Netnod expands high accuracy time service to Luleå

Netnod provides this NTP service throughout Sweden at multiple, autonomous sites. The time is traceable to the official Swedish time UTC(SP) and is available over IPv4 or IPv6. Each site has full redundancy with multiple servers, atomic clocks, and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) boards providing an extremely fast hardware implementation of NTP. 

“We are seeing an increasing need across all sectors of society for the best possible time and frequency services,” said Patrik Fältström, Technical Director and Head of Security, Netnod. “This new local time node in Luleå ensures that networks and end users in the north of Sweden have free access to the most accurate and robust time service available.” 

As with the other time and frequency sites run by Netnod, the new site in Luleå provides access to Stratum-1 time servers. This means that connecting networks take time directly from the time source which, in this case, is generated by multiple atomic clocks. Using the oscillations of a caesium atom, these clocks provide extremely accurate time traceable to official Swedish time. 

”Extremely accurate, free and secure time and frequency services, such as this, are vital not only for supporting a wide range of existing services  but also for enabling new ones to emerge,” said Jens Lundström, CEO, Arctic Business Incubator. “I am very happy that Netnod have deployed this in Luleå and that it will be available for the Internet community of users and companies here.” 

Netnod is also a leading player in developing and implementing Network Time Security (NTS), a protocol that adds an important layer of security to NTP. NTS enables networks to ensure that the time they are receiving over NTP comes from a trusted source. More details about NTS can be found here. NTS is scheduled to be added to Luleå later this year.

Netnod’s time and frequency services also include a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) service for systems that need the highest levels of accuracy. Netnod’s PTP service is delivered over a dedicated fibre and offers a robust, reliable and highly accurate source for time and frequency. For mission-critical services, multiple sources of time and frequency are essential to ensure redundancy. PTP is used today by industries ranging from banking and financial services to telecommunications, transport and the energy sector.

More information about Netnod’s time services is available here 

For more information on some of the technical considerations behind these time and frequency services, see this blogpost by Patrik Fältström.

Netnod provides robust and traceable time and frequency services on behalf of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) to make Sweden more resilient and better equipped for the future.

About Netnod

Netnod provides critical infrastructure support ranging from interconnection services and Internet Exchanges to time services, DNS services and root server operations. With a worldwide reputation for its services and the expertise of its staff, Netnod ensures a stable and secure Internet for the Nordics and beyond. Established in 1996 as a neutral and independent Internet infrastructure organisation, Netnod is fully owned by the non-profit foundation TU-stiftelsen (Stiftelsen för Telematikens utveckling). More information is available at: www.netnod.se