{"id":568,"date":"2009-05-18T10:26:29","date_gmt":"2009-05-18T10:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/galsys.co.uk\/news\/?p=568"},"modified":"2018-05-08T15:20:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T15:20:21","slug":"how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world\u2019s technologies have advanced dramatically over the last few decades with innovations likes the internet and satellite navigation having changed the way we live our lives.<\/p>\n

Atomic clocks<\/a> pay a key role in these technologies; their time signals are what are used by GPS receivers to plot location and many applications and transactions across the internet if it wasn\u2019t for highly precise synchronisation.<\/p>\n

In fact a global timescale has been developed that is based on the time told by atomic clocks. UTC<\/a> (Coordinated Universal Time) ensures that computer networks across the globe can be synchronised to the exact same time.<\/p>\n

Synchronising computers and networks to atomic clocks is relatively straight forward thanks in part to NTP<\/a> (Network Time Protocol), a version of which is included in most operating systems and is also thanks to the number of public NTP servers<\/a> that exist on the internet.<\/p>\n

To synchronise a Windows PC to an atomic clock is done by simply double clocking the clock on the task bar and then configuring the Internet Time tab to a relevant NTP server<\/a>. A list of public NTP servers can be found at the NTP pool<\/a> website.<\/p>\n

When configuring networks to UTC however, a public NTP server is not suitable as there are security issues about polling a time source outside the firewall. Public servers are also known as stratum 2 servers which means they receive the time from another device that gets it from an atomic clock. This indirect method means that there is often a compromise in accuracy, furthermore if the internet connection goes down or the time server site then the network will soon drift away from UTC.<\/p>\n

A far more secure and stable method is to invest in a dedicated NTP time server<\/a>. These devices receive a time signal directly from an atomic clock, either produced by a national physics lab like NIST<\/a> or NPL<\/a> via long wave radio or from GPS satellites.<\/p>\n

A single dedicated NTP server will provide a stable, reliable and highly precise source of UTC and allow networks of hundreds and even thousands of devices to be synchronised to NTP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The world\u2019s technologies have advanced dramatically over the last few decades with innovations likes the internet and satellite navigation having changed the way we live our lives. Atomic clocks pay a key role in these technologies; their time signals are what are used by GPS receivers to plot location and many applications and transactions across…<\/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":[4,62,7,13,14],"tags":[19,20,207,64,29],"class_list":["post-568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atomic-clocks","category-network-security","category-ntp-basics","category-time-synchronisation","category-timing-source","tag-gps-ntp-server","tag-gps-ntp-time-server","tag-gps-time-server","tag-nist","tag-ntp-servers"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - 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\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - Galleon Systems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The world\u2019s technologies have advanced dramatically over the last few decades with innovations likes the internet and satellite navigation having changed the way we live our lives. Atomic clocks pay a key role in these technologies; their time signals are what are used by GPS receivers to plot location and many applications and transactions across…Continue reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Galleon Systems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard N Williams\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@galleonsystems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GalleonSystems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Richard N Williams\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Richard N Williams\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\"},\"headline\":\"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":364,\"keywords\":[\"gps ntp server\",\"gps ntp time server\",\"gps time server\",\"nist\",\"ntp servers\"],\"articleSection\":[\"atomic clocks\",\"network security\",\"NTP Basics\",\"Time Synchronisation\",\"timing source\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - Galleon Systems\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Galleon Systems\",\"description\":\"Sales: 0121 608 7230\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd\",\"name\":\"Richard N Williams\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Richard N Williams\"},\"description\":\"Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the NTP Server and Time Synchronisation industry.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/galleonsystems\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.galsys.co.uk\\\/news\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - Galleon Systems","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - Galleon Systems","og_description":"The world\u2019s technologies have advanced dramatically over the last few decades with innovations likes the internet and satellite navigation having changed the way we live our lives. Atomic clocks pay a key role in these technologies; their time signals are what are used by GPS receivers to plot location and many applications and transactions across…Continue reading","og_url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/","og_site_name":"Galleon Systems","article_published_time":"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00","author":"Richard N Williams","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@galleonsystems","twitter_site":"@GalleonSystems","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Richard N Williams","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/"},"author":{"name":"Richard N Williams","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd"},"headline":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock","datePublished":"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/"},"wordCount":364,"keywords":["gps ntp server","gps ntp time server","gps time server","nist","ntp servers"],"articleSection":["atomic clocks","network security","NTP Basics","Time Synchronisation","timing source"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/","url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/","name":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock - Galleon Systems","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-05-18T10:26:29+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-08T15:20:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/how-to-synchronise-your-pc-to-an-atomic-clock\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Synchronise Your PC to an Atomic Clock"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/","name":"Galleon Systems","description":"Sales: 0121 608 7230","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/38013a1dcb0021026d59957e276aa3cd","name":"Richard N Williams","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/01862680879ba669edd67af1e800a1061bb93933cf7fe58c48043fb7d52911bc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Richard N Williams"},"description":"Richard N Williams is a technical author and a specialist in the NTP Server and Time Synchronisation industry.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/galleonsystems"],"url":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1977,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568\/revisions\/1977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galsys.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}