What is a Time Server?

Introduction

In today's interconnected world, accurate timekeeping is crucial for businesses and organisations. A time server plays a vital role in maintaining precise time synchronisation across computer networks, ensuring everything from security systems to error logs work correctly.

Why do networks need synchronised time?

Having the exact same time across all devices is essential for any modern computer network. When all devices share the correct time, network administrators can track problems through accurate logs, security systems can prevent attacks that exploit time differences, and network services run smoothly.

Without stable timing, computer networks can experience catastrophic failures, including security breaches, corrupted database transactions, and compromised system performance where authentication fails and automated tasks execute incorrectly. The consequences can range from minor operational inconveniences to potentially serious network-wide disruptions that undermine the reliability and integrity of critical business systems.

What is a time server?

To maintain synchronised time, organisations use a special device called a time server, which acts as the master clock for all other devices on the network. The time server connects to highly precise external time sources like atomic clocks or GPS satellites. It receives, validates, and distributes a standardised time signal to all devices on the network, ensuring every computer and system operates in synchronisation with each other.

Time servers can be implemented either as a local physical hardware device directly connected to the organisational network, or as a remote server maintained by a third-party. Each approach offers distinct advantages depending on the organisation's specific network infrastructure, security requirements, and operational complexity.

Do I need my own time server?

For many organisations, particularly those in non-critical industries without sensitive data handling requirements, using public internet time sources provides adequate timing synchronisation. Businesses that do not operate in regulated sectors or handle mission-critical systems can reliably obtain synchronised time from standard internet time servers without the need for dedicated hardware infrastructure.

However, in numerous industry sectors, maintaining an internal time server is either strongly recommended or mandated by regulatory requirements. By deploying a dedicated time server within the organisational network, enterprises can ensure a stable and reliable timing source that operates independently of external internet connectivity, providing continuous synchronisation even during network disruptions or internet outages.