Anritsu Corporation (President Hirokazu Hamada) has added a function for PTP wander, a metrics for evaluating frequency variations as low as 10 Hz to the PTP*1 network time synchronization error to the company’s smallest-in-class 100 Gbps Network Master Pro MT1000A.
5G networks require high real-time communications supporting anticipated new services in various industries, such as autonomous vehicles, smart factories, telemedicine, etc. PTP wander is a key index expressing long-term time synchronization stability. Adding this improved time sync measurement to the MT1000A will play an important role in assuring 5G network quality.
Development Background
Due to their advantages of ultra-high speeds, high reliability, and low latency, and multiple simultaneous connections, 5G communications networks are spreading into various use scenarios
Of these, high-reliability and low-latency communications are key features for implementing various industrial use cases, such as autonomous vehicles, smart factories, telemedicine, etc. Applications using these mission-critical technologies demand the smallest possible communications latency to facilitate equipment peer-to-peer communications at the highest speeds in almost real-time, while also requiring precision time synchronization between each equipment.
Additionally, implementing low-latency communications requires support for MEC*2 architectures in 5G networks, and precision time synchronization is essential to achieving communications between MEC systems distributed at each site.
Implementing time synchronization uses network technologies called SyncE*3 and PTP, and assuring high accuracy and high stability synchronization using these technologies is linked to operators’ service quality guarantees about high speeds and low latency.
Anritsu has been building instruments with built-in jitter and wander test functions to measure instabilities in networks ranging from the SDH/SONET era to modern transport networks, contributing to the development of core and metro networks. Based on this long experience and high-level technologies, the company has now added this new time error PTP wander measurement function to MT1000A time synchronization measurements. Measuring wander supports the quantitative evaluation of long-term synchronization stability. In addition, support for the measurement of new time-synchronization networks called PTS*4 will help assure customers’ service quality guarantees.
Product Outline
The MU100090B is a GNSS*5 disciplined oscillator supporting the GPS, QZSS, Galileo, Beidou, and GLONASS. It can receive signals from each artificial satellite system and outputs UTC-traceable reference time and 10-MHz frequency signals. This reference timing is supplied to the portable MT1000A supporting SyncE and PTP up to 25 Gbps to measure network time synchronization accuracy.
Moreover, combination with the SyncE Wander MU100011A-021 and MU100090B software options facilitates ITU-T recommended pass/fail evaluation of network-supplied Ethernet frequency accuracy.
When used with the Site Over Remote Access MX109020A software, multiple MT1000A units located at separate sites can be remotely operated and monitored from a central office to support speedy troubleshooting when synchronization problems occur.
Target Markets and Applications
- Target Markets: Communications carriers, network installers, communications equipment vendors, MEC service businesses
- Applications: Installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of communications networks, easy evaluation of communications equipment, service quality evaluation
Technical Terms
*1 PTP
Abbreviation for Precision Time Protocol; IEEE1588v2 protocol for matching time between devices to achieve nanosecond-level time synchronization accuracy.
*2 MEC
Abbreviation for Multi-access Edge Computing; technology for implementing ultra-low-latency internet access by deploying cloud servers near to consumers.
*3 SyncE
Abbreviation for Synchronous Ethernet standard; unlike asynchronous Ethernet, uses ITU-T standardized frequency synchronization to improve communications quality.
*4 PTS
Abbreviation for Partial Timing Support; one form of time-synchronization architecture using PTP assuming some network equipment does not support PTP. Profile standardized by ITU-T G.8275.2.
*5 GNSS
Abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System; positioning system using artificial satellites. GPS is one type of GNSS operated by US, along with EU’s Galileo, Russia’s GLONASS, China’s Beidou, and Japan’s QZSS.
For more information, visit www.anritsu.com
