GPS as a Timing Reference for NTP servers
The GPS system is familiar to most people. Many cars now have a GPS satellite navigation device in their cars but there is more to the Global Positioning System than just wayfinding.
The Global Positioning System is a constellation of over thirty satellites all spinning around the globe. The GPS satellite network has been designed so that at any point in time there is at least four satellites overhead – no matter where you are on the globe.
Onboard each GPS satellite there is a highly precise atomic clock and it is the information from this clock that is sent through the GPS transmissions which by triangulation (using the signal from multiple satellites) a satellite navigation receiver can work out your position.
But these ultra precise timing signals have another use, unbeknown to many users of GPS systems. Because the timing signals from the GPS atomic clocks are so precise, they make a good source of time for synchronising all sorts of technologies – from computer networks to traffic cameras.
To utilise the GPS timing signals, a GPS time server is often used. These devices use NTP (Network Time Protocol) to distribute the GPS timing source to all devices on the NTP network.
NTP regularly checks the time on all the systems on its network and adjusts it accordingly if it has drifted to what the original GPS timing source is.
As GPS is available anywhere on the planet it provides a really handy source of time for many technologies and applications ensuring that whatever is synchronised to the GPS timing source will remain as accurate as possible.
A single GPS NTP server can synchronize hundreds and thousands of devices including routers, PCs and other hardware ensuring the entire network is running perfectly coordinated time.
