Galleon Systems

What Time Server Do I Need For My Business?

Richard N Williams — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:11:17 +0000

Modern businesses are no longer local. The internet and global communications means that even a small business might have to regularly trade overseas and often across time zones, and this means that accurate time is crucial. On a computer network, virtually every transaction is reliant on time. Time stamps are the only means a computer has of knowing when and if a transaction or process has taken place. Accurate stamps from a time server are required for billing systems, database sorting, network diagnostics and for nearly all transactions conducted over the internet. If any of this applies to your business, perhaps it’s time to ask yourself “What Time Server Do I Need?”

All computers have inbuilt clocks, which are used by operating systems to generate time stamps. However, system clocks are not very accurate. These quartz oscillators can drift over time, which means different computers on a network can soon be telling different times. These differences can wreak havoc on a network, leading to processes failing, data getting lost, transactions happening at the wrong time, and insecurities developing.

For a network to function properly, what is needed is a single source of time from which all computers on the network can receive a single master time to use to generate time stamps. However, with modern computer networks, this master time source needs to match the time used by other computers on other networks which it may communicate with, otherwise the time differences when communicating with external systems could cause the same problems.

What is a time server

A time server is a device that synchronises a computer network to a single master time source, so that all devices on that network are using the exact same time. Not only does a time server keep all devices on a network synchronised, but also it ensures that a computer network, no matter where it is in the world, is also synchronised to other computer networks, enabling trouble free communication.

A single time server is able to synchronise a network of hundreds of devices and workstations, and the secret to its ability to maintain accurate and precise time is NTP (Network Time Protocol). Time servers use a master time source, which it uses to distribute around a network using NTP. NTP is a software system that checks the time on all system clocks and adjusts them to match the time received by the time server, but what makes the whole system special, is the time used by the times server.

Because a network may have to communicate with other networks across the globe, a source of time is required that is ubiquitous. This means no matter where an network is, or what time zone it is situated in, the same single time source can be used, ensuring trouble free transactions. To achieve this, a time server uses as its master time source, NTP time.

What is NTP Time

As discussed in our previous post: “What is NTP Time and How Does it Benefit Me” NTP time is a global timescale used by computer networks across the globe. Often referred to as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), NTP time has several advantages over other time sources. Firstly, NTP is not affected by time zones. Time zone information is dealt with by individual machines, but not by the UTC, which is the same everywhere on the globe. Secondly, NTP time is kept true by atomic clocks, which means it remains incredibly accurate.

Time signal radio signals come from various physics laboratories. The main ones include the MSF signal in the UK, which is generated by NPL (National Physical Laboratory), which is broadcast from Cumbria; the WWVB time signal generated by NIST in the USA (National Institute for Standards and Time), which is transmitted from Colorado; and the DCF signal, broadcast by Germany’s Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, which is transmitted from Frankfurt.

Many of these radio time signals are available outside the country of origin and they provide a reliable, accurate and secure source of time. However, there is an alternative. GPS satellites require atomic clocks to allow satellite navigation systems the means to triangulate position. Because these signals are transmitted from orbit, they are available anywhere on the planet and can be used as a source of time for a NTP time server.

Why not use internet time?

Of course, the internet is awash with sources of NTP time that many people think provide just as accurate and reliable a method of providing a time source for a computer network. However, because receiving these internet time sources requires an open port in the network firewall (UDP port 123) to allow the signal to get through. This poses a security risk, because not only can the time source get through this open network gateway to a network, but also they can provide access for malicious software to penetrate a network.

Another problem with internet time sources is their accuracy. Surveys have found that many internet times servers are not at all accurate, and less than a third offer any use for time synchronisation. This is because most of these time servers are not stratum 1 devices. In other words, they don’t get their time direct from a time server, but instead rely on a third party. Latency, distance and the fact that internet connections go down can mean that often, internet time servers can have inaccuracies of several seconds, which in the world of NTP, is a massive deficit.

What time server is right for you business?

Choosing the right time server for your business first requires you to decide which times source is most suitable. GPS is now the most popular time source used by time servers. However, receiving GPS time is not always practical. In order to receive the time signals from GPS satellites, an antenna needs a clear view of the sky, which normally means it has to be placed on the roof of a building. In some cases, this is not always practical, so a radio referenced time server is a better solution.

An MSF, DCF or WWVB time server doesn’t require a rooftop antenna, and as mentioned earlier, you can even receive the time signals from neighbouring countries. Occasionally, these signal can be affected by interference, so the time server needs to placed in a location where metal objects or machinery won’t cause problems. Furthermore, radio time signals are occasionally switched off for short periods. These outages are only temporary and normally don’t cause any problems with the time synchronisation of a network. However, to avoid any outages, dual systems that receive both GPS and radio signals ensure a source of interrupted time.

Another consideration for choosing a time server is the number of devices that need to be synchronised. Some networks require thousands of NTP requests per minute, which means the time server needs to be able to handle such traffic, while for other networks, the number of requests is far fewer, so a less sophisticated time server can be used.

Examples

At Galleon Systems, our highly experienced advisors can give you all the information and advice you need to make the right decision when it comes to a choosing a time server. Our NTS time server range is used by all sorts of companies and organisations across the globe, from large multinationals, to small and medium sized businesses. Here are some examples of organisations that trust Galleon Systems with their time synchronisation:

Twitter – Global social networking website, Twitter, uses two NTS-6001-GPS time servers from Galleon Systems. These devices are true Stratum 1 NTP Time Servers that use GPS as a time reference. They can handle 10,000 NTP requests per minute and consist of a solid state memory that eliminates disk failure and ensures reliability.

EDF Energy – UK energy provider EDF Energy uses a dual NTS-4000-GPS-MSF time server from Galleon Systems, which receives both MSF and GPS time sources. Able to handle 3000 NTP requests per minute, this true Stratum 1 NTP Time Server also consists of a solid state memory.

Dorset Police – The South West constabulary of Dorset has installed an NTS-4000-MSF from Galleon Systems to handle their police computer’s time synchronisation needs. The NTS 4000 is a solid state system that utilises the Cumbrian MSF signal and can handle 3,000 time request per minute.

All NTS Time Servers from Galleon Systems come with a 6-year warranty. For more information or to discuss you business’s time server needs, contact one of our experienced advisers now.

What Time Server Do I Need For My Business? is a post from: Galleon Systems

What is NTP Time and How Does it Benefit Me?

Richard N Williams — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:33:52 +0000

To explain “What is NTP Time?” a brief introduction of how important time synchronization is, is required. Time synchronisation is essential for computer networks, especially those that conduct time sensitive transactions. Time, in the form of time stamps, is used by computers to identify when a transaction has taken place or needs to take place. Therefore, if time differs across a network all sorts of things can go wrong, from transactions not occurring to data getting lost.

Because of the importance of time for computer and technologies, a time server system is required to not only keep all devices on a network running at the same time, but also ensure that different computer networks that speak to each other are also synchronized. Of course, this isn’t easy, especially in today’s age when networks have to communicate across time zones, which is where NTP comes in.

What is NTP

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a software algorithm that keeps computers and other technologies synchronised. NTP has been around almost as long as the internet itself, and its success is due to its effectiveness of keeping devices synchronised to within a few milliseconds of each other (thousands of a second), but it can only do this if it has a reliable form of time with which to use as a master time source.

NTP works by using a single time source, which it uses to synchronise all devices on a network to. As computer networks communicate with each other across time zones and often from the other side of the world, this master time needs to not only be ubiquitous, but also highly accurate, otherwise networks in different parts of the globe could be running slightly different times.

For their master time source, most NTP networks use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is because UTC is not only the same no matter what time zone you are in, but also it is kept accurate by a constellation of atomic clocks. These clocks ensure that UTC is maintained to extreme precision, and getting a source of UTC time requires using a NTP time server.

The atomic clocks that maintain UTC are situated in national physics laboratories, and are not devices that can installed in the average server room to maintain time synchronisation. However, a source of UTC can be received by a NTP time server that either gets it from a radio signal broadcast by these physics laboratories, or from the GPS (Global Positioning System) network.

Satellite Picture | A GPS Satellite in Orbit above Earth

NTP works by taking this time source and using it as a basis with which to adjust all the system clocks on the devices on its network. This is done repeatedly to avoid any drift, so if a system clock is a few milliseconds from the UTC source it is altered to ensure it is maintaining the same accurate time as every other device hooked up to the NTP network.

Benefits of NTP time for a business or organisation

Maintaining accurate and synchronised time has never been so important for businesses and organisations. In today’s world, where so many transactions take place online, having a synchronised and accurate network time is crucial for businesses, especially those organisations that conduct their business over the internet or with other computer networks.

Having an NTP synchronised network means that a business network can communicate with other networks across the globe, without fear that time discrepancies will cause problems. Because NTP time is identical everywhere, timestamps never differ, so transactions that takes place even over different time zones will not cause errors. Furthermore, as more people conduct business over the internet, having a solid reliable from of time is crucial as not all users will have a system with an inaccurate time source. Having a NTP synchronised network means you have a guaranteed time source, that will provide a timestamp according to UTC time, to ensure that differences between host and peer won’t cause problems.

Accurate time is also important for security too. Hackers and malicious software, such as computer viruses, can easily take advantage of a system without accurate time, using the discrepancies in time to slip through any security measures such as firewalls or anti-virus software. However, if all devices are maintained to NTP time, it is much harder for malicious users to gain access to a system, which can prevent untold damage to both a network’s functionality and an organisation’s reputation.

What is NTP time management

Having an NTP time managed network can prevent all sorts of problems. Because timestamps are the only method with which computers can tell whether a transaction has occurred or not, if several devices on a network are running different times, errors can easily occur because the network won’t know which timestamp to trust. This could lead a network to believe a transaction has taken place when it hasn’t, transactions being repeated, or data becoming loss. This is because to store any data, a system needs a timestamp in order to store the information. However, if that timestamp differs between machines, the system may believe the data has already been stored, leading to the information becoming being discarded.

NTP time synchronization is also critical for auditing and managing a system. If the unthinkable happens and a system is infiltrated by a piece of malicious code or an unauthorised user, tracking down where and when this happened can only be done with an accurate timestamp. Furthermore, if fraud or another criminal act takes place, a system that is synchronised with an NTP time server will have an auditable trail, and because the time comes from an atomic clock source, it is irrefutable, and can therefore be used in any potential legal proceedings.

ATM Machines utilize NTP synchronization for Daily Transactions

For systems that deal with time sensitive transactions, NTP time synchronisation is even more critical. CCTV cameras, speed traps and ATM machines couldn’t function without an NTP server. Just think of the chaos that would occur if two ATM machines had different times. People would be able to withdraw the same funds twice. The same is true for any financial transactions. The stock exchange and other financial centres rely heavily on NTP time servers because of the frequency with which prices change each second.

An inaccurate network is also highly insecure. Time discrepancies allow all sorts of malicious users and software to wreak havoc on a system, and often not having accurate time can mean putting things right can be almost impossible. Without accurate time stamps, debugging and identifying breaches can be extremely difficult, and it doesn’t take much of a discrepancy for someone or something to take advantage of this lack of security.

What Time Server Do I Need For My Business?

Time servers come in various different types, and the right NTP time server for your business may depend on several things. This will be discussed in more detail in the article: “What Time Server Do I Need for My Business?” which will be posted in two weeks time. However, in summary, choosing a time server is dependent on how many devices you need to synchronise and whether you want to receive a source of time through radio transmissions or GPS signals.

Some time servers are designed to synchronise just single machines. These are useful for devices working independently of a network and normally receive the time from a radio signal, and are able to keep the device to within a few milliseconds of UTC, ensuring it always has accurate and precise time. Other NTP time servers are designed to synchronise whole networks. In some cases, a single time server can keep hundreds and even thousands of PCs, routers and other technologies all running the same time.

NTP time servers are able to maintain time on so many devices because of the stratum system they employ. In short, NTP delegates primary machines as high-level devices, which are employed to help distribute the time to devices lower down the strata, which in turn distribute the time to devices lower down than them. This prevents a single NTP server from becoming congested with repeated requests for the time, but because all devices are linked to the same NTP time server, no matter how far down on the stratum level a machine is, it will be just as accurate as those devices higher up.

The final deciding factor as to what type of NTP server is required is whether you want a GPS time server or one that utilises radio frequencies. These radio frequencies are distributed from various national physical laboratories in Europe and the US. However, they are not available everywhere and increasingly most people choose a time server that gets its time from the GPS network.

NTS-6001 | The Precise Galleon NTS-6001 is Designed for Large Business Networks

GPS signals have the advantage of being available everywhere on the planet. However, in order for an NTP server to utilise GPS time, an antenna has to be placed somewhere that has a clear view of the sky. This is because GPS signals work by line of sight, and for some organisations, such as those on the lower floors of a high rise building, this may not be practical, which would make a radio referenced NTP server the better choice.

What is NTP Time and How Does it Benefit Me? is a post from: Galleon Systems

Have the Olympics kept pace with precision timing?

Galleon Systems — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:00:33 +0000

London 2012 will be the 30th modern Olympic Games, and in its 116-year history, UY98UZDDVGGJ the Olympics have gone through many changes. New events have been introduced, records have been broken and different cities have played host to the games, but one constant has remained – the need to time competitors accurately during the different events.

Timekeeping has always been essential for the Olympics, but it has gone through some dramatic changes since the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. Back then, the most accurate timekeeping devices were mechanical stopwatches, but technological advances have seen electronic clocks, crystal oscillators, atomic clocks and GPS timing enter the world of Olympic timekeeping enabling it to become ever more accurate and precise. Competitors in London will be able to win or lose events by 1,000th of a second, which is 40 times faster than an eye can blink. However, things were very different a century ago.

Stopwatches

Before the advent of electronic devices, the only way to time an Olympic event was to use mechanical stopwatches. This posed problems for official Olympic timekeepers, who had to synchronize their stopwatches and in some events, a timekeeper was needed at the start line and another at the finishing tape. While this was the most accurate method at the time, this early method of timekeeping would have seen discrepancies in official times of several seconds. Today, Olympic timing has to be accurate to the millisecond, with no margin for error, and that requires far more advanced technologies than stopwatches and pieces of paper.

Stop Watch Timing, Drift Woods, 2005, Flickr

Electronic timing

The first big step in Olympic timing can in 1952, when Omega, official Olympic timekeepers since 1936, introduced the first use of electronic timing during the Helsinki Winter Games. Electronic timing wasn’t just more accurate than mechanical stopwatches, bit also it allowed for innovations such as the inclusion of official timing on stadium displays, giving the spectators a better understanding of how well the competitors were doing. Each subsequent Olympics saw the introduction of new technologies to improve further the accuracy of Olympic timing, such as transponders worn by competitors that can reveal not just the start and finish times, but also acceleration too, and innovation is continuing all the time.

Modern timing

Perhaps the one event where accuracy in timing is the most essential is the 100-metre sprint. As runners can complete the distance in less than ten seconds, precision timing is crucial. These days, everything from the starting gun and starting blocks to the finish line are part of the timing process. When the athletes crouch down at the blocks, contact pads measure the pressure. After the timing official pulls the trigger of the starting gun, the timer starts. Such is the drive for accuracy and fair play in the modern Olympics, the sound of the gun is actually broadcast through speakers on each competitor’s starting block, so no unfair advantage can be had by being closer to the starting gun, even though the speed of sound would create an advantage in the milliseconds. Furthermore, if one of the contact pads on the starting block detects a lift of pressure before the starter fires the gun, false start can be called. However, if all competitors start properly, a laser at the finish line finalises the timing once the lead runner breaks through it.

The Starting Gun Goes, Andrew Kicinski, 2012, Flickr

Photo finish

Of course, many running events can involve exceptionally close finishes. Photo finishes have been in use since 1932, when Omega introduced the Kirby camera. Now, high-speed digital video cameras at the finish line record up to 2,000 times a second. The camera is synchronised to the other timing devices and serves as both a photo finish system and a timer. At the end of the race, a composite image showing the photo finish can then be broadcast on video displays within 30 seconds, often before judges have made the final decision as to who has actually won.

Cycling Action in the Velodrome, Marc, 2012, Flickr

Time synchronisation

The accuracy of modern Olympic timing is made possible with the use of high quality timing devices, accurate synchronisation and GPS atomic timing. Regular quartz oscillators are fairly accurate, but they still drift, which means without regular synchronisation, their accuracy would falter. To ensure all timing devices can achieve millisecond accuracy and precise synchronisation with one another, all Olympic timing devices are synchronised with GPS atomic clocks several times a day. GPS satellites all have atomic clocks onboard, as it is how satellite navigation works. By triangulating the timing signals, sat nav devices are able to calculate distance by working out how long a signal has taken to arrive from the satellite. Atomic clocks have to be used for this because the signals travel at the speed of light, so just a millisecond of inaccuracy could see navigational information out by a 1000 km.

Using such an accurate time source, means that official Olympic timekeepers can ensure that they meet the International Olympics Committee commitment to having the events at the games timed to within a thousandth of a second (millisecond). This is a huge difference to Olympic timing compared to the earliest Olympic Games, where manual stopwatches were used and timing could be out by several seconds.

Atomic clock precision

The Olympics is not the only organisation that requires ultra precise timing. Atomic clock precision is becoming increasingly important for all sorts of technologies. Systems such as air traffic control, CCTV networks, speed cameras and even modern computer networks that communicate over the internet all require atomic clock timing precision. Think of the problems that two computer networks trying to conduct transactions over the internet would face without precise synchronisation. Timestamps are the only information computers can use to know when or if a transaction or process has taken place and because computers can conduct hundreds of tasks every second, differences of a fraction of a second could lead to errors.

However, maintaining exact synchronisation is not a simple task. While most computers have internal timing chips, these are quartz oscillators and are prone to drift. If two clocks are set at the same time, it doesn’t take long before they begin to drift, and within a few weeks, different machines could have timing several seconds apart. For this reason, computer networks and other precise technologies adopt the same concept as Olympic timing system and regularly synchronise with atomic clocks to maintain synchronisation.

Network Time Protocol

The threat computer networks face because of poor synchronisation is as old as the internet. For this reason, a software protocol was devised in the very early days of online communication. Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a system that allows all computers on a network to synchronise regularly with a single source time. NTP checks the time on each device, and if it is found to differ to the source time, by even a millisecond, it adjusts the time to ensure complete accuracy. Using NTP, networks of hundreds of machines can be kept synchronised to within a few milliseconds of a single source time. Of course, for networks that communicate across the internet, they also need to ensure synchronisation over the internet.

Coordinated Universal Time

To allow networks across the globe to synchronise with each other, a global timescale was introduced in the 1970s. Unlike local timescales, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the same everywhere on the globe, although local systems can still display time zone-adjusted clocks. Because UTC is based on the time told by atomic clocks, it is always accurate and precise, and is what most technology systems and computer networks use as a source time for NTP synchronisation. Just as Olympic timing devices use GPS as a source of atomic time, so can computer networks by using an NTP time server.

NTP time server

NTP time servers are dedicated devices that receive atomic clock timings for NTP synchronisation. While many make use of GPS signals, this is not the only source of UTC time available. Some NTP servers can receive radio waves broadcast from physics laboratories. In the UK, this signal is known as MSF as is broadcast from NPL (National Physical Laboratory) from their transmitter in Cumbria. In North America, NIST (National Institute for Standards and Time) broadcast the WWVB signal from Boulder, Colorado. Other countries have similar systems in place, such as the German DCF signal. Because these devices are transmitted via long wave, they don’t require a rooftop antenna unlike GPS time servers, which makes them a better solution for locations without rooftop access.

Internet time

There are plenty of sources of UTC time available on the internet too, and many home PCs can synchronise to these to maintain accurate time. However, these online sources of time are not accurate, reliable or secure enough to be trusted by large computer networks or technologies that rely on precise time. For these organisations, the security and reliability of GPS signals and radio transmissions ensure they can maintain accurate and precise time without fear of security breaches or the risk of becoming unsynchronised due to an inaccurate timing source.

Have the Olympics kept pace with precision timing? is a post from: Galleon Systems

How to Prevent Costly Leap Second Interruptions

Richard N Williams — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:18:12 +0000

At the end of June this year, several high profiles websites suffered disruption and went down due the inclusion of an additional second to the international time system. The websites, including the social news and networking sites Reddit, Foursquare and Linkedin, were disrupted for several hours thanks to the inclusion of a Leap Second to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the world’s global timescale.

While a single second may not sound like much, for websites that rely heavily on synchronised operations, the added time caused such disruption that several sites went down for nearly twelve hours and others suffered varying problems such as lost data. These disruptions were not unique, either. Leap seconds are added to the international timescale regularly, often twice a year, in a tinkering with time that is becoming increasingly controversial.

Synchronisation

Websites and other modern technologies all rely on the world’s global timescale for synchronisation. UTC enables computers across the globe to communicate in perfect synchronisation, and without it, many of the online transactions we take for granted, such as social networking, banking and shopping simply couldn’t happen.

Computers rely heavily on time in the form of timestamps as a means of telling when a transaction has occurred or needs to occur. If computers weren’t accurately synchronised, computers would have no way of knowing if process had or hadn’t happened and all sorts of errors would take place. Lost data, transaction failure and vulnerability to fraud would all be common without proper synchronisation. You only have to think back to the Millennium Bug to realise the sorts of problems that computers and other technologies could suffer from without precise and accurate synchronised time.

Coordinated Universal Time

UTC was devised in the 1970s because advances in technology meant there was a need for a single, universal time to ensure machines had a single timescale to which devices across the globe could synchronise without being affected by time zone difference. As. UTC is based on the time told by atomic clocks it is exceptionally accurate, enabling computer networks on opposite sides of the globe to be synchronised within a few milliseconds of each other. Without atomic clocks, networks could have differences in several seconds, which would result in many of the errors mentioned above.

In fact, atomic clocks are even more accurate than the rotation of the Earth. While we may all think the Earth takes 24 hours to make one complete rotation, this is not exactly the case. Each day can vary minutely. Sometimes it can take a little longer than 24 hours, sometimes a little less time. All these tiny differences mean that by the end of the year, the Earth’s rotation and Coordinated Universal Time are slightly out of sync with each other, and so require a slight adjustment.

Leap Seconds

Since UTC was introduced and atomic clocks began governing our time, the growing trend has been that the rate at which the Earth spins is gradually slowing down. We now know that this has been the case for millions of years. For instance, 100 million years ago, the length of a day on Earth was about 22 hours, and the day has been lengthening ever since. This gradual slowing of Earth’s rotation is caused by tidal forces that act as a brake and slow the rate at which Earth spins. These tidal forces are in turn caused by the Moon, which is gradually getting farther away as the Earth’s spin slows down.

While these cosmological changes are very slight, and equate to only a second or two a year, it does mean that UTC requires the addition of an extra second twice a year to ensure it is synchronised with the rate at which the Earth is revolving. If this didn’t happen, eventually the day would drift into night and noon would no longer be the middle of the day, although this would take millions of years, and the decision to add additional seconds to keep the Earth and UTC synchronised is a controversial one.

Controversy

The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) decide when to add additional leap seconds. IERS monitor the rate at which the Earth revolves, and since the 1970s, they have added 25 leap seconds to UTC. However, these changes have proved increasingly controversial.

Because of the problems that adding these extra seconds cause, and the fact that it would take thousands of years before any difference in UTC and mean solar time (when noon happens when the sun is at its highest) would be noticeable, critics argue leap seconds are not necessary. They argue other measures could be taken, such as a leap hour every thousand years or so, which would prove far less disruptive, or even a leap minute every thirty years. However, so far, no consensus has been reached and leap seconds look set to stay for the foreseeable future.

Network Time Protocol

Computer networks are synchronised to a form of UTC using Network Time Protocol (NTP). NTP is a software algorithm that ensures all devices on a network are synchronised together. It works by using a single source of UTC, which it then distributes around a network, adjusting system clocks to ensure each device is within a few milliseconds of the UTC source.

If systems clocks are left to their own devices without continual adjustment from NTP, they soon drift. This is because most computers have simple quartz oscillators on their motherboards to maintain time, but these can lose several seconds a week. For a computer, which can perform hundreds of processes each second, the more accurate the time, the more efficent the network will be, which is why networks use atomic clock based systems such as UTC.

Often, problems with leap seconds occur because sources of UTC change automatically at a certain time. For instance on 30 June of this year, at 11:59:59 an additional second was added, which meant the time stuttered for a second, thus causing problems for websites and networks that struggled to accommodate the change. However, a simple solution is available to prevent this disruption.

GPS Time Servers

The Global Positioning System (GPS) provides an accurate source of time generated by atomic clocks. While GPS time signals are not a source of UTC, it is a time generated by atomic clocks and is easy for NTP to adjust it to match UTC, as the signals contain all the necessary data for conversion, such as the number of leap seconds to include.

GPS time signals are what satellite navigation devices use to calculate positioning. By using the timestamps in the GPS signal, a sat nav device can triangulate its position to within a few metres. This can only be done using the precise timing produced by atomic clocks because the time signals travel from the satellites at the speed of light, and even a fraction of a second of discrepancy could see positioning information out by several miles.

By using GPS Time, computer network administrators can make their own provision to make alterations for leap seconds, rather than be taken unawares by automatic adjustments made to UTC time sources such as radio transmissions and internet based time servers, over which network administrators have no control.

GPS time servers

Receiving a source of GPS Time is simple and inexpensive too. Dedicated NTP GPS time servers are readily available that can receive GPS time signals and use it as a source of time synchronisation for a network. These time servers use a roof top antenna that receives the time, which it then distributes around a network using NTP. A single GPS time server is capable of servicing a network of hundreds of machines so it is an inexpensive solution for time synchronisation. Furthermore, as the GPS time signals contain all the relevant information to convert GPS Time to UTC, the network can automatically be converted enabling synchronisation with other networks, while leap second provisions can be planned into the network, avoiding sudden disruptions.

Some networks, such as the one used by search engine giants Google, introduce a leap second over a prolonged period, introducing it in tiny increments for several weeks, which in effect smears the leap second of a longer period, preventing the sudden stutter of an additional second.

Security and accuracy

GPS time servers also ensure a network is secure. Some sources of UTC time, such as those taken from internet time servers, provide a gateway in network firewalls through which viruses and other malicious software could gain access. GPS Time on the other hand, is external to a network and it is impossible for somebody to tamper with it. Furthermore, internet time servers may not be as precise as many users imagine them to be. Some time servers can be several seconds out of sync with UTC. In addition, if the online time server suffers an outage, the network will be without an accurate source of time until service is restored, which could result in system clocks drifting so the network loses its synchronisation. GPS Time by comparison is always precise, always accurate and never goes down.

How to Prevent Costly Leap Second Interruptions is a post from: Galleon Systems

The Perils of Online Time Servers

Richard N Williams — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:12:57 +0000

All sorts of technologies rely on precise and exact time, from cash machines and CCTV cameras, to speed cameras and computer networks. For computer networks, accurate time is essential for preventing errors, fraud and ensures security. Without it, many organisations, industries and modern applications couldn’t function. Everything from internet banking to air traffic control relies on precise and accurate time, but many organisations take unnecessary risks when it comes to the time on their networks and rely on online time servers.

Importance of synchronisation

Timestamps are the only method computer systems have of knowing when transactions, processes or applications have taken place or need to take place, which is why precise synchronisation is so vital for many modern technologies. CCTV networks, speed cameras, ATM machine and financial services require exact timing. If different devices are running at different times, even by just a second or two, all sorts of errors can occur.

For instance, if a banking customer withdraws all of his or her cash from an ATM, if the time on another cash machine differs, the customer could withdraw the same amount of cash again, as the machine may believe the original transaction hadn’t yet happened. Furthermore, imagine what would happen if two average speed cameras on a stretch of motorway weren’t synchronised together. Innocent motorists could be fined for speeding when in fact they were obeying the speed limit, and the same sorts of problems occur when computers communicate over the internet, which is why the modern network needs a method of accurately synchronising all devices together.

Network Time Protocol

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is an algorithm-based protocol designed to keep all devices on a network accurate and synchronised. Whether they are computers, CCTV cameras or ATM machines, NTP can ensure all devices are within a few milliseconds of each other. This means for a network of computers, each machine will have the exact same time, so any transactions, processes or applications will always be precise and accurate.

NTP works by using a single master time source. NTP distributes this time source to every device on the network and adjusts the system clocks to ensure each device is running true to within a few milliseconds of this source time. NTP is a freely available time protocol that is installed as standard on most computer systems and operating systems. However, the key to NTP precision lies in the accuracy in the master time source, which in turn is reliant on where the time source comes from.

Atomic clocks

The most accurate time source available comes from atomic clocks. Atomic clocks provide accuracy to the millionth of a second and they never drift, which is important because a drifting clock could result in the time gradually altering and devices would eventually lose synchronisation. However, atomic clocks are not practical instruments to be installed in computer server rooms; they are large, cumbersome and require regular attention to keep them running. However, atomic clock time signals can be utilised for the purposes of synchronisation.

Atomic time, usually called UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), is an international timescale used by technology-based systems that enables different networks across the globe to communicate with each other in perfect synchronisation. This atomic clock time signal is available from various sources, however, many network administrators rely on the internet, but this can result in all sorts of issues.

Online time servers

Various time servers around the internet distribute an atomic clock source for computer network synchronisation. There are hundreds of different locations offering sources of time. However, while this may seem like a simple and practical solution, using the internet as a source of atomic clock timing can lead to all sorts of problems. Not all these time sources are accurate, many are unreliable, and none can provide 100% security.

Security

As with downloading anything from the internet, using an online time server can lead to a network becoming vulnerable to security threats. In order to receive a timing source, a network requires an open port in the firewall, which could lead to malicious software or users gaining access. Furthermore, malicious users can also attack the time source itself, which could also result in security problems. A hacker could alter the time by a few minutes, days or even years, which would affect the entire network’s time. This could lead to errors in transactions, processes failing, or even complete network failure. You only have to think back to the millennium bug to recognise the problems that a tampered time source could cause for networks.

Accuracy

Another problem with internet time sources is their accuracy, which can never be guaranteed. All sorts of variables affect the accuracy of online time sources, from the distance between the host and peer, the speed of internet connections, to the original accuracy of the time source in the first place. In fact, surveys conducted of online time sources have revealed that a huge number of them are incredibly inaccurate, and not just by a few seconds, some have been found to be inaccurate by several hours. One of the main causes of this is that online time servers are not checked very frequently to ensure they are functioning correctly, which results in those networks that rely on them being left with an inaccurate and unreliable source of time.

Furthermore, most online time servers do not get their time source directly from an atomic clock and actually get their time from another time server. Many online time servers receive a time signal from another online time source, which in turn receives it from another device. This extra layer of servers can result in the time being out of sync with the original time source and this in turn will lead to a network having inaccurate time.

Reliability

Reliability is another reason why online time servers should not be used by any network that takes timing seriously. While NTP is very good at maintaining accurate time during short-term outages of the timing source, it cannot do this indefinitely. If an online time source goes down, eventually the network will begin to drift. The longer the time source is down, the more inaccurate the network will become. The big problem with online time servers is that unless somebody continually checks that the time server is still up and running, a network can go for days, weeks or even months without a valid time source, leading to the network ending up out of synchronisation by a large amount.

Online time servers also offer no authentication or guarantee of accuracy, so if the worst happens and a network needs to be debugged or the exact time of an event needs to be discovered, there is no guarantee the timestamp is accurate or reliable.

Dedicated NTP time servers

There is an alternative to using online time servers, and one which won’t leave a computer network at the mercy of inaccurate time: a dedicated NTP time server. Dedicated NTP time servers come in two forms: GPS and radio referenced time servers. GPS (Global Positioning System) time servers receive the signal transmitted from GPS satellites, while radio referenced time servers receive signals transmitted by national physics laboratories such as NPL in the UK (National Physical Laboratory), NIST in the USA (National Institute for Physics and Time) and similar organisations in other nations. In both cases, these dedicated NTP time servers receive these signals directly from an atomic clock source, so are always accurate and reliable as there is no latency or third party server to affect the time.

When it comes to computer network security, there really is no substitute to a dedicated time server. By getting the time from an external GPS or radio source, dedicated time servers don’t require an open port in the firewall that will leave a network vulnerable to attack, nor can a third party tamper with the time. For organisations that invest heavily in network security, using a dedicated time server can be as essential as anti-virus software and other security measures for protecting a network.

Audit trail

Furthermore, when it comes to fixing errors, debugging a system, or auditing, a dedicated time server provides an irrefutable trail that makes it simple and easy to pinpoint the exact time an event occurred. When tracing security breaches, fraud or criminal activity, a log from a dedicated time server can even be used in court proceedings as evidence, something that online time servers cannot provide. Evidence from dedicated NTP time servers have been used in all sorts of cases from high-profile murder trials, to cases of fraud and robbery.

Leaving time to chance can be costly, especially compared to the relatively inexpensive cost of a single dedicated NTP time server. As a single NTP time server can synchronise hundreds of devices on a network, it provides an excellent return on investment, especially when you consider the cost of a security breach, a downed network or the various other problems timing errors can cause.

The Perils of Online Time Servers is a post from: Galleon Systems

Why your Network Needs an NTP GPS Time Server

Richard N Williams — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:16:11 +0000

NTP GPS time servers are becoming an essential tool for business networks. With the ability to synchronise hundreds of computer, switches and routers, an NTP GPS time server can keep a network accurate to within a few milliseconds of UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

UTC is the world’s global time scale that computer networks use to ensure they are synchronised to one another. By using a source of UTC time, a computer network can communicate to other networks across the globe without risk of errors occurring due to different machines having different times. UTC is governed by atomic clocks and there are several different sources where a NTP time server can get a source of UTC time:
• The internet – by using one of the many online time servers available on the World Wide Web.
• Radio signals – transmitted by national physics laboratories such as NPL (National Physical Laboratory).
• The GPS network – by using an NTP GPS Time Server.

Accuracy

Satellite navigation devices are reliant on precise time to triangulate positioning; a split second in accuracy could mean positioning information could be miles out. For this reason, GPS is one the most accurate sources of time available. The time code is generated by atomic clocks on board the GPS satellite, which is beamed to Earth and available for a NTP GPS time server to utilise.

Not all sources of UTC time are this accurate. Many online time servers can be out by several seconds. Furthermore, even the most precise online time servers are affected by distance between the time server and client and also the speed of connection.

Security

One of the major advantages of using a NTP GPS time server is security. GPS time signals are external to a network, which means it is impossible for outside influences to affect them. Online times sources, however, can be hacked by malicious software, which could not only infect the time server, but also every machine that is connected to it. Furthermore, an online time server has to come through the firewall, which means leaving a port open for the time signal. This port can act as a gateway for malicious software, enabling them a route in to your network.

In addition, online time sources can’t be authenticated by NTP; this is an inbuilt security mechanism within Network Time Protocol that checks that the time signal is genuine. Without this authentication, a time signal could easily be coming from an intentioned source

Availability

While atomic clock radio transmission are just as accurate and secure as the GPS network, they are not available everywhere. Not all national physics laboratories transmit atomic clock signals, such as the MSF transmission put out by NPL, and even in countries that do, interference from local topography means they are not available everywhere.

In comparison, GPS signals are available everywhere on the planet, as long as there is a line of sight view of the sky. Furthermore, GPS signals never suffer outages due to maintenance unlike radio transmissions. Also, because the signals are external to a network, if the internet connection goes down, the time signal is still received so the network is never at risk of suffering time drift.

Why your Network Needs an NTP GPS Time Server is a post from: Galleon Systems

Where to Find an Atomic Clock Time Reference for PC

Richard N Williams — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:13:11 +0000

Keeping a computer network healthy and secure is a full time job. Ensuring the firewall is secure, the anti-virus software is up-to-date and the network has no vulnerabilities is essential in the modern world of computer hacking. It only takes a brief lapse in network security for malicious users to take advantage, which is why it is imperative that a secure atomic clock time reference for PC is used for synchronisation.

Time synchronisation is not just important for security, either. Accurate and precise time is important for preventing errors and enabling communication with other networks, essential in today’s modern global economy.

Network Time Protocol

Network Time Protocol (NTP) conducts time synchronisation on computer networks. NTP takes a single time source and distributes it around a network, ensuring every device, whether they are PCs, routers or switches, are kept accurate to the master time source.

To ensure a network or PC is running the same time as other devices it may communicate with, it’s important that time synchronisation is conducted using a source of UTC (Coordinated Universal Timer). UTC is an atomic clock time reference used to ensure all PCs and computer networks, no matter where they are in the world, are all running the same time. NTP time servers are used to receive a times source and distribute it around a network but there are various choices for locating a source of UTC for time reference for PC synchronisation.

Online Time Servers

One of the most common locations network administrators turn to for a time reference for PC synchronisation is the internet. There are a wide selection of online time servers available for a PC or network to synchronise to; however, using online time servers is not without its risks.

Online time servers are not always accurate. In studies of time servers available on the internet, many have been found to be wholly inaccurate, with the time often generated not directly from atomic clocks but servers the communicate with other servers with an atomic clock link. Some time servers have been known to inaccurate by up to several minutes. Furthermore, using an online time server requires allowing the time signal to pass through the firewall, which is also not without risks. Leaving a port open for the time signal can also provide opportunities for malicious users and software to gain access to network.

GPS Time Servers

A far more secure method of finding a source of UTC as a time reference for PC or network is to use a GPS time server that receives GPS signals. The GPS signal contains an accurate source of time generated by atomic clocks on board the GPS satellites. This signal is not only highly accurate, coming direct from an atomic clock source, but also as it is external to a network is highly secure and can’t be tampered with or used as a means of an unauthorised user gaining access to a network.

Radio References Time Servers

Radio signals are also another accurate and secure from of time reference for PC or networks. These signals are received by radio references time servers, which also work externally to a network and as the signals are broadcast by national physics laboratories, they are accurate and trustworthy.

Where to Find an Atomic Clock Time Reference for PC is a post from: Galleon Systems

Using Ethernet NTP Digital Wall Clocks

Richard N Williams — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:58 +0000

Accurate time is more crucial now that it has ever been before. While decades ago, having a wall clock a few minutes fast or slow was no big deal, however, in the modern age, with the internet and global communication, knowing the exact time is crucial for all sorts of organisations. Computer networks, for instance, need to be accurately synchronised to enable communication with other networks, and failing to do so can lead to all sorts of potential errors and problems.

To achieve synchronisation computer networks use what is known as an NTP time server, which receives the time from an atomic clock signal and then distributes it around a network. However, it is not just computer networks that need an accurate and synchronised form of time, but also people in many organisations need to know exactly what the time, which is where Ethernet NTP digital wall clocks are used.

NTP

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a computer software algorithm that enables synchronisation on a network. It works by taking a single time source and then distributing it to all devices on a network, including Ethernet digital wall clocks. NTP continually checks the devices to maintain precision and accuracy, which mean an Ethernet NTP digital wall clock, once set, will always be accurate and precise.

However, for NTP to maintain network precision it first needs to know the exact time with which to synchronise all devices. It does this by using a NTP network time server, which receives the time from a secure and accurate atomic clock source.

NTP Network Time Servers

NTP network time servers come in several varieties, depending from where they get their time signals. The two most common NTP time servers are the GPS time server and the NTP radio receiver. As the name suggests, the GPS time server receives its time source from the GPS network, which is generated by atomic clocks on the GPS satellites. NTP radio receivers use radio transmission broadcast by physics laboratories such as NPL in the UK (National Physical Laboratory) and NIST in the United States (National Institute of Standards and Time). Both types of NTP network time servers can distribute these time signals across a network of hundreds of devices, including Ethernet NTP digital wall clocks.

Ethernet NTP Digital Wall Clock

Ethernet NTP digital wall clocks plug into an NTP times server using an Ethernet cable. This means that the time signal is sent from the NTP time server directly to the Ethernet NTP digital wall clock, maintaining its accuracy. There are several big advantages to this. Firstly, the Ethernet digital wall clock never needs setting as it is automatically set by the time signal sent from the times server, which means it will always be accurate, and secondly, the Ethernet NTP digital wall clock requires no mains power or batteries as it gets its power form the Ethernet. This means the clock will never lose time in a power outage, and even if the computer network goes down, as soon as it boots back up again the Ethernet NTP digital wall clock will automatically set itself to the atomic clock time signal received by the NTP network time server.

Using Ethernet NTP Digital Wall Clocks is a post from: Galleon Systems

Radio Time Synchronisation Receivers – for Secure and Accurate Network Time

Richard N Williams — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:24:43 +0000

Computer networks need to be synchronised. Keeping an accurate, precise and synchronised form or time is essential for security, preventing errors and communicating with other computer networks. If two computers are running different time scales, all sorts of problems can ensue, from information getting lost, applications failing to occur and the whole network becoming vulnerable to unauthorised and malicious intrusion.

To keep precise time, computer networks have to find a source of accurate, precise and secure time, which enables all devices to be synchronised together. One of the most common used devices for achieving this are radio time synchronisation receivers.

Coordinated Universal Time

In today’s world of global communication and the internet, computer networks don’t only have to be synchronised internally, but also to prevent errors when communicating other computer networks, have to be synchronised with every network with which it communicates.

To achieve this, a global time scale was developed based on the time told by atomic clocks. Atomic clocks are the most accurate and precise form of timekeeping devices as they do not drift and keep time to within a few nanoseconds. The only problem with atomic clocks is that they are expensive pieces of equipment and only normally found in physics laboratories such as NPL (National Physical Laboratory) in the UK and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Time) in the USA.

Radio Time Synchronisation Receiver

Fortunately, computer networks can utilise atomic clocks because these physics laboratories broadcast time signals. To receive these time signals for synchronising a computer network, radio time synchronisation receivers are used. Radio time synchronisation receivers not only receive the atomic clock signal, but also they distribute this signal around a computer network, ensuring all computers, routers and switches on the network are kept synchronised to this atomic clock time.

Radio time synchronisation receivers use NTP (Network Time Synchronisation) to maintain synchronisation across the network using the atomic clock signal.

Time Signals

The time signals and frequencies that radio time synchronisation receivers use vary country to country. In the UK, the signal broadcast by NPL is known as the MFS signal and it is transmitted from Cumbria. The signal is available across the UK, although as with most radio signals it is susceptible to interference caused by local topography.

In the USA, the NIST signal is known as WWVB and is broadcast from Boulder, Colorado and radio time synchronisation receivers across North America can receive it. Other nations have their own radio transmissions, such as the DCF signal in Germany, which can also be picked up by neighbouring countries.

For areas where a local time signal is unavailable, there is another solution for receiving an atomic clocks source – the GPS time synchronisation receiver. These are similar devices to the radio time synchronisation receivers, but rather than use a radio source, they make use of the GPS signal, which is then distributed around a network using the same NTP protocol. The big advantage of GPS time servers is that the signal is available anywhere, no matter where you are on the planet, although their main disadvantage is that an antenna needs a clear view of the sky to receive the signal.

Radio Time Synchronisation Receivers – for Secure and Accurate Network Time is a post from: Galleon Systems

Precision Made Easy with an NTP POE Wall Clock

Richard N Williams — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:41:25 +0000

In large organisations, such as schools, colleges, hospitals and businesses, one of the most difficult tasks is to ensure people all know the correct time. When meetings, classes and events rely on everybody arriving at a specific time, if people are late it can have a knock on effect disrupting the rest of the day. The problem is that precise and accurate time is more difficult than it sounds. While placing up wall clocks in highly visible locations will give people an indication as to what time it is, if these clocks are running different times then problems will still occur.

Most wall clocks are not very accurate. Set two clocks to the same time and after a week or so, the clocks could be a minute or so apart, and over several weeks there could be as much as ten minutes difference between the clocks. Of course, constant resetting and synchronisation is one solution, but that means somebody has to take charge of synchronising an organisations clocks, which in a large building could me quite a task. Fortunately, NTP POE wall clocks are the ideal solution for maintaining accurate, precise and synchronised time.

Network Time Protocol

NTP POE wall clocks use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to maintain accuracy and synchronisation. NTP is a computer algorithm that works by taking a single master time source that it distributes to all devices on a network. In the case of most NTP systems, the time is received via a NTP time server that is hooked up to a computer network.

All computer networks need an accurate source of time for security and preventing errors. This time source typically comes from an atomic clock source, usually received by the NTP server by either GPS or a radio signal. NTP then checks all devices, including NTP POE wall clocks, and continuously adjusts them to ensure they exactly match this master time source.

Power Over Ethernet

NTP POE wall clocks are connected to a computer network using an Ethernet cable. They don’t require batteries because they utilise power over Ethernet, a system that provides both data and power to run the clocks.

Power over Ethernet is an efficient system that is easy to install and means clocks can maintain time without fear of batteries running down or having to use the services of an electrician to wire the clocks to the mains.

POE Clocks

Once installed and connected to the network, a NTP POE wall clock will set itself, taking the time directly from the NTP time server. This means the clock will be accurate to an atomic clock source. Furthermore, all NTP POE wall clock installed on the network will always have the exact same time, ensuring that everybody in a large organisation can have access to a precise source of time.

Once installed, a NTP POE wall clock will never have to be manually set. Even daylight saving hours will be accounted for with the clocks automatically setting themselves to the exact time. Easy to install, an NTP POE wall clock is the ideal solution for providing accurate, precise and visible time around large organisations.

Precision Made Easy with an NTP POE Wall Clock is a post from: Galleon Systems