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Re: NTP question


From: William Herrin <bill () herrin us>
Date: Wed, 1 May 2019 17:39:09 -0700

On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 12:23 PM Mehmet Akcin <mehmet () akcin net> wrote:

I am trying to buy a GPS based NTP server like this one

https://timemachinescorp.com/product/gps-time-server-tm1000a/

but I will be placing this inside a data center, do these need an actual
view of a sky to be able to get signal or will they work fine inside a data
center building? if you have any other hardware requirements to be able to
provide stable time service for hundreds of customers, please let me know.


You buy a powered GPS antenna for it. Which antenna depends on the cable
length and type. The amplifier in the antenna amplifies the signal just
enough to overcome the cable loss between the antenna and the receiver.
Nice thick cables lose less signal. Dinky thin ones are easier to work with.

You sure you need a GPS NTP server? You understand that if you do, you need
two for reliability right, and probably at geographically diverse
locations? If you're not on an air-gapped network, consider syncing a
couple head-end NTP servers against tick and tock (.usno.navy.mil, the
naval observatory) and not worrying about it. One less piece of equipment
to manage, update, secure, etc.

Regards,
Bill Herrin


-- 
William Herrin ................ herrin () dirtside com  bill () herrin us
Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>

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