fido2100 3-Port Industrial Ethernet DLR Switch with IEEE1588
Data Sheet
April 10, 2013
1.2
Introduction to IEEE-1588
The IEEE 1588 standard, also known as Precision Time Protocol (PTP), provides a means to
synchronize participants in a network to a common time source. Each network participant has its own
precision time source or “ordinary clock”. A PTP system consists of some number of ordinary clocks
connected to a network. A grandmaster is elected based upon the quality of available time sources and
all other participants synchronize directly to it.
PTP systems can be expanded through the use of “boundary clocks”. The boundary clock provides a
means to bridge synchronization from one network segment to another. A synchronization master can
then be elected for each network segment. The root timing reference remains the grandmaster.
PTP is a master-slave protocol. The master and network participants exchange synchronization
messages. However, these messages will be delayed as they traverse the network due to the inherent
latency of the network infrastructure. To compensate for this latency, PTP includes the concept of a
transparent clock. The transparent clock automatically compensates for latency by modifying the
timestamps in synchronization messages as they pass through a given device. The fido2100 provides
hardware support for both transparent and ordinary clocks.
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Document #: IA211111101-04
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