[Nagiosplug-help] check_ntp returns critical (not unknown) when NTP server not found and -q specified on command line

[Werner Flamme]

David Young [11.06.2013 05:32]:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm hoping somebody can help me with the check_ntp plugin... the usage 
> arguments read:
> 
>   -q, --quiet
>      Returns UNKNOWN instead of CRITICAL if offset cannot be found
> 
> But, when I run it against a server which happens NOT to be running NTP, 
> it still results in an error:
> 
> # /usr/lib64/nagios/plugins/check_ntp_time -H 8.8.8.8 -w 2 -c 5 -q
> NTP CRITICAL: No response from NTP server
> 
> This is causing havoc on my network when I reboot my NTP server, since 
> every host I monitor suddenly throws up critical alerts because they 
> can't contact the NTP server.

"No response from NTP server" is not the same as "offset cannot be found".

"offset cannot be found" can come up when the checked host synchronizes
itself agains a new time server or is without sync to any time source.

The plugin checks the offset of the local host against a given time
server. When you use a host that is not a time server, you should get an
error. I consider this as a feature.

HTH,
Werner

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