{"id":123,"date":"2008-02-28T09:04:51","date_gmt":"2008-02-28T08:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.galsys.co.uk\/?p=123"},"modified":"2018-05-08T11:47:55","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T11:47:55","slug":"this-article-explores-how-to-use-national-time-and-frequency-radio-transmissions-for-network-time-synchronisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/this-article-explores-how-to-use-national-time-and-frequency-radio-transmissions-for-network-time-synchronisation\/","title":{"rendered":"Using National Time and Frequency Signals as a NTP Timing Reference"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article explores how to use national time and frequency radio transmissions for network time synchronisation.<\/p>\n

The importance of an authenticated timing reference to synchronise a computer network to, cannot be stressed highly enough.<\/p>\n

While there are hundreds and quite possibly thousands of internet based timing sources these can\u2019t be authenticated leaving a system open to viruses, malicious hackers or malware.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, a survey by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) found that nearly half of internet timing sources were offset by over ten seconds and only a third could be regarded as being \u2018useful \u2019 also it was discovered that many were too far away from peers to provide any useful accuracy.<\/p>\n

Most dedicated network time servers<\/a> are designed to receive a timing signal from the GPS (Global Positioning System), primarily because it is the most accurate and can be received from anywhere on the globe.<\/p>\n

However, there are situations where it may not be practical to use a GPS time server<\/a>. A GPS antenna has to be situated on a rooftop and have a clear view of the sky which may prove difficult if the server is on the ground floor of a multi-storey sky-scraper. Many administrators also dislike the hassle and expense of having to run a cable up a building and install an antenna or if there are possibilities the server room maybe relocated and the process has to be repeated.<\/p>\n

Fortunately many countries\u2019 national physics laboratories broadcast a time and frequency signal from a radio transmitter. In the US the signal is referred to as WWVB and is broadcast by NIST<\/a> (National Institute for Standards and Technology) in Colorado. In the UK the National Physical Laboratory (NPL<\/a>) broadcasts the MSF signal from Cumbria and similar systems are broadcast in Germany (DCF-77), Japan (JJY) and France (TDF).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately not every country transmits a national time and frequency broadcast so if a time server is to be located outside of the US, Germany, UK, France or Japan it may be doubtful that a signal could be received (although many of the these transmissions can be received in neighbouring countries).<\/p>\n

Radio signals are also easily susceptible to atmospheric interference and can be blocked by mountains, sky-scrapers or other topography. However, an upside to using a radio receiver is that it will receive a signal inside a building.<\/p>\n

While a radio transmission is not as accurate as a GPS time signal a dedicated network time server receiving a radio signal can still provide accuracy between 1 – 20 milliseconds (a millisecond is 1\/1000 of a second) which is more than adequate for the needs of network synchronisation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article explores how to use national time and frequency radio transmissions for network time synchronisation. The importance of an authenticated timing reference to synchronise a computer network to, cannot be stressed highly enough. While there are hundreds and quite possibly thousands of internet based timing sources these can\u2019t be authenticated leaving a system open…<\/p>\n

Continue reading <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[19,20,207,22,23,25,26,27,28,204,29,30,34,35],"class_list":["post-123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-time-synchronisation","tag-gps-ntp-server","tag-gps-ntp-time-server","tag-gps-time-server","tag-linux-ntp","tag-linux-time-server","tag-network-time-server","tag-ntp-clock","tag-ntp-gps-server","tag-ntp-gps-time-server","tag-ntp-server-2","tag-ntp-servers","tag-ntp-time-server","tag-windows-ntp-server","tag-windows-server-2008"],"yoast_head":"\nUsing National Time and Frequency Signals as a NTP Timing Reference - Galleon Systems<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/this-article-explores-how-to-use-national-time-and-frequency-radio-transmissions-for-network-time-synchronisation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using National Time and Frequency Signals as a NTP Timing Reference - Galleon Systems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This article explores how to use national time and frequency radio transmissions for network time synchronisation. The importance of an authenticated timing reference to synchronise a computer network to, cannot be stressed highly enough. 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