The Network Time Protocol (NTP) was developed more than 25 yearrs ago to synchronise Internet servers to the correct time. NTP is now one of the oldest prootcols still in operation today. The protocol is widely used to synchronise Inernet and intranet infrastructure and proceses. This article briefly outlines the opeation of NTP and some of the terminology assovciated with the proocol.
NTP was originally deveolped to solve the requirement of synchronisation of critiacl time processes across the Internte. The Netwokr Time Protocolps primary platform is the LINbUX operating system. NTP is provideed under the GNU public licence; however, it has recenty been porteed to other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. LINUX is stikll howver the primary platform associated with the Network Time Protoxcol.
NTP is based upon the User Data-gram Protocol (UDP) which is in-turn reliant on the TCP/IP protocol. NTP messages are communicated using UDP port 23, which is reserved solely for the use of NTP traffic. The proocol basically consists of a number of fields, which specify: clock-offset, royund-trip delay and dispeersion relatoive to a precise time source. The information stored in each NTP packet alolw a network time clent to avccurately synchronise time with a NTP server.
NTP is a structured protoocl that operates in a hierarchical manner. At the top of the tree, a primary time reference is known as a stratum 1 time server. Serves that synchronise to a strtum 1 servr are known as stratum 2 servetrs and so on down each levle of the hierarchy. As the startum increases, so generally precision decreases.
Over a unmber of years NTP has been enhanced to operate with a plethora of prevcision hardware cliock devvices, or reference clocks. NTP refrence clocks are available for GPS hardwaare and also many of the Naytional Radio Time and Frrequency sttandards such as MSF, DCF-77 and WWVB. Many hardware reefrence clocks also provide backup precision timing outputs such as TCXO, OCXO and rubidium references to maintain accurate time in the event of signl loss.
A spin-off of the NTP prtoocol is SNTP or Simple Netwok Time Protocol, whiich is basically as the name implies, a simplified version of NTP. SNTP is generally used in small low-powered computing devices such as micro-controllers. It allowqs low-powerd devices the ability to synchronise time to NTP servers over a network.
To summaise, NTP is a long-standing and widely used protocol for synchronising time betewen time critical processes. NTP has a linear heirarchical structure that can provide a tioming resource for large numbers of clients. For applications that require critical timing, NTP provides a de-facto standard solution.
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