Boundary Clock Synchronization for Scalable PTP Networks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network devices face challenges in achieving tight clock synchronization due to not all devices being connected to an accurate PTP master, leading to synchronization noise and reduced accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A scalable boundary clock system where any network device can be designated as a local reference clock, recovering a reference clock time from a remote clock and distributing it to other devices via clock connections, adjusting clock time and frequency to synchronize all devices accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all network devices are connected to an accurate PTP master, then clock synchronization accuracy is improved, but device complexity and network configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a boundary clock device as an intermediary between the PTP master and slave clocks. This boundary clock receives synchronized time from the master and redistributes it to multiple slave devices, eliminating the need for each device to connect directly to the master while maintaining synchronization accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the network into segments with boundary clocks acting as intermediate synchronization points. Each boundary clock manages a subset of slave devices, breaking down the complex many-to-one master-slave relationships into simpler one-to-many relationships that are easier to configure and manage.
2Device complexity
If multiple network devices share a single PTP master connection, then network simplicity is improved, but synchronization noise increases and accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary clock acts as a mediator that provides each slave device with its own dedicated time reference from the master, preventing synchronization noise from propagating across multiple devices while maintaining network configuration simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Each boundary clock independently receives and processes time synchronization from the master, then autonomously distributes this synchronized time to its connected slave devices. This self-service approach isolates noise sources and prevents cumulative synchronization errors.
3Adaptability or versatility
If boundary clocks are used to distribute clock signals, then network scalability is improved, but clock synchronization accuracy may deteriorate due to additional clock connections
Solution Approach 1:
The boundary clock creates accurate copies of the master clock signal and distributes these copies to multiple slave devices. This copying mechanism allows the network to scale to multiple devices while maintaining synchronization accuracy, as each device receives an identical time reference from the master.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the network into multiple boundary clock zones, the system can scale to accommodate more devices without degrading overall synchronization accuracy. Each segment operates independently with its own boundary clock, preventing error propagation across the entire network.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a synchronized communication system includes a first network device and a second network device, wherein the first network device includes a first physical hardware clock, and is configured to recover a reference clock time from packets received from a remote clock, find a clock differential between a clock time output by the first physical hardware clock and the recovered reference clock time, provide a control signal to the second network device responsively to the clock differential, and the second network device includes a second physical hardware clock, and is configured to adjust a clock time output by the second physical hardware clock responsively to the control signal.