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Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Business Overview

Any kind of transaction flow between systems requires accurate and consistent timestamps. Without this, it is impossible to interpret logs correctly, and any kind of data backup, recovery or data warehousing will become problematic. To resolve these issues, every system involved must have access to the same standard time source.

Examples of applications needing a standard time source include:

  • Web services managing multi-step transactions within or across agencies
  • Authentication services needing to put time bounds on access credentials
  • Data warehouses and logging systems recording transaction sequences
  • Any application needing to record accurate New Zealand time.

Technical Overview

New Zealand standard time is maintained by the Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL), a part of Industrial Research Limited (IRL). New Zealand standard time is based on Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC), a worldwide open standard used by all modern computer operating systems. UTC (MSL) is kept within 200 nanoseconds of the international atomic time scale maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) in Paris.

What is the e-GIF Standard?

The e-GIF recognises the time standard for New Zealand as UTC (MSL), with Network Time Protocol (NTP) v.4 as the delivery method over the Internet. The status for this standard is Under Development.

In New Zealand, UTC (MSL) time is available in conventional ways, e.g. the time pips on the radio, and also over the Internet.

UTC (MSL) is available over the Internet from two independent Level 1 NTP servers run by the Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL). Network Time Protocol (NTP) defines servers in a hierarchy with Level 1 servers being the most accurate, as they are connected directly to an atomic time source. Level 2 servers connect directly to Level 1 machines and so on. For more information, consult the MSL web site: http://msl.irl.cri.nz/services/time/

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a well established standard, now at version 4, used by computer systems to synchronise time to a reliable source over a network. Free software for most operating systems and installation instructions are available from: http://www.ntp.org

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is designed to overcome timing errors introduced by transmission over the Internet, although accuracy will inevitably decrease between levels. Fortunately, the difference between well-connected Level 1 and Level 2 servers can be measured in small fractions of a second.

Government Shared Network Time Service

A Government Shared Network (GSN) Time Service is planned for 2007. This service will provide two Level 2 NTP servers, one at the Auckland data centre and the other in Wellington. Each will have a high bandwidth connection to MSL NTP servers.

Contact your GSN representative for more details, or email: gsn@ssc.govt.nz