Making the Choice Between NTP or PTP Servers

It’s important that business owners are able to reduce excess costs. Some of the most important costs to control are those having to do time clock servers. If your business is utilizing outdated methods for keeping track of employee’s hours, it can cost your business a lot of money. In fact, one study found that the United States economy loses nearly $7.4 billion each day because workplace timesheets weren’t properly filled out. With that in mind, you’ll want to consider improving time clock servers. Here is how to choose between implementing PTP or NTP servers for your company.

Choosing Between PTP and NTP

There are several types of time servers. It’s important to understand which type of time clock server works well for your business. With that in mind, it’s understandable to be confused regarding the differences between precision and network time protocol. Considering that, here are the differences between PTP and NTP time servers.

Precision Time Protocol

In 2002, IEEE first defined and standardized Precision Time Protocol. Since this time, PTP servers have been used to synchronize clocks throughout a network of computers. Precision Time Protocol networks work to ensure that nano or picosecond synchronization is possible. This protocol makes use of hardware timestamps versus those used with software. If your business needs to have absolute accuracy regarding time clock servers, you might want to choose PTP.

Network Time Protocol

You’ll find that Network Time Protocol is one of the oldest remaining Internet protocols still in use. In fact, Network Time Protocol is currently in its fourth generation. NTP servers utilize a system of categorization known as strata. For instance, Stratum 0 devices often include clocks used for GPS systems or radios. There are also Stratum 1 devices that can connect to Stratum 0 devices.

To summarize, having reliable time clocks is essential for any business. Accurate time clocks help to ensure that your business avoids incurring costs that could have easily been avoided. Whether choosing between PTP or NTP, these solutions are much more reliable rather than depending on an internet clock. Syncing your devices to certain clocks can leave your network open to a wide range of vulnerabilities. Therefore, it’s far wiser to utilize the accuracy of either NTP or PTP time servers for your business.

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