Contents
Why are clocks synced on all network devices?
One of the keys to effective network management is clock synchronization on all network devices. When something goes wrong, you need to look through your log messages and figure out important things like which device saw the problem first.
Which is the best protocol for synchronizing clocks?
This protocol is able to synchronize clocks to sub-microsecond accuracy. It is, however, more complicated to deploy and not universally available on network equipment. For most applications, NTP is sufficient. People tend to use PTP for applications where a microsecond is a long time.
How many microseconds do clocks need to be synced?
If you want to match the phase to within 1%, you need the clocks synchronized to 170 microseconds. This is just within the reach of NTPv4, but not previous versions. And there are other industrial applications where even more accuracy is required. Accurate clock synchronization presents several interesting problems.
What’s the best way to sync the clocks?
There are really two ways to synchronize clocks. The first is to do it manually by logging into every network device and manually setting the clocks against some common source, like your watch. This is a terrible solution.
Which is the most common time synchronization protocol?
The other common time synchronization protocol is called Precision Time Protocol (PTP), or IEEE 1588. This protocol is able to synchronize clocks to sub-microsecond accuracy. It is, however, more complicated to deploy and not universally available on network equipment. For most applications, NTP is sufficient.
How are clocks synchronized in a NTP network?
NTP is a hierarchical protocol. The source clock is called Stratum 1. The clocks synchronized from the original source are Stratum 2. Clocks synchronized to the Stratum 2 clocks are called Stratum 3, and so forth. A typical NTP network design involves using a pair of Stratum 1 time sources.