Sub-Millisecond Internal LAN Time Synchronization

ABSTRACT: The technology developed under this SBIR program provides for accurate time synchronization across an entire network for purposes of processing data collected at multiple computers from multiple sensors in real-time. A software solution (in Windows) is desired in order to produce a universal solution, independent from specific hardware components (e.g., NICs) in data capture computers. The effort in this Phase II program will produce a technology that reduces the latency between the transmission of data from a NIC at one location to the user application at another location to less than 0.5ms with a jitter of less than 0.2ms. This will be accomplished by leveraging results from the Phase I work and developing new software approaches to reduce latency further than that achieved in Phase I. Software will be developed and demonstrated via an intermediate demonstration as well as a larger full system demonstration. BENEFIT: The developed technology will provide an effective alternative to current systems that utilize costly, proprietary network components from a single vendor. In addition, external time synchronization approaches, which utilize GPS or IRIG, require additional hardware components that are costly and must be maintained over the life of the system, thereby leading to long term costs. The proposed software-based solution provides the benefits of greatly reduced cost by allowing the use of COTS Ethernet hardware, rather than proprietary single-vendor solutions, as well as not requiring an external synchronization system. Utilizing commodity Ethernet equipment helps to reduce cost and provide increased flexibility in hardware selection. The overall benefit is the provision of the same level of system performance with greatly reduced costs. Several commercial applications exist. The first is for multi-sensor data acquisition systems, which are used in university and research labs as well as large scale commercial systems utilizing thousands of sensors such as large oil refineries and the U.S. smart power grid. Another large potential application of the developed technology is for time-sensitive transactions across networks especially large networks such as the internet. Examples include banking and online trading. Furthermore, the software components could play a key role for online gaming. Finally, providing accurate clock synchronization across a network, or across networks, is critical in many popular online applications. These include hi-frequency trading, online gambling, and online bidding (such as eBay).