Accuracy is increasingly important as technology becomes increasingly important for the functioning of our daily lives. And as our economies increasingly depend on the global market, accuracy and timing are very important.
It seems that computers control our daily lives, and time is important for the network infrastructure of modern computers. Timestamps ensure that actions are performed by computers and are the only points of IT reference systems for error checking, debugging and registration. The problem is the time in the computer network, and this can lead to data loss, transaction failures and security issues.
Network synchronization and synchronization with another network with which it communicates are necessary to avoid the errors mentioned above. But when it comes to communicating with networks around the world, things can be even more complicated, because the time on the other side of the world is obviously different because it crosses each time zone.
To counter this, a global time scale based on atomic clocks was developed.
UTC, coordinated universal time, eliminates time zones that allow all networks around the world to use the same time source, to ensure that computers, no matter where they are in the world, are synchronized with each other.
To synchronize a computer network, UTC is distributed using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) time synchronization software. The only complication is obtaining the UTC time source, since it is generated by atomic clocks, which are multi-million dollar systems that are not available for mass use.
Fortunately, atomic clock signals can be received using an NTP time server. These devices can receive transmissions that are issued from physical laboratories, which can be used as a source of time to synchronize the entire computer network.
A computer network without adequate time synchronization can cause many problems, including:
* Difficulties in identifying and recording errors.
* Increased risk of security breaches.
* Confidential transactions can not be performed
For these reasons, many computer networks must be synchronized with the UTC source and should be as accurate as possible. Although atomic clocks are large and bulky devices stored in physical laboratories, using them as a source of time is incredibly simple.
Network Time Protocol
Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a software protocol designed exclusively to synchronize networks and computer systems, and through a dedicated NTP server, a time server can obtain the time of an atomic clock and distribute it through the network through NTP.
NTP servers use radio frequencies and, in most cases, GPS satellite signals to receive atomic clock synchronization signals, which are then distributed through the network via NTP, regularly adjusting each device to ensure that it is as good as possible. accurate as possible.
Other NTP time servers use signals transmitted from GPS satellites as a source of time. The positioning information in these signals is actually a time signal generated by the atomic clock software in the satellites (which are then triangulated by the GPS receivers).
Whether it’s an NTP radio station or a GPS time server, you can synchronize a complete network of hundreds and even thousands of computers.