Clock-Measurement System Verifies Precision Of IEEE-1588 Devices

The XLi Grandmaster Clock with GPS reference is the first test and measurement solution to help users verify the performance of IEEE 1588 products in their networks, according to Symmetricom Inc. The IEEE 1588 protocol enables very accurate synchronization over Ethernet local-area networks (LANs) and lets users synchronize clocks to better than 100-ns accuracy with only a network connection. The XLi Grandmaster Clock can provide the precise time to a 1588 slave clock and measure how well that time is transferred through the network with precision down to 5 ns resolution. This capability is useful to characterize both the slave clock and the network topology between the Grandmaster and the slave.

The XLi Grandmaster also measures time degradation through hubs and switches, characterizing them before deployment in an operational network. When an inconvenient distance separates the Grandmaster and the slave, using GPS as a common and precise time reference enables very accurate one-way path latency testing not easily achieved any other way. One XLi Grandmaster operates as the source of time, and another measures the slave accuracy at the remote end of the network. The XLi IEEE 1588 Grandmaster Clock with GPS is shipping now. Contact the company for pricing information. For more information, check out www.symmttm.com/pr_lp2/IEEE_1588/.