What started with the sundial has, thus far, been refined to a level of precision based on atomic resonance: Time. Our obsession with time is evident in this continued scaling down to nanosecond resolution and beyond. But this obsession is not without warrant. Precision and time synchronization are critical in many applications, such as air traffic control and stock trading, and pose complex and important challenges in modern information networks. Penned by David L. Mills, the original developer of the Network Time Protocol (NTP), Computer Network Time Synchronization: The Network Time Protocol takes a broad look at the architecture, protocols, and algorithms involved in time dissemination, distribution, and synchronization. Focused on the fourth generation of NTP, Mills' magnum opus gives an in-depth configuration and performance analysis of typical deployed NTP networks as well as a detailed error budget showing the influence of network and computer delay variations on accuracy. Mills demonstrates the algorithms used to select measurements accessed via diverse pathways to achieve the best accuracy, addresses security issues in depth, and describes the engineering principles underlying NTP architecture and timestamping exchange procedures. Opening the door to highly precise time synchronization in both public and private networks, Computer Network Time Synchronization offers in-depth analysis, theory, and practical concerns in a unified and authoritative reference.
| Basic Concepts | p. 1 |
| Time Synchronization | p. 2 |
| Time Synchronization Protocols | p. 3 |
| Computer Clocks | p. 5 |
| Processing Time Values | p. 7 |
| Correctness and Accuracy Expectations | p. 8 |
| Security | p. 10 |
| NTP in the Internet | p. 12 |
| Parting Shots | p. 13 |
| References | p. 14 |
| How NTP Works | p. 15 |
| General Infrastructure Requirements | p. 16 |
| How NTP Represents the Time | p. 17 |
| How NTP Reckons the Time | p. 19 |
| How NTP Disciplines the Time | p. 21 |
| How NTP Clients and Servers Associate | p. 22 |
| How NTP Discovers Servers | p. 24 |
| How NTP Manages Network Resources | p. 25 |
| How NTP Avoids Errors | p. 26 |
| How NTP Performance Is Determined | p. 28 |
| How NTP Controls Access | p. 29 |
| How NTP Watches for Terrorists | p. 30 |
| How NTP Clocks Are Watched | p. 31 |
| Parting Shots | p. 32 |
| References | p. 33 |
| Further Reading | p. 33 |
| In the Belly of the Beast | p. 35 |
| Related Technology | p. 36 |
| Terms and Notation | p. 38 |
| Process Flow | p. 39 |
| Packet Processing | p. 40 |
| Clock Filter Algorithm | p. 43 |
| Selection Algorithm | p. 47 |
| Clustering Algorithm | p. 50 |
| Combining Algorithm | p. 53 |
| Huff-'n-Puff Filter | p. 54 |
| Mitigation Rules and the Prefer Peer | p. 55 |
| Poll Process | p. 57 |
| Parting Shots | p. 58 |
| References | p. 59 |
| Further Reading | p. 60 |
| Clock Discipline Algorithm | p. 63 |
| Feedback Control Systems | p. 64 |
| Phase and Frequency Discipline | p. 66 |
| Weight Factors | p. 68 |
| Poll Interval Control | p. 71 |
| Popcorn and Step Control | p. 72 |
| Clock State Machine | p. 74 |
| Parting Shots | p. 76 |
| References | p. 76 |
| Further Reading | p. 76 |
| NTP Subnet Configuration | p. 77 |
| Automatic Server Discovery | p. 78 |
| Manual Server Discovery and Configuration | p. 80 |
| Evaluating the Sources | p. 81 |
| Selecting the Stratum | p. 81 |
| Selecting the Number of Configured Servers | p. 83 |
| Engineering Campus and Corporate Networks | p. 86 |
| Engineering Home Office and Small Business Networks | p. 87 |
| Hardware and Network Considerations | p. 88 |
| On Computer Selection | p. 88 |
| On Networking Technologies | p. 89 |
| Parting Shots | p. 91 |
| References | p. 91 |
| Further Reading | p. 91 |
| NTP Performance in the Internet | p. 93 |
| Performance Measurement Tools | p. 94 |
| System Clock Latency Characteristics | p. 95 |
| Characteristics of a Primary Server and Reference Clock | p. 96 |
| Characteristics between Primary Servers on the Internet | p. 99 |
| Characteristics of a Client and a Primary Server on a Fast Ethernet | p. 105 |
| Results from an Internet Survey | p. 108 |
| Server and Network Resource Requirements | p. 110 |
| Parting Shots | p. 112 |
| References | p. 112 |
| Primary Servers and Reference Clocks | p. 113 |
| Driver Structure and Interface | p. 114 |
| Reference Clock Drivers | p. 117 |
| Modem Driver | p. 119 |
| Local Clock Driver | p. 120 |
| PPS Driver | p. 121 |
| Audio Drivers | p. 122 |
| Further Reading | p. 123 |
| Kernel Timekeeping Support | p. 125 |
| System Clock Reading Algorithm | p. 127 |
| Clock Discipline Algorithms | p. 129 |
| Kernel PLL/FLL Discipline | p. 131 |
| Kernel PPS Discipline | p. 132 |
| Clock Adjust Algorithm | p. 134 |
| Proof of Performance | p. 135 |
| Kernel PLL/FLL Discipline Performance | p. 136 |
| Kernel PPS Discipline | p. 141 |
| Parting Shots | p. 143 |
| References | p. 143 |
| Further Reading | p. 144 |
| Cryptographic Authentication | p. 145 |
| NTP Security Model | p. 146 |
| On the Provenance of Filestamps | p. 148 |
| On the Naming of Things | p. 149 |
| On Threats and Countermeasures | p. 149 |
| NTP Secure Groups | p. 150 |
| Autokey Security Protocol | p. 154 |
| Session Key Operations | p. 155 |
| Protocol Operations | p. 157 |
| Parting Shots | p. 158 |
| References | p. 158 |
| Further Reading | p. 159 |
| Identity Schemes | p. 161 |
| X509 Certificates | p. 164 |
| Private Certificate (PC) Identity Scheme | p. 165 |
| Trusted Certificate (TC) Identity Scheme | p. 165 |
| Schnorr (IFF) Identity Scheme | p. 166 |
| Guillou-Quisquater (GQ) Identity Scheme | p. 168 |
| Mu-Varadharajan (MV) Identity Scheme | p. 170 |
| Parting Shots | p. 173 |
| References | p. 173 |
| Further Reading | p. 174 |
| Analysis of Errors | p. 175 |
| Clock Reading Errors | p. 176 |
| Timestamp Errors | p. 177 |
| Sawtooth Errors | p. 179 |
| Maximum Error Budget | p. 180 |
| Expected Error Budget | p. 182 |
| Parting Shots | p. 184 |
| References | p. 185 |
| Modeling and Analysis of Computer Clocks | p. 187 |
| Computer Clock Concepts | p. 188 |
| Mathematical Model of the Generic Feedback Loop | p. 193 |
| Type-I Feedback Control Loop | p. 195 |
| Type-II Feedback Control Loop | p. 196 |
| Synthetic Timescales and Clock Wranglers | p. 198 |
| Parting Shots | p. 201 |
| References | p. 202 |
| Further Reading | p. 202 |
| Metrology and Chronometry of the NTP Timescale | p. 203 |
| Scientific Timescales Based on Astronomy and Atomic Physics | p. 205 |
| Civil Timescales Based on Earth Rotation | p. 207 |
| How NTP Reckons with UTC Leap Seconds | p. 209 |
| On Numbering the Calendars and Days | p. 211 |
| On the Julian Day Number System | p. 213 |
| On Timescales, Leap Events, and the Age of Eras | p. 214 |
| The NTP Era and Buddy Epoch | p. 216 |
| Comparison with Other Computer Timescales | p. 218 |
| Primary Frequency and Time Standards | p. 219 |
| Time and Frequency Dissemination | p. 221 |
| Parting Shots | p. 224 |
| References | p. 225 |
| Further Reading | p. 226 |
| NTP Reference Implementation | p. 227 |
| NTP Packet Header | p. 228 |
| Control Flow | p. 231 |
| Main Program and Common Routines | p. 234 |
| Peer Process | p. 235 |
| System Process | p. 240 |
| Clock Discipline Process | p. 243 |
| Clock Adjust Process | p. 247 |
| Poll Process | p. 247 |
| Parting Shots | p. 250 |
| Reference | p. 250 |
| Further Reading | p. 251 |
| Technical History of NTP | p. 253 |
| On the Antiquity of NTP | p. 254 |
| On the Proliferation of NTP around the Globe | p. 256 |
| Autonomous Authentication | p. 257 |
| Autonomous Configuration | p. 258 |
| Radios, We Have Radios | p. 259 |
| Hunting the Nanoseconds | p. 261 |
| Experimental Studies | p. 263 |
| Theory and Algorithms | p. 264 |
| Growing Pains | p. 266 |
| As Time Goes by | p. 267 |
| Parting Shots | p. 267 |
| References | p. 268 |
| Further Reading | p. 271 |
| Bibliography | p. 273 |
| Index | p. 283 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780849358050
ISBN-10: 0849358051
Audience:
Professional
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 304
Published: 24th March 2006
Dimensions (cm): 23.5 x 15.6
x 1.9
Weight (kg): 4.31