Improving robustness of the synchronization quality of IEEE1588 nodes

Abstract

Nowadays the IEEE1588 synchronization protocol has been adopted in a growing number of fields, from automation to telecommunication systems. Usually, the quality of the services provided by these applications requires an accurate and reliable time synchronization. Several solutions have been already proposed to achieve these goals. However, the statistical instruments provided in the standard (PTP variance) appear to be inadequate to identify synchronization problems while unpredictable events affect the quality of the synchronization. This paper provides alternative instruments for the analysis and improvement of the synchronization quality of a IEEE 1588 system resorting to the Reliable & Self Aware (R&SA) clock. The R&SA clock provides statistical information which are shown to be able to correctly identify the different sources of problem that can affect the synchronization. The paper then makes a proposal to take advantage of the statistical data collected for improving reliability and accuracy of PTP nodes.