Microsemi Security-Hardened NTP Timing and Synchronization Platform

Microsemi Corporation announced its new SyncServer S6xx series of Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers, providing a highly secure, accurate and flexible timing and frequency platform for synchronizing network elements and mission-critical electronics systems in enterprise information technology (IT) applications such as Internet protocol (IP) telephony and physical security and government instrumentation applications such as satellite communications and defense operational infrastructure.

“Microsemi’s new SyncServer series is a rock-solid enterprise level time server, interoperating easily with our Domain Time II software,” said Jeffry Dwight, president of Greyware Automation Products, the leading provider of time synchronization, management, and auditing software for Windows. “The new SyncServer raises the bar for accurate time synchronization with hardware-based time stamp support, which we found significantly reduced jitter and latency in time served, without losing accuracy. Installation was also much more flexible than any other GPS/GNSS unit we’ve tested. Anyone needing dependable high-quality NTP timestamps should consider Microsemi’s new SyncServer series.”

The new series features SyncServer S600, a security-hardened NTP time server with Microsemi’s NTP Reflector™ technology for robust security, accuracy and reliability of network time services, and the SyncServer S650, a highly versatile timing and frequency system with the company’s FlexPort™ technology for multiport, user definable output signal configuration. The SyncServer S600 is designed for enterprise IT customers managing corporate networks in industries such as financial services and healthcare, while the SyncServer S650 is ideal for electronics system engineers synchronizing mission-critical, system-level instruments.

“Robust security, system agility and flexibility of time services are essential for modern IT networks. Our innovative SyncServer S6xx series timing platform makes significant advances in the security hardening of timing ports, as well as adaptability to various network topologies and flexibility of timing output configuration,” said Sri Purisai, vice president of timing and synchronization business, at Microsemi. “This next-generation offering from Microsemi provides our customers a simple migration path to meet future requirements for faster, more agile and scalable network operations.”

According to the 2014 US State of Cybercrime Survey, organizations use a gamut of security technologies to protect network operations. Time plays a vital role in determining the critical “when” of several key security technologies. Survey respondents cited intrusion detection (62 percent), log monitoring to identify intrusion attempts (49 percent) and security event analysis (40 percent) as technologies used for network protection. Without accurate time synchronization to UTC across the network, the effectiveness of these tools in securing the network becomes marginal.

About the SyncServer S600
Microsemi’s SyncServer S600 is the industry’s only network time server with security-hardened NTP Reflector technology, supporting extremely high capacity and ultra-accurate NTP server operations in a multiport, dedicated network time appliance. Easily integrated into existing, future and cloud network topologies, including software-defined networking (SDN), the SyncServer is designed for IT network administrators and architects who are heavily reliant upon server log files for network management.

SyncServer S600 uniquely comes with four 1 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) local area network (LAN) ports, each port equipped with hardware time stamping, multiplying the network configuration possibilities. All ports are equipped with high resolution hardware time stamping, and the S600 is NTP and precision time protocol (PTP) ready in a multiport PTP configuration. A simple software update and license purchase/installation will be available in a future software release. Other benefits include interoperability, ease-of-use, extensive security choices and a modern web interface providing the best user experience possible.

Additional key features include:
• NTP hardware time stamping standard, with nanosecond accuracy
• NTP Reflector technology for improved security, NTP throughput and accuracy
• Comprehensive suite of security protocols

About the SyncServer S650
As a superset of Microsemi’s SyncServer S600, its SyncServer S650 provides all the features of the SyncServer S600, as well as additional offerings. Leveraging the company’s unique and advanced FlexPort timing technology, it delivers unprecedented flexibility in very precise time and stable frequency synchronization in a price competitive commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution.

FlexPort timing technology efficiently and cost-effectively adds innovative “any signal, any connector” technology through software configuration, eliminating the wasted space inherent with legacy style fixed signal modules with fixed signal types. Specially designed for system and instrumentation engineers in the electrical, system, metrology, communications and defense markets looking to easily output a variety of accurate and stable time and frequency signal types in a cost-effective manner, the device also provides unmatched network-based timing features with software upgrades to completely security-harden the system.

The GPS referenced SyncServer S650 is built for modern electronic systems and networks that require best-in-class synchronization performance easily adaptable to a wide range of applications. Microsemi’s FlexPort configurations eliminate the need for distribution chassis, saving time and costs, in addition to providing an easy-to-use system. Other benefits include high accuracy and signal quality, as well as environmental design robustness.

Key features (in addition to the above features of SyncServer S600) include:
• Clock accuracy typically better than 10 nanoseconds to universal time
• Standard timing I/O card that meets most popular timing output requirements, eliminating the need to purchase multiple plug-in modules
• FlexPort technology option for any signal, any connector flexibility

Product Availability
Microsemi’s new SyncServer S600 and SyncServer S650 are both available for purchase orders now.