How An NTP Server Can Benefit Your Company
If you’ve work in an office, odds are you’ve heard some kind of spiel about the importance of practicing good time management and how you should use your time wisely on the job.
Believe it or not, that can sometimes be easy said than done for companies, especially those in a technology-based field. Proper network time synchronization with a network time server is essential for monitoring any issues within your company’s network.
Network Time Protocol is an algorithm that keeps a company’s computers and other technologies synchronized. NTP can be extremely effective because it can keep devices synchronized to within just a few milliseconds of one another. NTP has been in use since 1985 and is one of the oldest Internet protocols still in use today.
You’re probably wondering, just how does NTP work? If you work for a branch of a national company for example and you’re trying to communicate and send information to another branch thousands of miles away, NTP keeps time accurate as devices communicate across different time zones. Most NTP networks use UTC or Coordinated Universal Time. UTC is kept accurate by atomic clocks, so that’s what makes NTP so accurate.
Since a lot of business transactions take place online in today’s fast-paced economy, having an accurate measure of time is crucial. While Power over Ethernet or PoE digital clocks work great for office use, having accurate time on your networks is paramount. Having an NTP network that’s synchronized means your company can conduct its online business without fear of issues popping up.
With NTP time, time is the same everywhere so if you conduct transactions you won’t run into errors if its being conducted over different time zones. It also provides an added measure of security. Hackers and malware can easily take advantage of networks without accurate time, but an NTP synchronized network makes it harder for unwanted folks to access your system, which can prevent untold damage to your network.
If you’re trying to keep accurate time in the office, PoE digital clocks work well, but selecting the right time server for your business can be a little trickier. Some servers are designed only to synchronize with a single machine. Chances are you’re going to want something that syncs to multiple machines and can do so without becoming congested. You may also want to consider whether or not you want a time service that has GPS functionality.
Time servers and PoE digital clocks can ensure that your office time is accurate and that your company can conduct its business online without fear of anything going wrong.