Choosing a Source of Time for an NTP Synchronization

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Accurate time is essential in the modern world of internet banking, online auctions and global finance. Any computer network that is involved in global communication needs to have an accurate source of the global timescale UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) to be able to talk to other networks.

Receiving UTC is simple enough. It is available from multiple sources but some are more reliable than others:

Internet Time Sources

The internet is awash with time sources. These vary in reliability and accuracy but some trusted organisations like NIST (National Institute of Standards and Time) and Microsoft. However, there are disadvantages with internet time sources:

Reliability – The demand for internet sources of UTC often means it can be difficult to access them

Accuracy – most internet time servers are stratum 2 devices which means they rely on a source of time themselves. Often errors can occur and many sources of time can be very inaccurate.

Security – Perhaps the biggest issue with internet time sources is the risk they pose to security. To receive a time stamp from across the internet the firewall needs to have an opening to allow the signals to pass through; this can lead to malicious users taking advantage.

Radio Referenced Time Servers.

A secure method of receiving UTC time stamps is available by using a NTP time server that can receive radio signals from labs like NIST and NPL (National Physical Laboratory. Many countries have these broadcasted time signals which are highly accurate, reliable and secure.

GPS Time servers

Another source for dedicated time servers is GPS. The big advantage of a GPS NTP time server is that the time source is available everywhere on the planet with a clear view of the sky. GPS time servers are also highly accurate, reliable and just as secure as radio referenced time servers.

Quantum Atomic Clocks The precision of the future

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The atomic clock is not a recent invention. Developed in the 1950’s, the traditional caesium based atomic clock has been providing us with accurate time for half a century.

The caesium atomic clock has become the foundation of our time – literally. The International System of Units (SI) define a second as a certain number of oscillations of the atom caesium and atomic clocks govern many of the technologies that we live with an use on a daily basis: The internet, satellite navigation, air traffic control and traffic lights to name but a few.

However, recent developments in optical quantum clocks that use single atoms of metals like aluminium or strontium are thousands of times more accurate than traditional atomic clocks. To put this in perspective, the best caesium atomic clock as used by institutes like NIST (National Institute for Standards and Time) or NPL (National Physical Laboratory) to govern the world’s global timescale UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), is accurate to within a second every 100 million years. However, these new quantum optical clocks are accurate to a second every 3.4 billion years – almost as long as the earth is old.

For most people, their only encounter with an atomic clock is receiving its time signal is a network time server or NTP device (Network Time Protocol) for the purposes of synchronising devices and networks and these atomic clock signals are generated using caesium clocks.

And until the world’s scientists can agreed on a single atom to replace caesium and a single clock design for keeping UTC, none of us will be able to take advantage of this incredible accuracy.

Network Time Protocol and Computer Time Synchronization

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Ask any network administrator or IT engineer and ask them how important network time synchronization is and you’ll normally get the same answer – very.

Time is used in almost all aspects of computing for logging when events have happened. In fact timestamps are the only reference a computer can use to keep tracks of tasks it has done and those that it has yet to do.

When networks are unsynchronized the result can be a real headache for anybody tasked with debugging them. Data can be often lost, applications fail to commence, error logging is next to impossible, not to mention the security vulnerabilities that can result if there is no synchronized network time.

NTP (Network Time Protocol) is the leading time synchronisation application having been around since the 1980’s. It has been constantly developed and is used by virtually every computer network that requires accurate time.

Most operating systems have a version of NTP already installed and using it to synchronise a single computer is relatively straight forward by using the options in the clock settings or task bar.

However, by using the inbuilt NTP application or daemon on a computer will result in the device using a source of internet time as a timing reference. This is all well and good for single desk top machines but on a network a more secure solution is required.

It is vital on any computer network that there are no vulnerabilities in the firewall which can lead to attacks from malicious users. Keeping a port open to communicate with an internet timing source is one method an attacker can use to enter a network.

Fortunately there are alternatives to using the internet as a timing source. Atomic clock time signals can be received using long wave radio or GPS transmissions.

Dedicated NTP time server devices are available that make the process of time synchronisation extremely easy as the NTP servers receives the time (externally to the firewall) and can then distribute to all machines on a network – this is done securely and accurately with most networks synchronised to an NTP server working to within a few milliseconds of each other.

Common Issues in Time Synchronisation

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Time synchronization is essential in modern computer networking especially with the amount of time sensitive transactions conducted over the internet these days. Without adequate synchronization computer systems will:

  • Be vulnerable to malicious attacks
  • Susceptible to data loss
  • Unable to conduct time sensitive transactions
  • Difficult to debug

Fortunately ensuring a computer network is accurately synchronized is relatively straight forward. There different methods of synchronizing a network to the global timescale UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) but occasionally some common issues do arise.

My dedicated time server is unable to receive a signal

Dedicated NTP time servers receive the time from either long wave transmissions or GPS networks. If using a GPS NTP server then a GPS antenna needs to be situated on a roof to obtain a clear view of the sky. However, a NTP radio receiver does not need a roof mounted aerial although the signal can be vulnerable to interference and the correct angle toward the transmitter should be attained.

I am using a public time server across the Internet but my devices are not synchronised.

As public time servers can be used by anyone they can receive high levels of traffic. This can cause problems with bandwidth and mean that your time requests can’t get through. Public NTP servers can also fall victim to DDoS attacks and some high profile incidents of NTP vandalism have occurred.

Internet time servers are also stratum 2 devices, in other words they themselves have to connect to a time server to receive the correct time and because of this some online time references are wildly inaccurate.

*NB – internet time servers are also incapable of being authenticated to allow NTP to establish if the time source is coming from where it claims to be, combined with the problem of ensuring the firewall is open to receive the time requests, can mean that internet time servers present a clear risk to security.

The time on my computer seems to be off by a second to standard UTC time

You need to check if a recent leap second has been added to UTC. Leap seconds are added once or twice a year to ensure UTC and the Earth’s rotation match. Some time servers experience difficulties in making the leap second adjustment.

Atomic Clock Synchronization made easy with a NTP Time Server

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Atomic clocks are the ultimate in timekeeping devices. Their accuracy is incredible as an atomic clock will not drift by as much as a second within a million years, and when this is compared to the next best chronometers, such as electronic clock that can drift by a second in a week, an atomic clock is incredibly more precise.

Atomic clocks are used the world over and are the heart of many modern technologies making capable a multitude of applications that we take for granted. Internet trading, satellite navigation, air traffic control and international banking are all industries that rely heavily on

They also govern the world’s timescale, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) which is kept true by a constellation of these clocks (although UTC has to be adjusted to accommodate the slowing of the Earth’s spin by adding leap seconds).

Computer networks are often required to run synchronized to UTC. This synchronisation is vital in networks that conduct time sensitive transactions or require high levels of security.

A computer network without adequate time synchronization can cause many issues including:

Loss of data

  • Difficulties in identifying and logging errors
  • Increased risk of security breaches.
  • Unable to conduct time sensitive transactions

For these reasons many computer networks have to be synchronized to a source of UTC and kept as accurate as possible. And although atomic clocks are large bulky devices kept in the confines of physics laboratories, using them as a source of time is incredibly simple.

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a software protocol designed solely for the synchronisation of networks and computer systems and by using a dedicated NTP server the time from an atomic clock can be received by the time server and distributed around the network using NTP.

NTP servers use radio frequencies and more commonly the GPS satellite signals to receive the atomic clock timing signals which is then spread throughout the network with NTP regularly adjusting each device to ensure it is as accurate as possible.

Rubidium Oscillators Additional Precision for NTP Serve (Part 1)

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Oscillators have been essential in the development of clocks and chronology. Oscillators are just electronic circuitry that produces a repetitive electronic signal. Often crystals such as quartz are used to stabilise the frequency of the oscillation,

Oscillators are the primary technology behind electronic clocks. Digital watches and battery powered analogue clock are all controlled by an oscillating circuit usually containing a quartz crystal.

And while electronic clocks are many times more accurate than a mechanical clock, a quartz oscillator will still drift by a second or two each week.

Atomic clocks of course are far more accurate. They still, however, use oscillators, most commonly caesium or rubidium but they do so in a hyper fine state often frozen in liquid nitrogen or helium. These clocks in comparison to electronic clocks will not drift by a second in even a million years (and with the more modern atomic clocks 100 million years).

To utilise this chronological accuracy a network time server that uses NTP (Network Time Protocol) can be used to synchronise complete computer networks. NTP servers use a time signal from either GPS or long wave radio that comes direct from an atomic clock (in the case of GPS the time is generated in a clock onboard the GPS satellite).

NTP servers continually check this source of time and then adjust the devices on a network to match that time. In between polls (receiving the time source) a standard oscillator is used by the time server to keep time. Normally these oscillators are quartz but because the time server is in regular communication with the atomic clock say every minute or two, then the normal drift of a quartz oscillator is not a problem as a few minutes between polls would not lead to any measurable drift.

To be continued…

European Time Synchronisation with DCF-77

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The DCF 77 signal is a long wave transmission broadcast at 77 KHz from Frankfurt in Germany. DCF -77 is transmitted by Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, the German national physics laboratory.

DCF-77 is an accurate source of UTC time and is generated by atomic clocks that ensure its precision. DCF-77 is a useful source of time that can be adopted all over Europe by technologies needing an accurate time reference.

Radio controlled clocks and network time servers receive the time signal and in the case of time servers distribute this time signal across a computer network. Most computer network use NTP to distribute the DCF 77 time signal.

There are advantages of using a signal like DCF for time synchronisation. DCF is long wave and is therefore susceptible to interference from other electrical devices but they can penetrate buildings that give the DCF signal an advantage over that other source of UTC time generally available – GPS (Global Positioning System) – which requires a open view of the sky to receive satellite transmissions.

Other long wave radio signals are available in other countries that are similar to DCF-77. In the UK the MSF -60 signal is broadcast by NPL (National Physical Laboratory) from Cumbria while in the USA, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Time) transmit the WVBB signal from Boulder, Colorado.

NTP time servers are an efficient method of receiving these long wave transmissions and then using the time code as a synchronisation source. NTP servers can receive DCF, MSF and WVBB as well as many of them also being able to receive the GPS signal too.

NTP or SNTP That is the Question?

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While there are several protocols available for time synchronisation the majority of network time is synchronised using either NTP or SNTP.

Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) have been around since the inception of the Internet (and in the case of NTP, several years beforehand) and are by far the most popular and widespread time synchronisation protocols.

However, the difference between the two is slight and deciding which protocol is best for a ntp time server or a particular time synchronisation application can be troublesome.

As its name suggests, SNTP is a simplified version of Network Time Protocol but the question is often asked: ‘what exactly is the difference?’

The main difference between the two versions of the protocol is in the algorithm that is used. NTP’s algorithm can query multiple reference clocks an calculate which is the most accurate.

SNTP use for low processing devices – it is suited to less powerful machines, do not require the high level accuracy of NTP. NTP can also monitor any offset and jitter (small variations in waveform resulting from voltage supply fluctuations, mechanical vibrations or other sources) whilst SNTP does not.

Another major difference is in the way the two protocols adjust for any drift in network devices. NTP will speed up or slow down a system clock to match the time of the reference clock coming into the NTP server (slewing) while SNTP will simply step forward or backward the system clock.

This stepping of the system time can cause potential problems with time sensitive applications especially of the step is quite large.

NTP is used when accuracy is important and when time critical applications are reliant on the network. However, its complex algorithm is not suited to simple machines or those with less powerful processors. SNTP on the other hand is best suited for these simpler devices as it takes up less computer resources, however it is not suited for any device where accuracy is critical or where time critical applications are reliant on the network.

Atomic Clocks the Key to Network Synchronisation

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Sourcing the correct time for network synchronisation is only possible thanks to atomic clocks. Compared to standard timing devices and atomic clock is millions of times more accurate with the latest designs providing accurate time to within a second in a 100,000 years.

Atomic clocks use the unchanging resonance of atoms during different energy states to measure time providing an atomic tick that occurs nearly 9 billion times a second in the case of the caesium atom. In fact the resonance of caesium is now the official definition of a second having been adopted by the International System of Unit (SI).

Atomic clocks are the base clocks used for the international time, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). And they also provide the basis for NTP servers to synchronise computer networks and time sensitive technologies such as those used by air traffic control and other high level time sensitive applications.

Finding an atomic clock source of UTC is a simple procedure. Particularly with the presence of online time sources such as those provided by Microsoft and the National Institute for Standards and Time (windows.time.com and nist.time.gov).

However, these NTP servers are what are known as stratum 2 devices that mean they are connected to another device which in turn gets the time from an atomic clock (in other words a second-hand source of UTC).

While the accuracy of these stratum 2 servers is unquestionable, it can be affected by the distance the client is from the time servers, they are also outside the firewall meaning that any communication with an online time server requires an open UDP (User Datagram Protocol) port to allow the communication.

This can cause vulnerabilities in the network and are not used for this reason in any system that requires complete security. A more secure (and reliable) method of receiving UTC is to use a dedicated NTP time server. These time synchronisation devices receive the time direct from atomic clocks either broadcast on long wave by places like NIST or NPL (National Physical Laboratory – UK). Alternatively UTC can be derived from the GPS signal broadcast by the constellation of satellites in the GPS network (Global Positioning System).

Network Time Protocol For When Time Matters

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There is a certain irony that the computer that sits on your desktop and may have cost as much as month’s salary will have a clock onboard that is less accurate than a cheap wristwatch bought at a petrol or gas station.

The problem is not that computers are in particularly made with cheap timing components but that any serious timekeeping on a PC can be achieved without expensive or advanced oscillators.

The onboard timing oscillators on most PCs are in fact just a back up to keep the computer clock synchronised when the PC is off or when network timing information is unavailable.

Despite these inadequate onboard clocks, timing on a network of PC’s can be achieved to within millisecond accuracy and a network that is synchronised to the global timescale UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) shouldn’t drift at all.

The reason this high level of accuracy and synchronicity can be achieved without expensive oscillators is that computers can use Network Timing Protocol (NTP) to find and maintain the exact time.

NTP is an algorithm that distributes a single source of time; this can be generated by the onboard clock of a PC – although this would see every machine on the network drift as the clock itself drifts – A far better solution is to use NTP to distribute a stable, accurate source of time, and most preferably for networks that conduct business across the internet, a source of UTC.

The simplest method of receiving UTC – which is kept true by a constellation of atomic clocks around the globe – is to use a dedicated NTP time server. NTP servers use either GPS satellite signals (Global Positioning System) or long wave radio broadcasts (usually transmitted by national physics laboratories like NPL or NIST).

Once received the NTP server distributes the timing source across the network and constantly checks each machine for drift (In essence the networked machine contacts the server as a client and the information is exchanged via TCP/IP.

This makes the onboard clocks of the computers themselves obsolete, although when the machines are initially booted up, or if there has been a delay in contacting the NTP server (if it is down or there is a temporary fault), the onboard clock is used to maintain time until full synchronisation is again achievable.