP Mode. Configure PTP IP Mode - Select Multicast or Unicast or Hybrid. Configure PTP Master IP - available if Unicast is selected. Enter Valid IPv4 address with no mask.
Apply your configuration changes...
When the test server status has cycled back to Ready, login to the Configuration window again and click ReSync to synchronize the test server with the new NTP server.

NOTES:

The ReSync button synchronizes the test server with the NTP server in the current configuration. If the NTP IP is changed, the new configuration must be applied before synchronizing with the new server. The resync command in ts-help can be used to Poll NTP server (s) and synch to most accurate.
Use the TAS Manager Console to synchronize the TAS with its NTP server.

Interface Configuration

You can modify most of the IP addresses, masks, and address pools associated with the Ethernet and local interfaces.

To configure the Ethernet ports:

Open the Configuration window...
Display a saved configuration... or modify the current configuration.

Management Port — You can modify the IPv6 Gateway addresses, number of addresses, the address pool, and the speed and duplex settings.
Local Interface — You can modify the IPv4 and IPv6 address pools associated with the local interface.
Other Interfaces — You can modify the IP address, the Mask, the starting Pool IP address, the number of IP addresses in the address pool (# of IPs), whether the physical interface is Enabled on Boot, and the speed and duplex settings for all of the physical interfaces.

NOTES:

The IP Pool and number of IPs must either contain a value or be empty. That is, if the Pool IP has a value, the number of IPs must also have a value or they must be empty. In addition to the IP address formats being valid, the IP version of each mask must match the version of the address it is masking. (The TAS validates the format of the IP addresses and does not verify the validity of the addresses within the context of the system, or relative to other Test Servers, or other interfaces.)
Each Ethernet test port should be configured for a discrete subnet. If two or more ports share a subnet, Linux may choose to send packets from any of the interfaces rather than just the interface associated with an emulated node.
The address pool associated with a physical interface must contain IP addresses in the same subnet as the interface.
An address pool does not have to be defined for a physical interface, but if an entry is made in either the Pool IP or # of IPs fields, the complete pool definition is required.
The Local Interface is used for the address pool for MN addresses, and the address pool associated with it should be large enough to accommodate the maximum number of simultaneous sessions licensed for a test server.
Learn more about IP address pools
The IP Address, Mask, Gateway, and Host Name for the management port can only be changed using the ipcfg tool that is provided on each test server. SSH to the test server as cfguser, enter ipcfg, and return to accept the default for each prompt until you reach the item to modify. Use caution when changing the configuration in this manner since an incorrect entry can cause loss of communication with the test server. The test server will reboot at the end of the script. If you change the management port's IP address, you must also change the IP address in the test server definition in order for the TAS to communicate with the test server.
If an Ethernet test port's Speed is negotiated at or set to 100 Mbps and Data Traffic is transported by another protocol such as MIP, GTP, or IPSec, the maximum throughput available for traffic sent or received by the MNs will be approximately 85 Mbps due to the additional protocol headers in the data packets.

If there are any connection issues when connecting (for e.g., the Dell servers) to a 100Mb infrastructure, setting the speed and duplex may resolve the issues.
If you click Refresh, Open, or Close before applying a modified configuration, you will be warned that your changes have not been applied. Click Yes to continue and discard your changes, or No to retain your modified configuration.

Apply your configuration changes...

CAUTION: The test system does not perform any validation of the IP addresses or masks assigned to the physical interfaces or address pools. Ensure that the addresses you assign do not intersect those used by other ports in your test system or by other devices in your network, and that the mask can accommodate an address pool if one is defined.