# Synchronizing the time on Security Engines

The time on Security Engines is automatically synchronized to match the time of the Management Server. You can optionally use an NTP server to synchronize the time.

By default, Security Engines get time setting commands from the Management Server. If an Security Engine is configured to use NTP and it can successfully get the time from an external NTP server, the Security Engine ignores time setting commands from the Management Server.

In environments where there are Master Engines and Virtual Engines, you can use NTP servers to synchronize engine times only for Master Engines. Virtual Engines do not communicate directly with NTP servers.

If the Management Server, Log Server, and the engines do not have the same time, there might be problems with logging and monitoring. Also make sure that the computer you are using for SMC Client access has the time and time zone set correctly. Correct settings prevent time synchronization problems when you view statistics or logs, generate reports, or schedule automatic maintenance tasks.