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RNP Network Time Protocol Server provides exact time

Do you know exactly what time it is? RNP has installed an antenna that receives information from satellites and can tell time with nearly total precision. This new service is called "NTP Stratum 1 Server." The NTP - Network Time Protocol servers allow customers to synchronize the clocks in their equipment based on a reference accepted worldwide.

NTP has deployed a hierarchical model of synchronization. There are stratum 1 time servers at the top - computers directly linked to high precision devices known as "reference clocks" (or stratum 0). These devices can be atomic clocks, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) receptors or radio receptors. Whichever server extracts the time reference from a stratum 1 automatically becomes a stratum 2, and so on.
Time sync is crucial to millions of computers exchanging information: individuals sharing database or processing transactions of various sorts, such as electronic commerce and personal banking. It is precisely in this open information-sharing environment that the need arises for a common, precise and trustworthy time reference.

Supposing it is the last day to file Income Tax Returns, the clock at the Internal Revenue website host is one minute fast and the deadline is 8 p.m. Any returns filed after 7:59 p.m. will automatically be rejected, causing grave problems for the tax payer. One- or two-minute delays are frequent when an NTP system is not used. Another example that affects the end user is the measure of time one is connected to the Internet access provider. A provider that does not regularly check his server's clock might be tallying the wrong hours and it could be tricky for the user to check his log time with precision if the system he is using for the check is not synchronized to the provider's.

From the point of view of network administrators, the use of NTP is clearly an advantage as it enables the automatic synchronization of all equipment that is hooked up to the network, i.e. the administrator need not go from one station to the next to set the local clocks right. With regard to security, the synchronization of clocks between the various computers linked up to the Internet is vital. It has often been the case that certain events occurring in distant networks go undetected owing to the lack of synchronization of computer clocks, which results in erroneous log time registration.

The NTP stratum 1 server for RNP, available in ntp1.mp.br, uses GPS technology that obtains time readings directly from a group of satellites. There is unrestricted access to the server at this time. RNP is planning to organize a stratum 2 hierarchy, starting with its Points of Presence, state networks and other authorized networks, for the general use of the public. This hierarchy is to distribute the processing load, thus yielding a more stable and reliable service for the end user. More information is available at the Security Incident Response Team (CAIS).

[RNP, 07.17.2000]