Accuracy is becoming more and more relevant as technology becomes increasingly important to the running of our daily lives. And as our economies become more dependent on the global market, time accuracy and synchronization are very important.
Computers seem to control much of our daily lives, and time is of the essence for modern computer network infrastructure. Timestamps ensure that computers carry out actions and are the only reference point IT systems have for checking, debugging, and logging errors. A problem over time in a computer network and could lead to data loss, transaction failures, and security issues.
Synchronization on one network and synchronization with another network you communicate with are essential to avoid the errors mentioned above. But when it comes to communicating with networks around the world, things can get even more complicated, as the time on the other side of the world is obviously different as you go through each time zone.
To counter this, a global time scale based on the atomic clock was devised. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) eliminates time zones, allowing all networks in the world to use the same time source, ensuring that computers, no matter where they are in the world, are in sync with each other.
To synchronize a computer network, UTC is distributed using the NTP (Network Time Protocol) time synchronization software. The only complication is receiving a source of UTC time, since it is generated by atomic clocks, which are multi-million dollar systems not available for mass use.
Fortunately, atomic clock signals can be received using an NTP time server. These devices can receive radio transmissions broadcast from physics labs that can be used as a time source to synchronize an entire network of computers.
Other NTP time servers use the signals emitted by GPS satellites as the time source. The positioning information in these signals is actually a time signal generated by atomic clocks on board the satellites (which is then triangulated by GPS receivers).
Whether it’s a radio-referenced NTP server or a GPS time server, an entire network of hundreds or even thousands of machines can be synchronized.