Time Synchronization Performance Using the Network Time Security Protocol

This paper compares the time synchronization performance of standard NTP versus NTP secured using the Network Time Security (NTS) protocol. The measurements were performed using the NTS software of Ostfalia University of Applied Science — the first implementation of NTS based on the IETF internet draft “draft-ietf-ntp-using-nts-for-ntp-06”. The measurements quantify the impact of the security measures on the time synchronization performance and allow conclusions to be drawn regarding efficiency and potential improvements to the protocol.