As important as telling the time is for the smooth running of our daily lives, it is even more essential for computer networks. Everything from sending and receiving email to debugging a network is dependent on a timestamp. If timestamps on machines differ then all sorts of complications can arise from email arriving before it was sent to systems being left vulnerable to attacks and even fraud.
Computer networks use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to synchronise their networks to an authoritative time source. The ideal sources are those that relay UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). UTC was developed after the invention of atomic clocks and is a global timescale that allows computer networks and devices all over the world to synchronise to the exact same time.
There are different ways to receive UTC most commonly is from an Internet source. However, Internet timing sources vary in accuracy and are affected by distance and bandwidth problems. Also, Microsoft and others suggest they should not be used as they can’t be authenticated. This is a security measure used by NTP to ensure that a servers is what it is supposed to be.
Fortunately a dedicated time server can receive a UTC source from either a specialist radio broadcast (available in certain countries only – including France, Germany, UK, USA and Japan) or the GPS network (available anywhere on Earth).
Not only can a dedicated time server provide accuracy to within a few milliseconds of UTC it can also be authenticated by NTP ensuring security.
Dedicated time servers are relatively inexpensive and simple to install and can allow networks of hundreds and even thousands to be synchronised to UTC.
