The Service of Universal Time and Reference Frequencies of Ukraine. Time synchronization with the use of the Internet NTP and PTP: state and development prospects

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of time synchronization using the Internet protocols NTP and PTP. These issues are considered as an example of the state of affairs and the prospects of development of the Service of Universal Time and Reference Frequencies (hereinafter referred to as the Time and Frequency Service) in terms of the dissemination of time and frequency via the Internet and increase of the reliability and immunity of the entire system as a whole. With the development of information technology and communication systems 3G, 4G, 5G, network synchronization has become more important than ever before. The need for synchronization for some sectors of the economy has come close to existing possibilities. Today, there are several options for device synchronization in Ukraine: via the Internet, using PTP, NTP, and locally using GNSS. The latter option provides high-precision synchronization up to 40 ns, but has a major disadvantage: poor noise immunity. According to some experts, our dependence on GPS is becoming very dangerous, given the extreme unreliability of this technology. The problem is that the signal from the satellite is very weak, and it is extremely easy to muffle it with generating noise at the same frequency. At the same time, as the needs increase, the bandwidth of existing NTP and PTP servers will not be able to process all requests. This requires a major reorganization and implementation of organizational measures, such as: firstly, the rendering of the nodes of time synchronization with UTC (UA) by Ukraine’s national measurement standard of time, and secondly, the development of NTP and PTP servers controlled by the Time and Frequency Service of Ukraine as an alternative to GPS synchronization, that is the best way to develop the Time and Frequency Service.