[ntp:questions] Re: Mother Of All Clocks

Brad Knowles brad at stop.mail-abuse.org
Fri Mar 25 22:02:46 UTC 2005


At 10:25 PM +0100 2005-03-25, Mxsmanic wrote:

>>  Sheesh!  What kind of client needs that sort of time security?
>
>  Anyone who requires tight synchronization or closely-spaced, accurate
>  timestamps ... anyone who is currently using NTP, presumably (otherwise
>  why is he using NTP?).

	Telcos use NTP to keep their SONET rings tightly synchronized. 
If they don't all sorts of really horrible things can happen to the 
telco-specific communications protocols that no one outside of the 
telco business ever sees.

	NTP is also frequently used in satellite equipment.  You wouldn't 
want to lose a multi-billion dollar piece of electronics because it 
didn't have it's antenna aimed the right direction at the right time, 
and at the kinds of speeds satellites are moving, being just a few 
milliseconds off could mean many, many miles of distance.

	Radio and television also frequently use NTP.  The issue of good 
time sync is something that they have understood for many years, and 
time code is integral to International standards in these areas.


	Basically, anything to do with communications is more or less 
dependant on having good time sync.  The more mission-critical that 
communication, the more important it is to have good time sync.


	Now, when it comes to logs, they are a vital component to piecing 
together the sequence of events, when it comes to things like 
detecting break-ins or trying to work out how someone got in, where 
they came from, etc....

	If you knowingly log incorrect data which hampers an 
investigation, you might be held criminally liable for that.  Think 
Sarbanes-Oxley.

-- 
Brad Knowles, <brad at stop.mail-abuse.org>

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

     -- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), reply of the Pennsylvania
     Assembly to the Governor, November 11, 1755

   SAGE member since 1995.  See <http://www.sage.org/> for more info.



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