Network Time Server - Choosing Your Time Reference
There are hundreds of internet based timing sources that allow computers running NTP to synchronise to a UTC time - however, there are several drawbacks in relying on the Internet for a timing reference:
Security is paramount for most computer networks and NTP, one of the Internet's oldest protocols, is equipped with its own security measures in the form of authentication. Authentication verifies that each timestamp has come from the intended time reference by analysing a set of agreed encryption keys that are sent along with the timing information.
Unfortunately, internet time sources can not be authenticated and Microsoft, Novell and others "strongly recommend" that internet sources are not used for a timing reference as it could leave a network vulnerable and open to malicious hackers, viruses or even a DDoS attack (Distributed Denial of Service - where a server is inundated with traffic rendering it useless).
Also a survey by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) of over 900 internet time references, discovered nearly half were offset by over ten seconds (one by a staggering six years - but there were fortunately not many peers) and less that a third where described as being at all "useful".
The report also discovered that many internet time reference hosts were too far away from their peers to allow any accurate time synchronisation to take place.
Fortunately a dedicated NTP network time server can receive other sources of UTC time which do offer complete security, authentication and are far more accurate and reliable.
The first is the national time and frequency broadcasts transmitted by several countries. In the US the signal is referred to as WWVB and is broadcast by NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) in Colorado. In the UK the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) broadcasts the MSF signal from Cumbria and similar systems are broadcast in Germany (DCF-77), Japan (JJY) and France (TDF).
Another, equally accurate and secure method is to use the timing signals broadcast by the American GPS (Global Positioning System).
The GPS is currently the world's only Global Navigation Satellite System, although Europe's Galileo and the Russian GLONASS system are expected to be up and running over the next five years.
It is a consequence of needing accurate timing information to be able to pin-point positioning that GPS satellites all contain an atomic clocks and the signal that is broadcast can be received and used by a network time server.
Related Tags: ntp server, gps ntp server, windows ntp server, ntp clock, ntp time server, gps time server, network time server, gps ntp time server, ntp servers, ntp gps time server, windows server 2008, ntp gps server, linux time server, linux ntp
Richard N Williams is a technical author and specialist in atomic clocks, telecommunications, NTP and network time synchronisation helping to develop dedicated NTP clocks. Please visit us for more information about a network time server or other ntp server solutions.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Understanding Cisco Sfp Optical Transceivers
The word SFP is an IT industry term which stands for Small Form Factor Pluggable. An SFP is a variet - Sharing The Internet Connection
If you are connecting two or more of your computers with each other over the network, then it is eas - Connecting The New Computer To My Server
The server is the computer that will handle the requests for applications, data and also other netwo - Networks
What is a network and its types ?The generic term " network "defines a set of entities (objects, peo - Ssl Certificates Are In Use Today Not All Valid
Qualys, a security research firm tries to paint a detailed portrait of SSL deployments and gaps with - A Mail Forwarding Usa - A Gift To Global Trade Links
Technologies have evolved very much over the past few decades. Globalization has enabled the world t - Benefits Of Wan Optimization Appliances/devices
In today's globally competitive market, corporate organizations both big and small adopt strategic m - Proper Network Cable Management And How It Can Save Your Business Time And Money
In many businesses now there are plenty of computers which will likely be attached to some sort of s - Dedicated Hosting In India For Web Servers
Dedicated web server hosting in India for complete control over your dedicated server is provided by - Outsourcing: The Future Of Network Management India
Computer Networking is a dynamic area and few strategies that were not thinkable yesterday can becom
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Image Sticking In Lcd Tv Sets
Image Retention - Isn't it just an issue with Plasma TVs?What is Image Sticking?Many are aware that - Used Foundry Networks: Used IT Gear Goes Mainstream
San Francisco, CA April 10, 2006Ask any IT manager what they think about used data networking gear a - CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Server Load Balancing (SLB)
When you're working on your BCMSN exam on your way to CCNP certification, you'll read at length abou - CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam Tutorial: The BGP Neighbor Process
Like TCP, BGP is connection-oriented. An underlying connection between two BGP speakers is est - CCNA / MCSE / CCNP Certification: Making Failure Work For You
Whether you're on the road to the CCNA, CCNP, MCSE, or you're on any other computer certification tr - Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: OSPF Route Redistribution Review
OSPF route redistribution is an important topic on the BSCI exam, and it's a topic full of details a - Cisco CCNA / CCNP / BCMSN Exam Review: Trunking And Trunking Protocols
To earn your CCNA or CCNP certification, you've got to understand the basics of trunking. This - Cisco CCNP / BSCI Exam Tutorial: 10 ISIS Details You Must Know!
Earning your CCNP certification and passing the BSCI exam depends on knowing the details of many Cis - Cisco CCNA / CCNP Certification Exam Tutorial: ISDN And Multilink PPP
ISDN is a huge topic on both your Cisco CCNA and BCRAN CCNP exams. While many ISDN topics seem - Used foundry networks hardware remains in high demand
San Francisco, CA May 22, 2006: In recent years, the trend towards used networking hardware has cont
