Different network timekeeping options all have their pros and cons. While accuracy is definitely a positive, it may be prohibitively expensive to equip every one of your networked machines with a direct link to a Stratum 1 source. Or you might find that your system control application places a greater value on local synchronization than it does on matching external UTC sources.
How can you identify a timing solution that serves your purposes? Dedicated GPS NTP servers offer numerous advantages.
Legally Traceable Time
Traceability describes how the results of your time estimation relate to a specific reference. In the world of network timekeeping, for instance, you can build a chain of traceability that links your timing measurements to their sources. You can then use the chain to satisfy legal requirements.
For instance, you might provide stakeholders and users with accurate estimates of your measurements’ total ambiguity by adding the uncertainties of the individual sources you utilized to calculate them. Such precision is vital when timing is required for critical applications, such as
- Financial transactions
- Manufacturing control
- Network operation
- Commercial ventures
- Video surveillance
Network time servers that provide traceable time place you on firmer legal footing. By allowing you to offer an extra degree of precision in the form of uncertainty measurements, traceable time estimates help you avoid being deemed liable for losses caused by unavoidable inaccuracies.
Widespread Standards Compliance
The most effective servers don’t only use NTP. They’re also conversant with PTP and other standards. This means that you can integrate them seamlessly into a range of network configurations.
Such flexibility also extends to the clock source side of the timekeeping architecture. Servers can use other geosynchronous satellite constellations, such as the Russian GLONASS system, in addition to the U.S. Global Positioning System for legally traceable time. This practice is advantageous because systems that employ a greater number of data points can produce quicker, more precise time and positioning estimates. They can also accept various synchronizing signals over Ethernet, so it’s possible to create a customized implementation that serves your purposes and satisfies your budget constraints.
Which kinds of features should you look for? Keep an eye out for perks like:
- NTP and IEEE 1588 PTP client and server functionality
- GPS or GNSS reference
- MD5 hash authentication
- SSH for secure communication
- IPv6 compatibility
Functional Features and Form Factor
As more enterprise, nonprofit, and consumer computing operations shift to the cloud and other unique network architectures, the hardware they use has to evolve as well. Even if you’re deploying your timing equipment indoors, the value of ruggedness can’t be overstated.
For instance, are you confident that your servers will be able to withstand the humidity in a hot automated warehouse if an air handler breaks in the middle of summer? What if your data center’s infrastructure management systems fail? Your devices should be rated for a reasonably wide range of environmental and power supply conditions to ensure that unexpected fluctuations don’t cause gaps in your operational continuity.
Also, remember that robustness isn’t only physical. Reliable time servers can function properly even in the absence of satellite connections. In the event of signal loss, they use high-accuracy internal oscillators to keep counting the passage of fractional seconds. Since manufacturers calibrate these devices with great precision if a server loses source lock, the oscillator can compensate for any drift until signals from GPS satellites or other sources are regained.
Other features make it easier to build unique networks that do more than just keep track of time. For instance, some servers feature programmable relays that you can use to toggle circuit switches according to a custom daily schedule.
Implement Superior Network Timekeeping Today
You have many options for instituting effective network time synchronization, but the one thing that you can’t afford is to forego it altogether. Although it’s only natural to think about considerations like hardware cost, investing in timekeeping servers saves you money in the long run by:
- Minimizing your organizational liability
- Making it easier to maintain synchronicity
- Operating more precisely
- Providing your clients with heightened service accuracy
Choosing a network timekeeping server may not be your only concern when building a network, but it’s definitely one of the most important. Whether you rely on IEEE 1588 or decide to stick with legally traceable time NTP implementations, your server needs to offer proven reliability, robustness, and flexibility that can drive your operations forward.
Ready to learn more about GPS NTP and PTP server options and deployment strategies? Talk to Progreso today.
Source: GPS Network Time Synchronization — Masterclock, Inc.