Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
GUTSI - A Gps-Based Time Source for the Internet
Chris Pascoe
Abstract
One of the most important pieces of information necessary in society is knowledge of the current time. Computer systems form an integral part of modern society, so they too must have some way of knowing the current time. Although tens of thousands of years of research into precision timekeeping have taken place, the capability for a computer to know the current time precisely has only emerged in the last twenty years.
This study involves the design and construction of a basic network time server capable of delivering accurate time to most modern computer systems. This device has been created using custom-designed hardware and software, and can provide signals synchronous to within one hundred nanoseconds of UTC.
The GUTSI device supports the Network Time Protocol (version 3), and communicates with computers on a Local Area Network or the Internet via an Ethernet interface. The total hardware cost of the server is under $900, extremely inexpensive compared to commercial offerings with similar performance.
Conference Paper
Complete Thesis
Additional Files
Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
/ Chris Pascoe
/ chris@mansol.net.au