Join this Executive Industry Events hosted session to explore the critical role of precise timing in defence and the evolving technologies that ensure accuracy and reliability in modern distributed systems.

Part 1: Need for timing and Sync in data centres – Ankur Sharma, Equinix

As organisations increasingly adopt hybrid multi-cloud and data centre infrastructures, they face challenges related to seamless integration, data consistency, and system reliability. This presentation explores these complexities and proposes a solution-centric approach leveraging accurate time and synchronisation. The challenges identified include data inconsistency, latency issues, and security concerns, exacerbated by disparate timekeeping across environments. We delve into the importance of precise time synchronisation in mitigating these challenges, highlighting its role in enhancing data integrity, reducing latency, and fortifying security measures. Analysing real-world scenarios and industry best practices, this talk aims to provide insights into the transformative impact of accurate time and synchronisation solutions in achieving a harmonised and resilient hybrid multi-cloud and data centre ecosystem. We will also discuss the requirements of time-sync in data centres and hybrid-multi-cloud systems and how time can be distributed to end devices in this ecosystem.

Part 2: Deployment of Sync across AI-enabled data centres – Nir Laufer, NVIDIA

In this insightful talk, we will explore the pivotal importance of precise timing synchronisation in data centre applications. We will delve into the unique challenges posed by applications such as distributed computing and AI workloads, highlighting the crucial role that accurate timing plays in operating, optimising, and troubleshooting these high-end applications. The presentation includes real-world examples and use cases demonstrating how precise timing is a fundamental enabler for unlocking their full potential.

Part 3: High-performance synchronisation devices for data centre synchronisation - Ullas Kumar, Rakon

The final segment of this technical seminar delves into data centre synchronisation architectures, covering both traditional methods like NTP and PTP and emerging technologies that offer enhanced accuracy, scalability, and efficiency. We examine how these evolving solutions address the increasing demands of modern data centres, ensuring precise timing and coordination across distributed systems. Beyond established protocols, the talk explores innovative, high-performance reference clocking devices explicitly designed for data centre synchronisation. These cutting-edge devices streamline deployment processes, reduce infrastructure costs, and expedite time to market, making synchronisation solutions more accessible and practical.

Live Q&A

With the continued growth of timing-critical applications such as Industry 4.0, financial trading and autonomous driving, the onus is on telecom network operators to maintain an ever increasing level of service continuity and reliability at all times. When network disruptions or outages due to synchronisation failure occur, the negative consequences in terms of expensive fixes and loss off service quality are significant.

The good news is that we can mitigate this risk by applying a technique called ‘Holdover’. It is a mechanism used in telecommunications to maintain accurate timing and synchronisation of equipment in the event of a loss of timing signals. Synchronisation holdover extends service availability without the intervention of operations & maintenance teams for a defined period of time, avoiding unexpected and expensive truck rolls for service providers.

Join this webinar to learn more about 5G network synchronisation, the basics and requirements of holdover, and the type of timing devices that help create the holdover needed to maintain desired service levels.

Traditional metrics of timing performance, such as stability, drift, aging, Allan deviation, jitter, and so on, are well established in the literature and quoted in datasheets. But as our reliance on accurate data deepens and becomes more pervasive, the environment in which we store, compute, transfer and consume this data becomes more distributed and dynamic. The traditional metrics are no longer adequate to predict real-world performance.

Modern systems, such as those used to enable autonomous driving, edge data centers, and 5G densification, demand a new class of timing products that can perform in real-world environments and not those carved out in datasheets.

A need for durable timing is here, in which devices maintain precision when subjected to real-world conditions, including shock, vibration, electrical noise, thermal gradients, acceleration, pressure, etc.

This talk explores the need for durable timing in data centers and 5G RAN applications. We'll discuss how the environment impacts each case's timing and subsequent system performance. For example, learn how the proper choice of the oscillator can boost data center profits by $5M annually. We'll discuss why the traditional parameters used to select timing devices may not apply and recommend those to evaluate instead.

To synchronise communications and ensure continuity across power networks, substations require secure, precise timing and synchronisation to avoid false tripping and to provide accurate time stamping of substation data including system faults, power measurement data and substation status information.

Advanced power-system, protection-and-control applications using IEC 61850 sampled values (SV) require a time- synchronization accuracy of 1 microsecond and better. Any inconsistency in the time reference among the merging units results in phase-angle errors, which might lead to mis-operation of protection functions and harmonic measurement inaccuracies.

This webinar will discuss the significance of precision time critical power system applications such as wide area monitoring and control based on digital substations with IEC 61850 implementation of sampled values. We will present innovative techniques to address challenges with availability, traceability and redundancy.

With the digital transformation of critical infrastructure operations, timing and synchronization needs to become more accurate, robust and secure. In our discussion with power utilities, transportation companies and financial institutions, we frequently identify an urgent need for synchronization innovation.

In this webinar, we would like to share best practices for future-proof, assured timing. We’ll hear from a Canadian power utility, who will outline their ambitious synchronization network migration towards truly robust and precise substation timing. A Swiss transportation operator will also share insights into their timing evolution. In the Q&A session, we’ll cover further details about the underlying requirements and the best available solutions. What’s more, we’ll show how to assure GNSS-delivered synchronization in a short demonstration.

O-RAN presents new possibilities for 5G network deployments. Its distributed architectures and openness present opportunities for a cost-efficient and innovative multi-vendor eco system. Synchronisation between the network elements is one key requirement in achieving the target 5G performance and here the O-RAN concepts introduces new challenges to traditional synchronisation implementations.

In this Rakon hosted webinar, a panel of synchronisation experts discuss the possibilities, challenges and requirements around 5G synchronisation in O-RAN based networks and how this affects the choices telecom engineers need to make when designing and implementing their O-RAN infrastructure.

This panel discusses how the requirements, standards and products for PTP timing in Data Centers are evolving, and how the may differ from those in other industries such as Telecoms.

This panel looks at why accurate timing is critical in Finance, Broadcast and Power Distribution and how the solutions are evolving.

Timing and sync for 5G is becoming even more exact and critical to operation. Timing in Automative is essential within the ending management system and in the wider autonomous vehicle area. Sync in broadcast is moving to all IP with new challenges, new equipment and new standards.

IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is quickly becoming the de facto synchronization standard for high-speed applications. High-quality local oscillators are essential in achieving the best PTP performance and it is important to model the impact of oscillator noise on PTP time error.

Engineers from Tick Tock (now Clockwork) discuss how to build Time-Sensitive applications with Clockwork's high accuracy common time service.

Members of the Equinix team discuss the challenges and solutions for ensuring secure and reliable time synchronisation across global data centres.