Cerbo GX request time from NTP every second non stop

DIY
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1

Hi
This is a question for someone that actually know what is really going on - like a software person at Victron Energy or possibly a very advanced user/installer.

My Cerbo GX is connected to the internet, works fine, has firmware v3.63, talks to VRM without any issues and has the correct time and time zone.

But … in the background it goes crazy as it requests the time from NTP servers 0 → 3 europe.pool.ntp.org every second of the day and night for a very long time now.

I tested and confirm these NTP servers can be reached and updated the time on a computer using the same internet connection, same subnet etc.

So, the problem is not that the Cerbo GX cannot get the data from those servers but rather that it is stuck in some strange loop. As I said the time and time zone is 100% correct.

So, can someone explain this? Can it be corrected? Or is this behavior normal?

Thanks for your assistance.

2

I’ve also pointed out to this here: NTP time sync strange behavior

No response until now…

They’ve only silenced the log, not looking for reducing the network traffic.
Which could be a problem for the ones with remote installation and high cost internet (eg starlink)

3

I did a packet capture on my router and I can’t see any behaviour like that.
Is your GX a vanilla install or are there perhaps any mods or customisations loaded?
(You can check via settings → general → support status)

4

Message for Victron Energy.
Please consider the following improvements:

  • Allow users to change NTP servers and update frequency.
  • Allow users to update time from GPS when also connected to internet.

This will help with installations in remote locations with limited internet.

5

Nothing extra just the firmware as provided by Victron.

6

Sometimes it works as intended, requesting time at 2 hours interval.
But sometimes, just like the OP said, it just goes like crazy and requests a time packet every second…
Maybe it happened to make the capture in a “normal” period/behavior interval.

7

Maybe it would be interesting to see how your cerbos are connected to the internet.

I have the feeling that this could happen only when connected through wifi…

8

No. It is hard wired Cat 6 cable to network switch and then internet router. Testing also showed very low latency. I changed the NTP on several PC on the same network to share the same NTP servers as the Cerbo GX to see how they behave and they connect - get the time and stay silent for hours. This is clearly unique a Cerbo GX thing.

9

Thanks for confirming.
I have the Cerbo connected over wifi.
I was under the impression that could be a wifi stack problem, but it seems that it’s not.

10

I hope we can get Victron to assist.
I also tried to only update from a USB GPS plugged in to the Cergo GX and in that way stop time request from going out in the internet but it seems that when internet is present the Cerbo GX automaticly reverts back to online NTP servers for the time.
With so many Victron off-grid systems I would assume it would be a priority to make it easy to change these settings and add other time sources. As it is now, the time updates are automatic.

So… Victron you have done a great job so far with the Cerbo GX and it will be so much better if you allow us to adjust NTP to suit our needs/conditions. I will for example set it to update time from GPS by default as I am in a very remote area and my internet is very limited.