Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DOLBY SERVERS, setting TIME

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Posted by Allan Barnes (Member # 5178) on 06-08-2014, 06:38 PM:

Anyone known how to set the time on series 100 DOLBY SERVERS?
My machine thinks its' 2008 and won't let run modern movies.
Dolby is returning calls on a Sunday. HELP

Our town lost power for 6 hours and I assume the "watch battery" inside is dead.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-09-2014, 07:27 AM:

I have zero experience with the DSP100, but I guess you should be able to find a way to enter the BIOS right after starting up the machine by means of pressing some F- or DEL Key on an attached keyboard. Then adjust the time in the BIOS, should fix the SMS time being wrong. Then leave the machine running. And contact Dolby or your tech for a service. They may also want to look at the mediablock secure clock battery.

Have these failed already for anyone here, on early Dolbys, Doremis, GDCs, etc.?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-09-2014, 07:41 AM:

Yes, you have to replace the memory battery on the motherboard then reset the time using the bios. It's a common battery and a relatively common Supermicro motherboard. I've had to to it several times myself. These units are getting way past normal battery life. Do not open up the DSP-100!

Mark

Posted by Allan Barnes (Member # 5178) on 06-09-2014, 11:08 AM:

24 HOURS and DOLBY HAS NOT RETURN OUR CALLS

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 06-09-2014, 02:49 PM:

Had the same issue on an ICP board in one of my Barco projectors last week. We'd boot up the projector and immediately get a red tail light. Communicator showed an ICP board failure, but poking through the software I found the the internal time on the projector had reset itself to January 1, 1900 @ 12:00 a.m.

I had to set the time manually each day at start up and left the machine running for 4 days until Barco sent a replacement ICP board. As soon as I reset the time, the tail light turned green. Only thing wrong was probably a dead "watch battery", but they opted to replace the entire board.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-09-2014, 05:09 PM:

quote: Allan Barnes
24 HOURS and DOLBY HAS NOT RETURN OUR CALLS

That's why I quit using their products! It was very piss poor early on in digital. Like if you weren't friends with someone there you didn't get called back. Then things got a little better around 2008 or 9, then it got worse again. Of course they aren't interested in supporting the old unit much but everyone else has top notch tech support except them. The support is usually good once you actually get a voice at the other end.

Good Luck!

Mark

Posted by Andrew Thomas (Member # 7000) on 06-09-2014, 05:30 PM:

I'm confused...you can just change the time on the projector willy nilly? Seems like an easy way to get around the time windows on KDMs...

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 06-09-2014, 06:18 PM:

This has been recently discussed. The system clock on your server is not used to check the validity of your KDMs. The mediablock, where the crypto magic happens, keeps its own clock and that can only be corrected within very restrictive time intervals.

The clock on your projector (and/or IMB if you have one and that's actually a fully fledged server) is also not important for KDM validity.

quote: Carsten Kurz
Have these failed already for anyone here, on early Dolbys, Doremis, GDCs, etc.?

On normal PCs those last anywhere between two and ten years. Practically all of those servers use normal PC/server hardware so failures should be common by now.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-09-2014, 06:31 PM:

Is there a battery on the media block that will eventually fail as well? How is the time reset then?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-09-2014, 06:43 PM:

Yes, I have had to replace a number of the motherboard memory batteries in older Dolby's. Eventually they will go bad in GDC's as well. Easy fix and easy to reset.

With the DSS-100 the media block is a completely separate unit (DSP-100) from the store. You don't want to ever open the DSP-100 because it is armed (sort of) and would have to be reset at the factory. You can't even replace a failed fan in it. Has to go back. The motherboard battery on the other hand is easy.

Mark

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 06-09-2014, 06:45 PM:

quote: Steve Kraus
Is there a battery on the media block that will eventually fail as well? How is the time reset then?

There is a battery on/in the mediablock as well. If that one fails, the mediablock is an RMA/(out of) warranty support case, since only the manufacturer can reset the time on that thing.

Since it's key to the studio's house of crypto cards that the stuff inside the media block remains a black box, only a very select number of hands, selected by the devil during full moon, may touch it.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-09-2014, 07:16 PM:

quote: Steve Kraus
Is there a battery on the media block that will eventually fail as well? How is the time reset then?

There are documented procedures for most media blocks. You will get a notification from the server software if the secure clock battery is approaching end of life (either measured or estimated from operating hours).

Some media blocks have two batteries wired parallel, so you can exchange them one after the other without the clock going down. Others have an additional buffer capacitor that will grant you just enough time to exchange the cell.

If you miss the exchange window, the media block will have to go back to the factory.

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 06-09-2014, 07:33 PM:

Dolby Cat862Z.

Just slightly off topic but should I be opening the DSS200 to clean dust buildup?

Posted by Allan Barnes (Member # 5178) on 06-09-2014, 08:35 PM:

Around noon on Monday, I got a call from MIKE at DOLBY. He had read my cry for help here on Film-Tech. Now how he got my Canadian cell number I'm not sure... anyway he fixed me up. So here it is...
1 - TURN OFF SERVER for 1 MINUTE.
2 - TURN ON and HIT "DELETE" KEY many times until BIOS program starts.
3 - ENTER new time and date
4 - HIT F8 which is SAVE & EXIT
5 - BUY A NEW BATTERY and INSTALL before this !@#$% happens to YOU TOO [Smile]

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-09-2014, 10:00 PM:

F10 is the save command.

Mark, the Fans in the DSP100 ARE serviceable and that is about it in the DSP100. There are two stacked together.

I've never had a particular problem with Dolby's service.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 06-10-2014, 03:37 AM:

weird.

The system clock may be wrong but as mentioned the secure clock is the one that checks the KDMs. And if a NTP server is not found, the system clock is synchronised by the media block (DSP100 in your case) and hence its secure clock.
Good to know, but I would have thought it doesn't really matter if the motherboard clock is way off.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-10-2014, 08:54 AM:

Allen Barnes... Yes... Mike R. is one of the only really good people there IMHO. He has called me back before as well. I've known him just about as long as I've lived here in Utah...

Mark

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 06-10-2014, 05:41 PM:

quote: Carsten Kurz
Some media blocks have two batteries wired parallel, so you can exchange them one after the other without the clock going down. Others have an additional buffer capacitor that will grant you just enough time to exchange the cell.

The Dolphin board used by Doremi has a hard programmed life expectancy of 5 years (as in it will start to nag you after 5 years) and it does have a secondary backup battery.

quote: Steve Kraus
Just slightly off topic but should I be opening the DSS200 to clean dust buildup?

I suppose you know how to handle sensitive electronics, so I do no see no harm in opening it to remove dust buildup, just like you would do with most electronics with fans that suck up a lot of air over the years. Especially dust buildup around fans can get them stuck and cause overheating issues.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 06-10-2014, 07:22 PM:

I remember or think I do that removing the cover will set an error but will not disable anything unless you actually unplug something. You will need to clear the error when you replace the cover.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-10-2014, 07:55 PM:

I have actually changed the fans in the DSP100...and have a tech note around here on how to do it. Note, the DSP100 uses security screws so come prepared with that too.

Again, the two fans are all one can service inside the DSP100.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-11-2014, 11:13 PM:

Then it has to be when one removes or undoes the media block card itself that send it into a tizzy...

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-11-2014, 04:49 PM:

A fellow projectionist recently tried to set his drifted DSS200 clock in the BIOS, but found it to be reset to the same drift amount after a reboot. To me this means the SMS and BIOS clock is synced from the secure clock in the Dolby media block. So it seems that all those DSS200 with large clock drifts do not suffer from bad mainboard clocks, but bad media block clocks. It seems that so far the only option then remains NTP to get the clocks right - as long as the drift has not grown too large to be corrected within DCI specs (6min/year).

This is a real pain for smaller locations using scheduled shows. Dolby is completely unresponsive towards end users with this problem, and installers/techs told them there is nothing they can do if there is no TMS.

- Carsten

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-11-2014, 05:31 PM:

I have two DSS200 units were I do weekly reboots to reset the server clock to the LMS clock. Interesting is one server, after a reboot, is still 5 minutes fast while the other synced to the LMS. Both will drift to almost 12 minutes slow in one week.

I did mention this to our tech and there is a way to keep these unit synced with the LMS clock. He'll do this sync on his next visit.

You would think that an expensive device like these units would have better time keeping software inside, where my ten buck "WallyWorld" analogue special wrist watch can keep correct time for months.

...just doesn't smell too good - like a political thing or similar.

-Monte

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-11-2014, 05:58 PM:

This drift of 12min per week is probably a combination of media block and mainboard clock drift. I guess that the system clock is synced once during boot time to the media block OR TMS/LMS. Once the server has finished booting, it will only run it's GUI clock from the mainboard clock. I suppose it will not resync during runtime with either NTP/LMS or the media block secure clock. This will then show the large drift you report.

DCI only allows for a maximum of 6min per year correction to the secure clock, e.g. by NTP. 12min per week without a daily reboot would make it impossible to adjust the time within DCI constraints. Hence I guess the secure clock on the media blocks will actually have a smaller deviation. Dolbys NTP client implementation also makes things worse, it seems...

http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/f16/t001802.html

- Carsten

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-12-2014, 12:18 AM:

Thx for the link, Carsten - quite impressive reading from the post that Steve G. left for us to read.

Dolby definitely likes to make things difficult.

Definitely leave that up to our tech to get all figured out since he will be the only one with ADMIN privileges to make such adjustments.

- Monte

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-12-2014, 03:12 AM:

Monte, you don't need Admin privileges to set the BIOS clock or the secure clock...only if you need to deal with the CAT745 being out of range do you need admin. Me personally, I'd get all of the BIOS clocks and secure clocks correct. That will get about 90% of your servers locking on NTP. It all depends on the BIOS clock as to how well they will stay. With System 4.7.x and beyond...it will be more like 99+ % will lock on time.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-12-2014, 06:39 AM:

Is there a solution without using NTP? It seems if there is no NTP found at boot time, the DSS200 will always sync it's system/show manager clock to the MediaBlock. If that is 5 minutes late, show schedules will be 5 minutes late and you can adjust BIOS clock as often as you like, it will not change.

Then the nasty thing is - if even these secure clocks perform as badly as reported, they can drift more than the allowed 6min per year easily. Then how do you adjust them if there is no manual intervention? You would need to set up you own NTP server with a 'suitable' fake time within 6min drift to get the Dolby closer to the DCI limit.

What the heck are they thinking? This is not a new issue. So many operators need to tweak their show schedules to match a drifted server clock...

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-12-2014, 10:32 AM:

The CAT862 has a relatively decent clock. It doesn't drift THAT much and it is easily set within the GUI...so keeping a DSS200 on time without an NTP is certainly doable. However, the show clock only syncs to that on boot up in absence of NTP. It is the damn CAT745 that picks the time by rolling the dice. It is guaranteed to run fast! Booting the server with the projector off will ensure that it can't use that "clock" as a reference.

Personally, I always insist on a local NTP reference...it is relatively easy/cheap to do and it negates the issue for everything. It is also best when troubleshooting to have all clocks running at the exact same time.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-12-2014, 12:34 PM:

quote: Steve Guttag
The CAT862 has a relatively decent clock. It doesn't drift THAT much and it is easily set within the GUI

How?

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-12-2014, 12:44 PM:

I'm sure we are miscommunicating on this one somehow. Go to System>Auditorium>click on the "Enable Secure Time Update" tickbox and then set the time. That is the time on the CAT862, DSP100, CAT745.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-12-2014, 02:15 PM:

Hmm, yes. I meant to adjust show manager clock during runtime. If you adjust the secure clock manually (within DCI limits), this will not have an impact on show manager clock until reboot?

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-12-2014, 03:01 PM:

Correct.

There is only one way I can thing of to adjust the show clock during run-time but you need ROOT privileges and that could certainly cause issues if the logging were to suddenly go backwards.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-12-2014, 03:08 PM:

I guess the standard console logins do not allow to execute set date/time commands, as they are limited to certain Dolby blessed maintenance actions?

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-12-2014, 03:23 PM:

Not that I've found.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-12-2014, 03:55 PM:

Carsten, the solution is an NTP, either internal or external even though you have to consider two things:
1. Dolby NTP support is flawed
2. NTP protocol won't trust an unreliable source. So if you are thinking of having as your internal NTP a random windows PC, you can basically forget about that, NTP won't possibly trust a Windows NTP server for a long time.

Best solution is to set a proper NTP server. The Dolby should stay synced with it, if it doesn't rebooting will reset the clock to the actual time.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-12-2014, 04:32 PM:

There are always GPS locked NTP servers available on the cheap on Epay. Just be sure you get the correct antenna for the one you use if you go this route. I have used these in several areas where internet is very unreliable. They vary in price so if you think this may be a solution for you then you might want to "watch" these items and grab one on the cheap. I think I got the ones I installed (Symetricom Units) for 250 to 300 USD with antenna, they go for 2k+ USD new. They display time that is accurate to 12 digits if you are able to lock on to 3 or more satellites.

If you can get away with a unit that is non rack mount and no display then this one is decent and very inexpensive.

TMS-1000A GPS Locked NTP Server

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 08:16 AM:

You can set up a PC to be your NTP source pretty easily, actually. Out of the box, no but add a suitable registry file and a couple of configurations and the Dolby (or any other server for that matter) will lock to it so long as it is reporting a good lock to an NTP source.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-13-2014, 08:21 AM:

You can sure set it up but Linux NTP protocol is very fussy and if it thinks the source is not reliable, it will drop the server very soon. And Windows NTP is not known to be the best.
If Internet is available, just use an external one.
If it's not, the NTP protocol will not sync on a local NTP server which is not synced to anything else.
The Dolby will reset the clock at boot (it's a ntpdate command, which sync the clock regardless) but it will then refuse to sync to a non synced clock.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-13-2014, 10:02 AM:

But in most cases a one-time sync to a local NTP source would be sufficient to solve the issue in non-networked scenarios.

The problem is - if you let the secure clock drift too much, then it grows beyond the DCI imposed adjustment limit. If you don't take care, it could easily walk off 10min during the first year. Then what do you do? Even a 'good' ongoing NTP source will not be able to bring it down from there. Unless Dolby implements an 'as much as we can' approach and at least adjust the 6min max, even if it is far more off.

How would the Dolby decide wether a local NTP source is better than another? If you are running your own local NTP source, you should be able to tweak it's reports as you like. E.g. it would always be a Stratum1 clock.

Another option without a network would be a local standalone 3G router that allows a temporal internet connection at boot time. Let the Dolby sync to it every couple of weeks or whatever is necessary. You could carry that around as needed.

Of course, a full networked system with TMS would be the best solution, but not every location has that or allows it.

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 10:04 AM:

Marco...I've have ALL of my sites using a Windows based machine as an NTP server and without exception, non of the Linux based machines have had an issue syncing to them. Every Cinedigm system in the world is likely using the Windows based server as their NTP time source and doing so without issue. All of our GDC based TMSes are running on Windows machines (either Server 2008 or Win 7 Pro) and are being used as NTP time sources and none of the linux based servers are complaining one bit.

Since the secure clock doesn't sync to NTP...and since they tend not to drift much at all (except for the CAT745)...getting 10 minutes off in a year would be essentially impossible (except for CAT745).

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-13-2014, 10:19 AM:

Then again - what do the Dolby do during boot time?

- try to sync system clock/show manager clock to NTP (BIOS/hardware clock will follow)

- if no NTP available, sync system cock/show manager clock to secure clock

In that case, a temporal NTP sync would have little benefit, because during the next boot without NTP, the system clock would again be synced with the (potentially offroading) secure clock.

The CAT862 secure clock can be adjusted manually - what about the 745?

My... has Dolby ever issued a tech bulletin dealing with these issues?

- Carsten

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 10:56 AM:

The CAT745 sets identical to the CAT862. Your show clock setting seems correct to me. So only those with a CAT745 have to worry about the reboot not getting the show clock back on time. There is a CLI command ( I believe it was discussed in the System 4.7.0 release notes) that will allow one to move the range on the CAT745 a bit.

There are other bulletins about setting the BIOS clock and I believe the secure clock though they don't tend to put them up on the portal, for some reason...they do supply them when asked. This includes POS integration and setting up a "Key Drop" for FTPing keys from the manager's computer.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-13-2014, 11:00 AM:

Steve,

good to know, my little experience with Windows NTP shows really poor results.

I thought the secure clock would only sync on the server itself IF the NTP proved to be synced and reliable. Otherwise, all 745 in the world would require attention every few months! I've just checked a system where the NTP works flawlessly (on 4.6) and both 745 and 862 are synced down to the second, and I haven't touched those servers for about 6 months.

The NTP protocol is very complex. You may have a synced system but the NTP may have to struggle to keep it synced. A NTP client would be aware of this issue and wouldn't trust that NTP server because of that - even though the NTP server is perfectly synced.

Carsten,
both 862 and 745 can be adjusted by GUI.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 12:00 PM:

Wait...you are telling me that when you check your CAT745 time via the Auditorium UI and adjust secure clock that it is correct to the second after ANY length of time? I'm gong to call BS on that one.

The Secure clock never sets to NTP so its quality should not be affected by NTP at all.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-13-2014, 12:11 PM:

I respect your opinion but I politely disagree.

As I said, NTP is very fussy and WILL NOT trust a server which is struggling to sync - even though it's synced.
NTP have lots of tools but they are not very user friendly. It took quite a lot of time to understand it a little.

If the NTP works well on the server, the 745/862 will trust it and will sync to it.

I can confirm I have just checked three systems I set up in the past. I had to adjust the 745 during installation time (one was beyond the 6 minutes out of the box!) but as today the two 745 and one 862 are synced down to the second when checking on the GUI.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 02:18 PM:

I will confer with Dolby on this one. It is my understanding that the secure clock does NOT sync to NTP or anything else but user input. I've asked for it to be able to be synced to NTP but so far nothing.

The DSS all show good NTP sync...are to the second and when one checks the logs everything show up right too.

Now my question is to you...do these CAT745s power down nightly? Because if they do, they are going to lose any sort of NTP as a result and run on its own "clock" and it will not "step" via NTP. Looking at the logs, it does imply that the show player clock does try to get time if the NTP is deemed good. But since most CAT745s are off half the time, what good will that do you? It will drift over night, never to regain sync.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-13-2014, 03:15 PM:

NTP does step. Anything over 125ms will trigger a step - but it will take time, hours possibly. The NTP will have to trust the server and be 100% sure the clock is off. That's why Dolby use the ntpdate at boot up: that will step the time immediately regardless of the conditions of the NTP server.

Those mediablocks are always online, they get rebooted every week or so. I will try and find one where the 745 is turned off every night.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-13-2014, 08:32 PM:

Dolby deliberately does not allow NTP to step the time...they only allow a "slew." Well yeah, if our CAT745s stayed on all of the time then I guess they would be accurate too. However, Leaving the IMBs on would mean leaving the projectors one which means you are pumping dirt though the filters 24-hours a day. There is nothing (other than overcoming a bad IMB clock design) good about leaving the projector on 24-hours a day.

Start shutting your projectors down at night and see what happens to your CAT745 clocks...they'll never sync to NTP again (until you manually get them in the right ballpark).

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-13-2014, 10:09 PM:

Our two CAT745's stay on all the time. Thus, the necessary reboots to get back in sync....and numerous filter cleaning periods, especially right after construction was over with - it was almost daily during that time.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-14-2014, 02:31 AM:

Steve,

I can't remember any parameter in the Dolby NTP implementation which is not allowing the step, but I shall check on that.

I do not particularly agree on leaving the projectors on 24/7 either.
I'm not sure how the NTP is implemented in the 745: if there is a drift file, in theory the system should be able to adjust the speed of the internal clock based on the last NTP sync - and stay relatively synced over time.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-14-2014, 05:58 AM:

You'd think! What Dolby explained to me about stepping is that it could have issues with the clock suddenly going backwards in time...hence they allow slew but now step. On boot up, when a show obviously isn't going on nor are the logs doing much more than keeping track of the boot up, it does allow step...but only then. Apparently, the CAT745 (or CAT862) isn't allowed to step except via manual input.

Again, try an experiment...turn those projectors off at night and see how your CAT745 clock performs.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-14-2014, 10:23 AM:

All motherboards have a CPU battery. Typically they are "CR2032" type button cells. The type may vary - but they all do the same thing - keep the BIOS time in check. With Cinema server, time is an important thing.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-14-2014, 02:39 PM:

Yeah but that battery has nothing to do with how accurately the motherboard keeps time. A bad clock is not helped by the battery.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-16-2014, 06:39 AM:

Steve,

Sure, that's why they use NTP in the first place and not ntpdate (besides during boot time).
But the NTP protocol allows steps if the clock drifts more than 125ms and the NTP struggles to slew the clock enough to correct it. But, again, it won't happen straight away and ONLY when the NTP daemon agrees that the NTP source is very stable.
If the clock drifts so badly there's likely to be a HW failure and the NTP won't even try to step it.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-27-2014, 08:19 AM:

A fellow projectionist emails me about his DSS200/CAT745 combo. He is able to correct the secure clock in system->auditorium (within the DCI allowed boundaries)- but after a server power down/reboot, it reverts to the wrong time. Not just any wrong time, but the same offset it had before. The projector with the CAT745 installed is always powered up at boot time.
They have no networking, no cables installed, hence no option for NTP.

They are on 4.7.1

- Carsten

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-30-2014, 08:23 AM:

Anyone? What's the sense in making the CAT745 secure clock adjustable and even mention DCI imposed limits, when it reverts to the wrong time after a reboot?

- Carsten

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-30-2014, 12:27 PM:

I don't know about that. The system clock should sync with the secure clock at boot (if no NTP is found) and not vice versa. I am not aware of the 745 reverting back to the previous time when adjusted.
Is he applying the change by pressing APPLY?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-30-2014, 04:29 PM:

He says the updated clock is running adjusted as he set it - until the next restart of the projector/CAT745. So I assume he hit's 'Apply'.

- Carsten

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-30-2014, 05:00 PM:

tell him to press CTRL-ALT-F1 and then CTRL-ALT-DEL

Linux as default saves the system clock to the BIOS when the system is shutting down (date --systohc if memory serves), so next time the system starts, it's hopefully not too far away.
Since a Dolby does not restart but gets power cycled, maybe a proper shutdown can synchronize the clocks.

That said, if no NTP is found the system clock should synchronize to the 745, you can see it within the gibberish the screen throws at you when booting up [Smile]

Is the 745 up and running (projector on) when the system is rebooted?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-30-2014, 05:19 PM:

Carsten, are you saying that when he sets the CAT745 via the secure time setting that is the time that changes on the next boot? That has not been the case on ANY of ours so something sounds fishy.

As described by others...absent an NTP, the bios clock (show clock) will set itself to the CAT745. The CAT745 WILL run fast. It can easily exceed DCI allowed drift in a course of a year...I don't know how it passed DCI compliance with that so called clock.

Others claim that if there is NTP present and the CAT745 is left on, it will remain synced to NTP and not drift. None of our customers leave their projectors/CAT745 on 24-hours so I can't verify that one.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-30-2014, 07:00 PM:

quote: Marco Giustini
Is the 745 up and running (projector on) when the system is rebooted?

Yes, they always need to power up the projector before starting the DSS200.

It's a bit complicated to communicate with him. It would be interesting to set the secure clock, then shut down the server, power on and go into the BIOS directly to see how the BIOS clock ended up.

He was actually successful to get the time 'right' by connecting a windows laptop with registry enabled NTP server, set to the Dolby configured NTP server IP address displayed during boot. Quick hack. So it seems he is not completely illiterate.

Just that, when he disconnects the notebook, the Dolby again reverts to the wrong secure clock, as this is not synced to NTP, at least not easily, as Steve explained.
I understand that the secure clock will NEVER be synced to NTP, only manual adjustment is possible? I wouldn't care about the secure clock being off as long as I can adjust it manually often enough within allowed limits. Show manager clock/system clock being constantly off is the annoying thing.

They have two DSS200/745 combos in distant booths, with no cabling in between. I suggested to start with a bare patch cable between the servers, he will try to get this going. They have a router with it's own LAN side NTP server, itself being synced from a WAN NTP server. Once they are networked, this router could be a cheap option.

- Carsten

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 07-31-2014, 03:03 AM:

I am not 100% sure but I believe the 745 will eventually sync to the server ONLY if the NTP daemon trusts the server's NTP, which is very unlikely to happen on a Dolby server for how the NTP protocol has been designed.
Again, the NTP daemon can realise if the server which is supposed to sync to is not synced to anything and will refuse to lock on it if that is the case.
The reason why a Dolby will sync to any computer running an NTP server when booted up, regardless whether the computer is properly locked to a reliable NTP source, is because the startup script contains a ntpdate command, just before the NTP service is started. ntpdate will sync the time straight away, regardless of the conditions of the time source.

But then the NTP daemon will refuse to lock to the source if the source reports it's not locked to a reliable NTP source.

If you sync your server using an NTP and then shut it down, you will find the BIOS has not been changed. As said, the BIOS is synced to the system time when Linux is properly shut down.

Posted by Kevin Fairchild (Member # 4985) on 08-02-2014, 10:06 PM:

quote: Marco Giustini
tell him to press CTRL-ALT-F1 and then CTRL-ALT-DEL

Linux as default saves the system clock to the BIOS when the system is shutting down

THANK YOU! I tried this and confirmed it works. You can also login and reboot over SSH as administrator.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-03-2014, 05:15 PM:

Thank you, I wasn't sure it would work.
Yes, you can also run the reboot script, but that's mainly for remote purpose, where you can't press CTRL-ALT-DEL! [Smile]

I still feel Dolby should add a "reboot" button, it escapes me why they're not adding one.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-03-2014, 06:12 PM:

I would like a reboot script that is executable via serial/Ethernet. There is the "power" button behind the bezel.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-03-2014, 06:14 PM:

There is, reboot.sh, scripts folder.

Oh wait, you mean to reboot by ethernet RAW command or serial? Why?
I can shutdown my NAS by SSH, you may be able to do so with a Linux server. I can't remember the name of the command line SSH programme, I'll need to check, but you can send username, password and a single instruction on a single CLI line. It should work, after all it's Linux.

The power button removes power, I want a 'reboot' software button, I can't see why there isn't one.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-03-2014, 06:26 PM:

I'd like to schedule "graceful" reboots rather than hard yanking of the power. Even if the routine is to do a graceful shutdown...yank power...reapply power...boot up. I never liked the idea of just yanking the power.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-03-2014, 06:39 PM:

neither have I. That's why I'd like to see a "reboot" and "shutdown" button on the GUI.

I believe it could have been putty - not home now, I'll check later, but you can try with

c:\putty.exe -ssh administrator@dolby_IP -pw {password} reboot

or whatever reboots a Linuz system, maybe "reboot now"?

I believe that

c:\putty.exe -ssh administrator@dolby_IP -pw {password} halt

should shut it down. You may be to ssh with root privileges though. It's worth a try, it works on my NAS [Smile]

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 08-04-2014, 01:55 AM:

I just putty in as administrator and issue 'reboot'.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 08-04-2014, 04:08 AM:

I believe Steve is looking for a way to automate the reboot.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-04-2014, 06:17 AM:

That is correct...Using PuTTY to reboot is simple enough but I'd like our automation (eCNA) to be able to issue a periodic reboot command.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 08-04-2014, 07:09 AM:

Steve--what can your automation system do? Just send serial commands or make TCP connections to a specific port?

How much do you trust the local network and are you willing to modify the operating system in a way that Dolby might not appreciate?

If you have a totally trusted network, the simplest solution would be to set up an inetd service that accepts TCP connections on a particular port and calls /sbin/reboot when a particular string is sent to that port.

Alternatively, you could enable the serial console and have the automation send a root-level username and password and the command /sbin/reboot to it. (This would not work if the Dolby server uses the serial port for anything internally. Does it?)

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 08-04-2014, 09:38 AM:

Ah I see Steve, sorry I didn't catch that fully.

How about a Raspberry Pi or similar device running a script on command or schedule?

I've a couple of routers here that are set to auto-reboot at 06:00 every Sunday.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-05-2014, 11:13 AM:

Since are RS232 automation can send serial back to the server on a dry contact closure i guess it would be possible to schedule a SPL to tell it to send back to the server a shut down command
Currently in our non vpf houses that power down each night we have a shut down SPL that tells the server to power off and projector go to standby

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 08-06-2014, 03:30 AM:

Gordon, but that is not on a Dolby server, right?

- Carsten