What is NTP?

NTP allows networked devices, such as clocks, phones and computers, to request and receive time from a server that, in turn, receives precise time from a definitive time source, like an atomic clock.

How Does NTP Work?

NTP makes UTC available to an organisation by taking a time signal from one, or more, atomic clocks and distributing it to networked devices.

At its most basic, an NTP network is comprised of the devices to be synchronised (known as clients) and an NTP server, which receives UTC time and provides it to the clients.

The clients and server communicate in a series of requests and responses:

1. The client sends an NTP request packet to the time server, stamping the time as it does so (the origin timestamp).
2. The server stamps the time when the request packet is received (the receive timestamp).
3. The server stamps the time again when it sends a response packet back to the client (the transmit timestamp).
4. The client stamps the time when the response packet is received (the destination timestamp).

This process may only take microseconds, but the timestamps allow the client to account for the roundtrip delay and work out the difference between its internal time and that provided by the server, adjusting itself as necessary and maintaining synchronisation.

A public time server is owned and operated by a third party who makes it available for use over the internet. The NTP Pool Project provides an online directory of public servers, allowing you to direct your clients to one of these, free of charge.

Local (aka internal) NTP servers are those you own yourself and install in your premises, establishing a physical network connection between your servers and clients.

If synchronised time is critical to your operations, then internal time servers are the safer, more reliable option. They provide improved accuracy and more control while avoiding the various drawbacks of public servers:

How to Synchronise Your Network with an Internal NTP Server?

To set up an NTP network with an internal time server, you need a number of things:

• A reference clock/time source that defines and transmits the true time.
• A time receiver, in the form of a radio or GPS antenna.
• An NTP server, which receives the time from the antenna and delivers it to a network.

The devices/clients to be synchronised. ?

What Is NTP? Conclusion.

NTP provides businesses and organisations with a reliable, user-friendly and cost-effective method of time synchronisation.

It’s one of the oldest internet protocols still in use and, though now on version four, retains many of the principles that made it so popular in its early years.

By connecting your networked devices to a time server, which receives a signal from a definitive time source, you can enjoy the benefits of precise time in any location, boosting productivity, improving customer service and synchronising your operations.

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