Equinix Precision Time

Equinix Precision Time delivers a time service for customers who need to synchronize the client devices on their network with accurate PTP and NTP time. With this service, client devices can synchronize with Equinix Precision Time servers over Equinix Fabric.

The Precision Time service uses redundant GNSS (GPS) receiver-based time sources that are backed up by Rubidium atomic clocks to ensure holdover accuracy. The GNSS receiver and the antennas in the Precision Time infrastructure can receive signals from multiple GNSS constellations, including GPS L1, GLONASS L1, BeiDou B1, Galileo E1, and QZSS L1. These time sources, used together, provide multiple levels of redundancy. The GNSS-enabled grandmaster clocks use Rubidium oscillators that can provide up to sub-microsecond accuracy when locked with the GNSS (GPS) source. Even with a loss of connectivity to the time source, Equinix Precision Time is able to maintain accuracy up to the sub-microsecond level.

Equinix Precision Time 2023.3 is available June, 2023.

With this release, Equinix Precision Time continues to expand its self-service options in Fabric so that customers can now order a wider range of time services.

Integration with Fabric Portal for Standard and Enterprise NTP and PTP Time Services

Now, through a single sign-in to the Equinix Fabric portal, users can order new Precision Time services for both Standard and Enterprise tiers of the PTP and NTP protocols. Because Precision Time is offered as a Quick Connect option for Fabric users, their new time services can be configured easily and provisioned quickly. To learn more about how to set up Precision Time services with Fabric, see Order Precision Time with Quick Connect.

Precision Time in Amsterdam

With this release, Equinix Precision Time service has expanded in the EMEA region. The newest metro to offer Precision Time services is Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This geographic expansion enables Precision Time to be served locally for more of our European users.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Use the Fabric Portal to Order Precision Time

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2023.2 is available April, 2023.

To expand customer self-service options and geographic availability, Equinix Precision Time now offers these new features.

Integration with Fabric Portal for Standard NTP Time Service

With this release, users can order new Precision Time services for Standard NTP from the Equinix Fabric portal. After signing into Fabric, users can select Equinix Precision Time as a Quick Connect option. Currently, only Standard NTP time services are available. Support for additional time services will be added soon.

Precision Time in Australia and Singapore

Equinix Precision Time service has now expanded in the APAC region. Now, Precision Time is available in Sydney, Australia, and in Singapore. With this geographic expansion, Precision Time service can be locally served for our Singapore and Australian users.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Use the Fabric Portal to Order Precision Time

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2023.1 is available February, 2023.

In this release, Equinix Precision Time delivers reseller impersonation functionality, enabling our resellers to provide more support and flexibility for their sub-user accounts.

Reseller Support for Impersonation

Equinix resellers can now sign in as their sub-users to the Precision Time portal in the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP). This capability enables our resellers to order new time services, and modify existing ones, on behalf of their own customers. In addition, this new feature provides more troubleshooting capability for resellers. When signed in as a sub-user, a reseller administrator can help troubleshoot and resolve issues on behalf of their customers.

See Reseller Impersonation to learn more about the steps for viewing and managing Precision Time services when signed in as a sub-user.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Reseller Impersonation Flow

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.6 is available December, 2022.

With this release, Equinix Precision Time adds support for resellers and their sub-users in the Precision Time portal flow within the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP).

Reseller Support

Equinix resellers can now sign into the Precision Time portal in ECP to place orders and provision new Precision Time services for their sub-account end users. In addition, resellers can now use the portal make changes to the time services used by their sub-accounts. With this new support available in the Precision Time workflow, resellers can efficiently manage the time service needs of their customers.

More information about this new feature, including tips for reseller and sub-account use of CRH/AM, is available in Resellers.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Enabling Reseller and Sub-Customer Order Flow

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.5 is available October 10, 2022.

This release of Equinix Precision Time provides enhanced authentication support.

Multiple MD5 Keys Available in NTP Enterprise

In Network Time Protocol (NTP) Enterprise configurations, authentication for multiple MD5 keys is now supported. With this release of Equinix Precision Time, up to 25 MD5 authorization keys and passwords can be added to an NTP Enterprise service.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.4 is available August 8, 2022.

With this release, Equinix Precision Time provides an additional authentication feature, new PTP profile options, and integration with the context switching support provided by the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP).

MD5 Authentication for NTP

MD5 authentication is now supported in Network Time Protocol (NTP) Enterprise configurations. To set up this feature in a Precision Time service, an authorization key and password are required.

Unicast and Hybrid Profiles Available

Users of Precision Time Protocol (PTP) Standard and Enterprise configurations can now set up Unicast profiles with specified grant times. Multicast and Hybrid profile options are also available.

Context Switcher Integration

This release integrates Equinix Precision Time with the Context Switcher, which provides an easy way to switch between projects on the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP). This Identity and Access Management (IAM) feature is available to Precision Time users of Fabric ports who participate in Equinix Platform+. This feature allows users to change their project selections and update their resource details within the same ECP session.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.3 is available June 13, 2022.

With this release, Equinix Precision Time provides a redesigned portal for enhanced efficiency and ease of use. New trouble ticket functionality is also included for additional user support.

Redesigned Portal Experience

Equinix Precision Time enhances the user experience by redesigning the EPT portal for ordering and configuring services. The new portal flow provides consistency with other Equinix products that are available through the Equinix Customer Portal (ECP). The need for subscription services has been removed, and the Precision Time ordering process is more streamlined and easier to use.

Trouble Ticket Integration

To help expedite support for Equinix Precision Time issues, users can create trouble tickets and monitor them through the Precision Time portal, available through ECP. As with other Equinix products that are available on ECP, support is available for service issues, and for other technical problems with locations, networks, pricing, and so on. After trouble tickets are submitted, users can track the status and history of their support case. For more information, see the Precision Time Support topic.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Equinix Precision Time Portal Restructure

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.2 is available April 11, 2022.

With this version, Auth0 support is now supported for non-federated users.

Auth0 Integration for Non-federated Users

Auth0 is now integrated with Equinix Precision Time services, adding authentication support for non-federated user identities.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 is available February 14, 2022.

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 provides more delivery flexibility and reliability, including support for user-defined PTP parameters, plus performance monitoring and alerts received by Equinix support teams. Additional protection is included to prevent jamming and spoofing of the time source signals.

Performance Monitoring and Alerts

With this release, Equinix Precision Time now monitors and collects performance data from both the Timing Master and SLA monitoring servers in remote IBX data centers, to generate alerts that are sent to support teams for analysis. Alarms are triggered when SLA thresholds are breached, or when outages threaten Precision Time performance. This feature provides an “early warning” so that potential problems can be corrected by Equinix support before they become issues.

PTP Customized Configurations

PTP configuration values can now be customized when placing new Precision Time orders or when modifying existing services. Customers can adjust the values for their PTP timescale, domain numbers, priority values, and packet rates. This feature enables customers to integrate Precision Time into their existing timing infrastructure.

GNSS Risk Mitigation to Prevent Jamming and Spoofing Vulnerabilities

To protect its timing source Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals from jamming and spoofing, Equinix Precision Time has integrated industry standard technology into our Timing infrastructure. When jamming or spoofing interference is detected, the GNSS link to Antenna is disabled, and time is served based on the Rubidium oscillator integrated inside GNSS servers.

Videos

Equinix Precision Time 2022.1 Spotlight

 

Prerequisites and Planning

 

Sign-up