DOC HOME SITE MAP MAN PAGES GNU INFO SEARCH PRINT BOOK
 
Configuring the Time Synchronization Protocol (TSP)

Electing a new TSP master

To ensure that the time synchronization service provided is continuous and reliable in the face of unusual events, an election algorithm is available to elect a new master. Unusual events include:

This algorithm allows slaves to detect that a master has stopped functioning and to elect a new master from among the slaves. Because the failure of a master time daemon results in only a gradual divergence of clock times among the slaves, the election of a new master need not occur immediately.

Running timed on gateways that connect distinct Local Area Networks (LANs) requires particular care, because the time daemon may act as a ``submaster''. A submaster is a time daemon that functions as a slave on one of the networks the gateway is connected to and as a master on one or more of the remaining networks. Submasters are necessary to overcome the restriction of current transmission protocols' preventing broadcasts from being transmitted over multiple physical networks.

A submaster classifies the networks that the gateway is connected to into the following three types:

The submaster tries periodically to become master on ignored networks, but gives up immediately once it detects that a master already exists on that network.
Next topic: TSP guidelines
Previous topic: How the time daemon works

© 2005 The SCO Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
SCO OpenServer Release 6.0.0 -- 02 June 2005