Debug Your Infrastructure

Get Instant Solutions for Kubernetes, Databases, Docker and more

AWS CloudWatch
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Pod Stuck in CrashLoopBackOff
Database connection timeout
Docker Container won't Start
Kubernetes ingress not working
Redis connection refused
CI/CD pipeline failing

VMs / EC2 Time Drift Detected

The system clock on the VM/EC2 instance is out of sync.

Understanding Prometheus and Its Purpose

Prometheus is an open-source systems monitoring and alerting toolkit originally built at SoundCloud. It is now a standalone open-source project and maintained independently of any company. Prometheus collects and stores its metrics as time series data, i.e., metrics information is stored with the timestamp at which it was recorded, alongside optional key-value pairs called labels.

Prometheus is designed to monitor the performance and health of your applications and infrastructure, providing insights into system behavior and alerting you to potential issues.

Symptom: Time Drift Detected

One common alert you might encounter when using Prometheus with VMs or EC2 instances is the "Time Drift Detected" alert. This alert indicates that the system clock on your VM or EC2 instance is out of sync with the expected time.

Details About the Time Drift Alert

The "Time Drift Detected" alert is triggered when the system clock on your VM or EC2 instance deviates significantly from the reference time. Time synchronization is crucial for distributed systems, as it ensures that logs, metrics, and other time-sensitive data are accurately recorded and correlated.

Time drift can lead to issues such as incorrect log timestamps, skewed metrics, and even failures in distributed systems that rely on synchronized time for coordination.

Why Time Drift Occurs

Time drift can occur due to several reasons, including:

  • Network issues affecting time synchronization protocols like NTP (Network Time Protocol).
  • Misconfigured or disabled time synchronization services on the VM/EC2 instance.
  • Resource constraints causing the system clock to lag.

Steps to Fix the Time Drift Alert

To resolve the "Time Drift Detected" alert, you need to ensure that your system clock is synchronized with a reliable time source. Here are the steps to achieve this:

Step 1: Verify Current Time Settings

First, check the current time settings on your VM or EC2 instance. You can do this by running the following command:

date

Compare the output with a reliable time source, such as time.is, to determine the extent of the drift.

Step 2: Install and Configure NTP

If NTP is not installed, you can install it using the package manager for your operating system. For example, on a Debian-based system, you can use:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ntp

Once installed, configure NTP to synchronize with a reliable time server. Edit the /etc/ntp.conf file to include the following lines:

server 0.pool.ntp.org iburst
server 1.pool.ntp.org iburst
server 2.pool.ntp.org iburst
server 3.pool.ntp.org iburst

Restart the NTP service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart ntp

Step 3: Verify Synchronization

After configuring NTP, verify that your system clock is synchronized. You can check the synchronization status with:

ntpq -p

This command will display a list of NTP servers and their synchronization status. Ensure that at least one server is marked with an asterisk (*), indicating it is the primary time source.

Additional Resources

For more information on time synchronization and NTP configuration, you can refer to the following resources:

By following these steps, you can ensure that your VM or EC2 instance maintains accurate time synchronization, preventing the "Time Drift Detected" alert from reoccurring.

Master 

VMs / EC2 Time Drift Detected

 debugging in Minutes

— Grab the Ultimate Cheatsheet

(Perfect for DevOps & SREs)

Most-used commands
Real-world configs/examples
Handy troubleshooting shortcuts
Your email is safe with us. No spam, ever.

Thankyou for your submission

We have sent the cheatsheet on your email!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

VMs / EC2 Time Drift Detected

Cheatsheet

(Perfect for DevOps & SREs)

Most-used commands
Your email is safe thing.

Thankyou for your submission

We have sent the cheatsheet on your email!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

MORE ISSUES

Deep Sea Tech Inc. — Made with ❤️ in Bangalore & San Francisco 🏢

Doctor Droid