The MSU ERC UltraScope system consists of a distributed computing system, custom PCI cards, GPS receivers, and a re-radiation system. The UltraScope system allows precision timestamping of events in a distributed application on a system where the CPU and PCI clocks are phase-locked. The goal of this research is to expand the UltraScope system, using software routines and minimal hardware modifications, to allow precision timestamping of events on an asynchronous distributed system. The timestamp process is similar to the Network Time Protocol (NTP) in that it uses a series of timestamps to improve precision. As expected, the precision is less accurate on an asynchronous system than on a synchronous system. Results show that the precision is improved using this sequence of timestamps, and the major error component is due to operating system delays. The errors associated with this timestamping process are characterized using a synchronous system as a baseline.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T15:58:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo4665_1.pdf: 1244503 bytes, checksum: 9601c55f303bf34b27c25d55062533b9 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O Network Time Protocol (NTP) é um protocolo para sincronização de relógios de computadores em rede que tem quase duas décadas de existência e está em contínua evolução. Com algoritmos robustos para tratamento de fase e freqüência, com um bom disciplinador de relógio local e tendo implementações para as mais diversas plataformas e sistemas operacionais de computadores e equipamentos de rede, o NTP tornou-se um padrão de fato. Entretanto, esse protocolo ainda tem problemas que precisam ser solucionados para ser operacionalmente eficaz, pois seu desempenho depende de boas condições de rede para a troca das informações de sincronização, sofrendo bastante em caso de congestionamento. Devido a esses problemas, em vários países (incluindo o Brasil) esse protocolo é considerado inadequado para prover informação de horário de forma confiável, fazendo com que registros de hora em sistemas que o utilizam não tenham valor legal. Além disso, muitas aplicações necessitam de um sistema de controle de relógios confiável para funcionar corretamente (por exemplo, sistemas bancários e servidores de bancos de dados distribuídos). Isso obriga muitas empresas a utilizar sistemas legados tradicionais e mais caros para poder funcionar de forma correta e legal. Com o advento da Qualidade de Serviço em redes de computadores, esse problema pode ser abordado elegantemente e resolvido. Várias arquiteturas de Qualidade de Serviço foram propostas, mas a arquitetura de Serviços Diferenciados (DiffServ), devido a sua facilidade de implementação e ao fato de ter sido a mais estudada e implementada experimentalmente, mostrou-se a mais forte candidata à implantação mundial e no menor prazo. Essa arquitetura adequou-se bem ao problema de sincronização de relógios, embora a solução não seja trivial. Essa dissertação sugere um arcabouço para lidar com a sincronização de relógios através do NTP em domínios DiffServ com ou sem corretores de banda. Tendo-se Serviços Bem Definidos (Well Defined Services WDS) e baseado na idéia de que as aplicações devem conhecer o tipo de tratamento necessário ao seu tráfego, esse arcabouço consiste na adoção de políticas para o tratamento de tráfego NTP nos equipamentos de rede e na adoção de uma política para a marcação de pacotes por parte da aplicação. A proposta é validada com um estudo de caso feito com medição real do desempenho da aplicação sobre um ambiente de rede emulado

Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize time between computer systems communicating over unreliable, variable-latency, and untrusted network paths. Time is critical for many applications; in particular it is heavily utilized by cryptographic protocols. Despite its importance, the community still lacks visibility into the robustness of the NTP ecosystem itself, the integrity of the timing information transmitted by NTP, and the impact that any error in NTP might have upon the security of other protocols that rely on timing information. In this thesis, we seek to accomplish the following broad goals: 1. Demonstrate that the current design presents a security risk, by showing that network attackers can exploit NTP and then use it to attack other core Internet protocols that rely on time. 2. Improve NTP to make it more robust, and rigorously analyze the security of the improved protocol. 3. Establish formal and precise security requirements that should be satisfied by a network time-synchronization protocol, and prove that these are sufficient for the security of other protocols that rely on time. We take the following approach to achieve our goals incrementally. 1. We begin by (a) scrutinizing NTP's core protocol (RFC 5905) and (b) statically analyzing code of its reference implementation to identify vulnerabilities in protocol design, ambiguities in specifications, and flaws in reference implementations. We then leverage these observations to show several off- and on-path denial-of-service and time-shifting attacks on NTP clients. We then show cache-flushing and cache-sticking attacks on DNS(SEC) that leverage NTP. We quantify the attack surface using Internet measurements, and suggest simple countermeasures that can improve the security of NTP and DNS(SEC). 2. Next we move beyond identifying attacks and leverage ideas from Universal Composability (UC) security framework to develop a cryptographic model for attacks on NTP's datagram protocol. We use this model to prove the security of a new backwards-compatible protocol that correctly synchronizes time in the face of both off- and on-path network attackers. 3. Next, we propose general security notions for network time-synchronization protocols within the UC framework and formulate ideal functionalities that capture a number of prevalent forms of time measurement within existing systems. We show how they can be realized by real-world protocols (including but not limited to NTP), and how they can be used to assert security of time-reliant applications-specifically, cryptographic certificates with revocation and expiration times. Our security framework allows for a clear and modular treatment of the use of time in security-sensitive systems. Our work makes the core NTP protocol and its implementations more robust and secure, thus improving the security of applications and protocols that rely on time.

Studien syftar till att analysera mätningar av tidsfördröjningar i inbyggda system som använder externa Wi-Fi-moduler och Network Time Protocol (NTP) för tidssynkronisering. Mätning i detta sammanhang innebär att man tar mätbara data som kan representera tidsfördröjningarna i numerisk form, vilket gör det möjligt att analysera och jämföra dem på ett objektivt sätt. Genom en grundlig litteraturstudie identifierades de olika elementen involverade i tidssynkroniseringsprocessen, inklusive egenskaper hos Wi-Fi-moduler, NTP-protokollet och andra systemkomponenter. Insamlad data analyserades för att upptäcka mönster och tendenser i tidsfördröjning. Det övergripande målet med studien var att bidra med specifika insikter som kan förbättra konfigurationen och prestandan hos inbyggda system. Genom att jämföra prestanda hos olika dataenheter och visa på variationer i tidsfördröjning, har studien gett konkreta mätdata i form av tid, dess genomsnitt och standardavvikelse. Dessa insikter kan användas för att designa mer tillförlitliga inbyggda system med förbättrad tidssynkronisering, vilket är avgörande för mcu som kräver hög precision och stabilitet. / The study aims to analyze the measurements of time delays in embedded systems that use external Wi-Fi modules and the Network Time Protocol (NTP) for time synchronization. Measurement in this context means taking measurable data that can represent time delays in numerical form, making it possible to analyze and compare them objectively. Through a thorough literature review, the various elements involved in the time synchronization process were identified, including the characteristics of Wi-Fi modules, the NTP protocol, and other system components. Collected data were analyzed to detect patterns and trends in time delays. The overall goal of the study was to contribute specific insights that can improve the configuration and performance of embedded systems. By comparing the performance of different data units and showing variations in time delays, the study provided concrete guidelines and recommendations for engineers and developers. These insights can be used to design more reliable embedded systems with improved time synchronization, which is crucial for mcu requiring high precision and stability.

The company QTPIE conducts research on drivers and their unconscious reactions when driving. To help, they use smart devices that today must be individually handled at the start and end of a run, and have individually set timestamps, which can lead to differences between the units when data is entered and collation of the units' data after a run.   The purpose of this study is an integrated control system in the form of an Android mobile application that partly facilitates the start and end of a run, and partly synchronizes time stamps between all devices. The intention is to build a heterogeneous mobile network with a central control unit and implement time synchronization and investigate whether the heterogeneity affects the implementation of the network.   The result was an Android mobile application that controlled selected external smart devices, synchronized these, and had time synchronization built in at the start of each run. / Företaget QTPIE gör undersökningar på förare och deras omedvetna reaktioner vid körning. Till hjälp använder de smarta enheter som idag måste hanteras individuellt vid start och slut av en körning, samt har individuellt satta tidsstämplar, vilket kan leda till differenser mellan enheterna vid datainmatning och sammanstrålning av enheternas data efter en körning.  Avsikten med den här studien är ett integrerat styrsystem i form av en Android mobilapplikation som dels underlättar vid start och slut av en körning, dels synkroniserar tidsstämplar mellan alla enheter. Avsikten är att bygga upp ett heterogent mobilt nätverk med en central kontrollenhet samt implementera tidssynkronisering och undersöka om heterogeniteten påverkar implementeringen av nätverket.   Resultatet blev en Android mobilapplikation som styrde valda externa smarta enheter, synkroniserade dessa samt hade tidssynkronisering inbyggt vid start av varje körning.

In this paper we study packet delay and loss rate at the University of Fort Hare network. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the information derived from a multipoint measurement of, University of Fort Hare network which will be collected for a duration of three Months during June 2011 to August 2011 at the TSC uplink and Ethernet hubs outside and inside relative to the Internet firewall host. The specific value of this data set lies in the end to end instrumentation of all devices operating at the packet level, combined with the duration of observation. We will provide measures for the normal day−to−day operation of the University of fort hare network both at off-peak and during peak hours. We expect to show the impact of delay and loss rate at the University of Fort Hare network. The data set will include a number of areas, where service quality (delay and packet loss) is extreme, moderate, good and we will examine the causes and impacts on network users.