Testing NTP with xGenius

NTP is still important despite PTP

Network Time Protocol (NTP) and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) serve different purposes in different contexts within the time synchronization arena. While PTP offers greater accuracy than NTP, both protocols are still relevant today for a variety of reasons:

• Cost: PTP provides sub-microsecond accuracy and is well suited for applications that require very precise timing, such as utility automation, financial trading, and wireless communications. However, achieving this high level of accuracy comes at a higher cost in terms of hardware and infrastructure. NTP is not as accurate, but is often sufficient for many applications.
• Ubiquity: NTP has been used for synchronization in various industries for decades. Many existing applications and devices use NTP, so migrating to PTP can require significant effort, so many organizations continue to use NTP unless they need more accuracy.
• Simplicity: NTP is easy to implement, deploy, and maintain, making it a choice for non-critical scenarios. PTP, on the other hand, can be more complex to deploy and manage.
• Availability: NTP servers are widely available and accessible on the Internet, providing a reliable source of time synchronization. PTP requires a more controlled and specialized environment and may not be widely available.
• Compatibility: NTP is backward compatible with older versions, ensuring that systems with different NTP implementations can still effectively synchronize time, which is important for maintaining universal interoperability.

Fig 1. NTP is the most popular timing protocol in the Internet.

PTP provides superior accuracy and is the preferred choice for applications with high synchronization requirements, but NTP remains for the above reasons, then the choice between NTP and PTP depends on the specific requirements of the application. In addition, some systems may use a combination of both to meet different synchronization requirements.