How To Build A Low-cost Gps Ntp Server

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The Network Time Protocol was originally developed over 25 years ago as a means of synchronising computers on the Internet. NTP is a suite of applications that provide synchronisation of time to an accurate timing reference. Originally developed for Linux\UNIX, NTP has since been rewritten for the Microsoft Windows operating systems. NTP allows a network time client to synchronise to within milliseconds of an accurate external time reference.

By interfacing an accurate reference clock to the NTP software distribution, you can provide a stratum 1 NTP server. This article describes how to utilise a low-cost GPS receiver in combination with the NTP software distribution to provide an accurate stratum 1 NTP server timing reference.

The NTP source code can be obtained from the NTP website and must be compiled on the local machine. The distribution extracts to a working directory where simple configuration and compilation scripts are available to install the software. Linux distributions such as Redhat and Debian install the NTP distribution by default. In order to configure a stratum 1 NTP server an accurate reference clock is required. The NTP software provides a large number of reference clock drivers that can be utilised to interface with a range of hardware timing references. Dedicated hardware timing devices can be prohibitively expensive. However, the popularity of GPS navigation devices has reduced the cost of GPS technology. Low-cost GPS receivers are now readily available from around $100. Many GPS receivers have a RS232 serial communications port, which can easily be connected to a PC. Many low-cost GPS devices use the NMEA protocol, which is a standard GPS protocol for providing location and timing information. The timing information can be utilised by the NTP software as an accurate timing reference to provide a stratum 1 NTP server.

The NTP software needs to be compiled with the NMEA reference clock driver to interface with the GPS receiver. Once compiled the application must be configured to utilise the correct serial port. On completion, the NTP software will provide a highly accurate stratum 1 NTP server resource.

A NTP server can be utilised to synchronise time on most computer operating systems and network infrastructure. Any device that has a NTP or SNTP client can be configured to obtain accurate time from a server. Generally, clients only need the IP address of the NTP server for synchronisation. With a NTP server, you can synchronise almost any device on your network.

About the Author:
David Evans has been involved in the telecom industry for a number of years. David is a technical author with a number of years experience computer timing systems. David has also provided a technical authoring service to many telecom systems manufacturers. Click here for more information about NTP server systems.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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