Symptoms

Various services in PowerStore can detect this issue.The issue may be detected and reported as follows: Alert raised by RxDefinition: Running a System Check using PowerStore Manager (UI) with the Run Upgrade Extensions option:System Check may display a message Too high time skew on Nodes and BMC.Tip: The Profile field displays Upgrade Extensions when the Run Upgrade Extensions option is used to perform a System Check. Running a System Check using PowerStore Manager (UI) with the Run System Check option:System Check may display a message Too high time skew on Nodes and BMC. Tip: The Profile field displays Service Engagement when the Run System Check option is used to perform a System Check. Running the System Health Service Script (svc_health_check) using an SSH connection:System Health service script may display a message Too high time skew on Nodes and BMC. $ svc_health_check run -rhc time_skew_check -p Upgrade_Extensions Name Location Status Description Time skew Check node_a FAILED Too high time skew on Nodes and BMC (KB#000196199)

Cause

The above message indicates that there is an unsupported large time skew between nodes or between components of the node.When this issue exists, the correct functioning of the system as a whole may be impaired including software upgrades.

Resolution

Run the svc_ntp_ctl comand to display the current NTP configuration and verify there are NTP servers configured, ntpd state is active and the status of NTP is Normal synchronized state. [SVC:service@5V70643-B user]$ svc_ntp_ctl INFO: Cluster is configured to use the following NTP servers: AA.BBB.CCC.DDD, AA.BBB.EEE.FFF INFO: Node B current date and time is: 2023-06-28 17:44:40.883230 INFO: Node B relies on the ntpd service for time synchronization. INFO: Node B: service ntpd state: [active] INFO: Node B has status of NTP: Normal synchronized state INFO: Node B: Synchronization detail info: [associd=0 status=0615 leap_none, sync_ntp, 1 event, clock_sync,version="ntpd 4.2.8p13@1.3847-o Tue Jan 18 21:20:40 UTC 2022 (1)",processor="x86_64",system="Linux/5.3.18-24.134.1.dell.1679670291276419912-default", leap=00,stratum=3, precision=-24, rootdelay=51.030, rootdisp=69.004,refid=10.241.253.251,reftime=e846ea51.e96bd587 Wed, Jun 28 2023 17:20:17.911,clock=e846f009.26afe4a4 Wed, Jun 28 2023 17:44:41.151, peer=53167,tc=10, mintc=3, offset=0.474707, frequency=38.049, sys_jitter=8.730238,clk_jitter=1.109, clk_wander=0.139] INFO: Node A current date and time is: 2023-06-28 17:44:43.961124 INFO: Node A relies on the ntpd service for time synchronization. INFO: Node A: service ntpd state: [active] INFO: Node A has status of NTP: Normal synchronized state INFO: Node A: Synchronization detail info: [associd=0 status=0618 leap_none, sync_ntp, 1 event, no_sys_peer,version="ntpd 4.2.8p13@1.3847-o Tue Jan 18 21:20:40 UTC 2022 (1)",processor="x86_64",system="Linux/5.3.18-24.134.1.dell.1679670291276419912-default", leap=00,stratum=3, precision=-24, rootdelay=51.872, rootdisp=74.096,refid=10.241.253.250,reftime=e846ed57.949d8c7d Wed, Jun 28 2023 17:33:11.580,clock=e846f00c.315f7279 Wed, Jun 28 2023 17:44:44.192, peer=48283,tc=10, mintc=3, offset=-0.758737, frequency=37.197, sys_jitter=8.352620,clk_jitter=0.757, clk_wander=0.090] Confirm with the customer that the NTP IP addresses displayed are the correct/active NTP servers for the PowerStore environment.Run the svc_ntp_ctl --set command to synchronize the node’s time to the first available active NTP server or run the svc_ntp_ctl --set --server command to specify the IP address of the NTP server to synchronize with. [SVC:service@5V70643-B user]$ svc_ntp_ctl --set INFO: Cluster is configured to use the following NTP servers: AA.BBB.CCC.DDD, AA.BBB.EEE.FFF INFO: Node B ntpd service: inactive INFO: Node B: 28 Jun 17:52:34 ntpd[79343]: ntpd: time slew -0.006178 sntpd: time slew -0.006178s INFO: Node B: ntpd service: active INFO: Node A ntpd service: inactive INFO: Node A: 28 Jun 17:52:45 ntpd[40630]: ntpd: time slew -0.000542 sntpd: time slew -0.000542s INFO: Node A: ntpd service: active OR [SVC:service@5V70643-B user]$ svc_ntp_ctl --set --server AA.BBB.EEE.FFF INFO: Node B ntpd service: inactive INFO: Node B: 28 Jun 17:55:28 ntpd[87755]: ntpd: time slew -0.000012 sntpd: time slew -0.000012s INFO: Node B: ntpd service: active INFO: Node A ntpd service: inactive INFO: Node A: 28 Jun 17:55:37 ntpd[53134]: ntpd: time slew -0.000094 sntpd: time slew -0.000094s INFO: Node A: ntpd service: active If the issue was found by System Check (or similar service), once issue is resolved, re-run this service.If the issue was identified by RxDefinition, once issue is resolved, the alert will be cleared automatically during the next execution of this RxDefinition check..If the issue remains, contact Dell Technical Support or your Authorized Service Representative, and quote this knowledge base article ID.

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