NTP Time Server Precision Timing Notes - 3 - NTP Authentication

Products

TimeTools NTP s5000 series of 1U high stratum 1 network time servers provides a highly accurate and reliable solution to any network time sync requirement.

s5000 Radio NTP
Server

s5100 GPS NTP Server

s5500 Dual Reference
NTP Server

Radio and GPS time synchronisation systems for PC's provide cost-effective solution to PC time synchronisation.

GPS Time Server

MLS Radio PC Time
Server

MPS Radio PC Time
Server

T1000 GPS Time
Server

T2000 GPS Time
Server

TimeTools Ethernet NTP digital wall clocks provide accurate synchronised time display solution.

Ethernet NTP Digital
Wall Clock

NTP authentication is intended to overcome any security risks associated with the Network Time Protocol. Authentication allows a NTP client to ascertain that a response to a request for time has actually come from the expected NTP server. A client can authenticate a server to ensure that no one has maliciously intercepted the communication between the client and server.

Authentication works by the NTP server appending one of an agreed set of encrypted authentication keys to any response to a client. The client can the decrypt the authentication key received from the server to ensure it is one of the agreed keys and accept or reject the response accordingly.

NTP authentication keys are generally encrypted using the MD5 (Message Digest Encryption 5) which is a secure 128 bit cryptographic hash function. MD5 is widely used as a secure encryption algorithm and is widely accepted as a secure encryption service.

To summarize, encrypted authentication is used by a network time client to authenticate that the NTP server is who he says he is and prevents any malicious interception of time stamps. Encryption relies on an agreed shared set of encrypted keys between client and server to prevent interception.

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