As the leaves turn and the air grows crisp (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), we at Network Time Foundation are not just watching the seasons change—we’re synchronizing with the very heartbeat of the digital era. This isn’t just another newsletter; it’s your gateway to understanding how the world keeps time in an increasingly interconnected world.

Thanks to your unwavering support, we’ve achieved milestones that resonate beyond the tick of a clock. But why stop here? Join us as we explore the future of timekeeping, where every second counts more than ever. Let’s embark on this journey together, ensuring the world runs on time, for today and the tomorrows to come.

Read on to discover what’s next in the world of precision timing.

NTP TCP Services Daemon

Imagine the internet as a vast, bustling city where every clock is in collaborative synchronization. Thanks to a 2023 ARIN Community Grant, the NTP Project has taken a huge leap forward in making sure your devices tell the correct time, no matter where they are.

We’ve been working on something special: a new daemon, ntptsd, which is like a super-smart “personal assistant for time”. It’s about making sure your online activities, from video calls to financial transactions, are timed perfectly. ntptsd includes:

NTSKE (Network Time Security Key Exchange), which sets up the secret handshake between servers to ensure time information is secure and untampered. It’s like sending your time signal in an armored car rather than an open truck.

Libevent, allows ntptsd to handle multiple time requests at once, making everything faster and more efficient. It’s like having a team of concierges for your time queries, ensuring quick and accurate responses.

This exciting update will be part of NTP’s next big release, NTP 4.4, promising smoother, safer, and more reliable timekeeping across the globe. Stay tuned for more updates on how we’re keeping the world in sync!

NTP 4.4

Some of the new features of the upcoming NTP 4.4 major release include:

• RFC 8915, Network Time Security (NTS) support.
• ntptsd, providing a variety of TCP services for NTP, including monitoring, statistics, and Secure Network Time (our alternative to NTS).
• Many new NTP Extension fields.
• Support for PTP-based refclocks.

Over the coming months this code will be published on ntp-dev via tarballs, and in our BitKeeper and git repositories.

NTP 4.4 will also change the codebase license from the original open source NTP License to the open source Mozilla Public License 2.0.

Clock Manager

Intel is collaborating with the libptpmgmt project and NTF on Clock Manager, a local distribution service to distribute clock status events.

Work is progressing towards its first release and the current code can be considered to be at the alpha or beta stage. The API is not yet release-ready, and will probably be updated. The Clock Manager testing application works and is ready for developers and system testers to try it. More unit tests and automation of end-to-end tests are required before its release.

Clock Manager currently works with ptp4l, with plans for future releases to support additional time synchronization services. Support for multiple local clocks, multiple time services, and multiple time domains gives applications the option to select the best clock source.

David Zage from Intel provides an overview of Clock Manager and how it works in its README.

Software Releases

Two NTF projects had software releases since our Spring newsletter.

libptpmgmt 1.4 adds a new JSON parser and fixes issues identified by Coverity scan.

LinuxPTP 4.4 adds support for PTP Management clients to subscribe to permanent push notifications for management events.

Online Events

This summer, NTF launched its series of regular online virtual events. The purpose of these discussions is to build community around the concept of time and network time synchronization. Each event focuses on a different theme. Past themes include:

• The Moon Landing and Lunar Standard Time
• Calendars: The Evolution of Timekeeping
• Crypto Creep: Ensuring Timestamp Authenticity

Non members pay a $50 donation to attend an event, while active members get free attendance as a membership benefit.

The list of upcoming events and the survey for suggesting future topics are available.

Recent Presentations

The video and slides for Network Time Protocols and Network Time Foundation presented at Nerdearla Argentina.

Héctor Blanco Alcaine from Intel is planning to have a presentation on libptpmgmt and the Clock manager at the embedded world Conference to be held in Nuremberg March 11-13, 2025.

Update on SSD Appeal

Network Time Foundation extends its heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to our SSD Fundraising campaign. Thanks to your generosity, we’ve successfully met our goal! This has allowed us to increase storage on our systems, enhancing capability, performance, and reliability across our network. Your support keeps us ticking!

Giving Season

This giving season, please remember to support Network Time Foundation. Your donation can go even further if you take advantage of employer matching programs. Check with your employer today to double your impact!

We’d love to hear from you!

Ideas for topics in a future newsletter? Comments or questions on this edition’s content? Send us an email.

A special thanks to our members and donors! Our efforts are only possible because of your support!