A common sense of time among the elements of a distributed measurement and control system allows the use of new techniques in solving problems with complex synchronization requirements or arising from the interaction of many sensors and actuators. Such a common sense of time may be accomplished using the standard IEEE 1588-2002 to synchronize real-time clocks integral to each component of the system. IEEE 1588, expands the performance capabilities of Ethernet networks so that they become relevant for measurement and control; this monograph embodies the first unified treatment of the associated technology, standards and applications. Readers will gain understanding of the technological context of IEEE 1588 and its role in a variety of application settings. To engineers this monograph provides detailed discussion of the complex features of the standard. Together with the essential material on best practice and implementation issues, these provide invaluable assistance in the design of new applications.

This book addresses the multiple technical aspects of the distribution of synchronization in new generation telecommunication networks, focusing in particular on synchronous Ethernet and IEEE1588 technologies. Many packet network engineers struggle with understanding the challenges that precise synchronization distribution can impose on networks. The usual “why”, “when” and particularly “how” can cause problems for many engineers. In parallel to this, some other markets have identical synchronization requirements, but with their own design requirements, generating further questions. This book attempts to respond to the different questions by providing background technical information. Invaluable information on state of-the-art packet network synchronization and timing architectures is provided, as well as an unbiased view on the synchronization technologies that have been internationally standardized over recent years, with the aim of providing the average reader (who is not skilled in the art) with a better understanding of this topic. The book focuses specifically on synchronous Ethernet and IEEE 1588 PTP-based technologies, both key developments in the world of synchronization over the last 10 years. The authors address the needs of engineers and technical managers who are struggling with the subject of synchronization and provide an engineering reference for those that need to consider synchronization in NGN. The market applications that are driving the development of packet network synchronization and timing architectures are also discussed. This book provides a wide audience with everything they need to know when researching, implementing, buying and deploying packet synchronization architectures in telecommunication networks.

This dissertation proposes and investigates an isochronous wireless network for industrial control applications with guaranteed latencies and jitter. Based on a requirements analysis of real industrial applications and the characterisation of the wireless channel, the solution approach is developed. It consists of a TDMA-based medium access control, a dynamic resource allocation and the provision of a global time base for the wired and the wireless network. Due to the global time base, the solution approach allows a seamless and synchronous integration into existing wired Real-time Ethernet systems.

Featuring contributions from major technology vendors, industry consortia, and government and private research establishments, the Industrial Communication Technology Handbook, Second Edition provides comprehensive and authoritative coverage of wire- and wireless-based specialized communication networks used in plant and factory automation, automotive applications, avionics, building automation, energy and power systems, train applications, and more. New to the Second Edition: 46 brand-new chapters and 21 substantially revised chapters Inclusion of the latest, most significant developments in specialized communication technologies and systems Addition of new application domains for specialized networks The Industrial Communication Technology Handbook, Second Edition supplies readers with a thorough understanding of the application-specific requirements for communication services and their supporting technologies. It is useful to a broad spectrum of professionals involved in the conception, design, development, standardization, and use of specialized communication networks as well as academic institutions engaged in engineering education and vocational training.

This book presents new communication and networking technologies, an area that has gained significant research attention from both academia and industry in recent years. It also discusses the development of more intelligent and efficient communication technologies, which are an essential part of current day-to-day life, and reports on recent innovations in technologies, architectures, and standards relating to these technologies. The book includes research that spans a wide range of communication and networking technologies, including wireless sensor networks, big data, Internet of Things, optical and telecommunication networks, artificial intelligence, cryptography, next-generation networks, cloud computing, and natural language processing. Moreover, it focuses on novel solutions in the context of communication and networking challenges, such as optimization algorithms, network interoperability, scalable network clustering, multicasting and fault-tolerant techniques, network authentication mechanisms, and predictive analytics.

Carefully coordinated, reliable, and accurate time synchronization is vital to a wide spectrum of fields—from air and ground traffic control, to buying and selling goods and services, to TV network programming. Ill-gotten time could even lead to the unimaginable and cause DNS caches to expire, leaving the entire Internet to implode on the root servers. Written by the original developer of the Network Time Protocol (NTP), Computer Network Time Synchronization: The Network Time Protocol on Earth and in Space, Second Edition addresses the technological infrastructure of time dissemination, distribution, and synchronization—specifically the architecture, protocols, and algorithms of the NTP. This system has been active in one form or another for almost three decades on the Internet and numerous private networks on the nether side of firewalls. Just about everything today that can be connected to a network wire has support for NTP. This book: Describes the principal components of an NTP client and how it works with redundant servers and diverse network paths Provides an in-depth description of cryptographic and other critical algorithms Presents an overview of the engineering principles guiding network configuration Evaluating historic events that have taken place since computer network timekeeping started almost three decades ago, the author details a number of systems and drivers for current radio, satellites, and telephone modem dissemination and explains how we reckon the time, according to the stars and atoms. The original 16 chapters of the first edition have been rewritten, updated, and enhanced with new material. Four new chapters cover new algorithms and previously uncovered concepts, including timekeeping in space missions. Praise for the first edition: "... For those that need an exhaustive tome on all of the minutiae related to NTP and synchronization, this is the source. ... definitive ... this book should be considered the last word on the topic." —Ben Rothke on Slashdot.org "... the bible of the subject... contains enough information to take you just as far as you want to go....Dr. Mills is the original developer of NTP." —Books On-Line

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Information Computing and Applications, ICICA 2012, held in Chengde, China, in September 2012. The 100 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 1089 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on internet computing and applications, multimedia networking and computing, intelligent computing and applications, computational statistics and applications, cloud and evolutionary computing, computer engineering and applications, knowledge management and applications, communication technology and applications.