Re: NIST Time server

[Chris Albertson <chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com>]

"Network Time Protocol (RFC-1305)" is the standard that
is widely used today.  "ntpd" the software that implements
it is distributed with most operating systems except MS Windows.

ntpd is interesting technically because it does something that
seems intuitively impossible.  It uses a communication channel
that has very large uncertainty in communication in latency
(The internet is packet switched.) but keeps clocks synchronized
to within microseconds (or milliseconds over a 56Kb link)  
Other time protocols have accuracy only to the level of 
uncertainty in communication latency.  The "trick" is to make
small changes to the clock _rate_ and never "jump" the local
time.  The other "trick" is that ntpd uses a _set_ or network of
time servers not just one and can act as a server as well as
a client.  


--- Gamble family <dgamble1@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> I have just found a very nice little piece of software at: 
> 
> http://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/service/its.htm
> 
> It sets your computer clock periodically to the NIST standard via the
> Internet. They also have a DOS program that can be used to set
> modified Julian time via a PSTN modem
>

=====
Chris Albertson 
  Home:   310-376-1029  chrisalbertson90278@yahoo.com
  Cell:   310-990-7550
  Office: 310-336-5189  Christopher.J.Albertson@aero.org

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