Systems and methods to enable 5G system support for conveying time synchronization are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device for conveying external time domain information is provided. The method includes receiving a message in a first time domain used by the wireless device, the message comprising external time domain information; determining information about a second time domain based on the external time domain information; and conveying information about the second time domain to another node. In some embodiments, timing information is included into a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) payload, and the wireless device can get timing information directly from the data payload. This minimizes the RAN and/or gNB impact and adds the potential for multiple time domain support.

Tenants in data centers may want access to high precision clocks without having to run their own PTP stacks or reference clocks. Furthermore, different tenants may want their workloads synchronized to their own secured clock domain. PTP, the currently dominant synchronization protocol, allows for only 256 clock domains (CDs). Virtual CDs (vCDs) virtualize the concept of clock domains by maintaining a hardware clock within a host computer, receiving a network clock domain packet that includes a clock domain identifier and an origin timestamp produced by a reference clock, using the network clock domain packet to synchronize the hardware clock to the reference clock, and using the hardware clock to provide a hardware timestamp value to a virtual machine (VM) running on the host computer or to a process running on the host computer, wherein the hardware clock is secured from manipulation by the VM or by the process.

A method establishes an improved clock topology for a computation system, where the computation system is a network of nodes, and where multiple nodes are capable of being a grandmaster clock source. The method includes sequentially selecting each selectable node as an acting grandmaster node, the acting grandmaster node sending announce messages, each node with a determinative communication requirement extracting topology information from the announce messages. The above steps are repeated with another node until each selectable node has been an acting grandmaster. The method then includes selecting the clock source based on the best clock topology for the set of nodes with determinative communication requirements.

Systems and methods for retaining synchronization between a CMTS core and an RPD when the RPD loses synchronization to a timing grandmaster, where both the core and the RPD are configured for individual synchronization in a slave configuration to the timing grandmaster, by operating the core as a boundary clock that sends timing information to the RPD.

In one embodiment, a network interface card device includes communication interfaces to provide data connection with respective local devices configured to run respective clock synchronization clients, at least one network interface to provide data connection between a packet data network and ones of the local devices, and a hardware clock to maintain a time value, and serve the clock synchronization clients.

A control method and a time aware bridge device for a seamless Precision Time Protocol (PTP) are provided. The control method includes: utilizing the time aware bridge device to pre-configure a first control signal source as a master control signal source, and pre-configure a second control signal source as a backup control signal source; utilizing the time aware bridge device to determine whether one or more packets from the master control signal source conform to at least one predetermined rule to generate a determination result; and selectively configuring the second control signal source as the master control signal source according to the determination result.

Embodiments of the present application provide a synchronization method and apparatus, and the method includes: performing clock synchronization according to first clock information or second clock information. By determining that the clock synchronization is performed according to the first clock information or the second clock information, it is possible to effectively determine an implementation of a terminal device for clock synchronization when system information and dedicated information exist at the same time, so as to ensure the clock synchronization between a network device and the terminal device.

Present disclosure describes the techniques for regaining synchronization between the RPD and the PTP server, without resetting RPD, in the event of run time-phase jump experienced at RPD. To do so, said technique discloses identifying a run time phase jump event at a remote Physical device (RPD) and initiating an Upstream Channel Descriptor (UCD) refresh procedure to reconnect the RPD with Precision Time Protocol (PTP) server.

A communication apparatus includes a plurality of clocks configured to output signals indicating current times, a plurality of counter units configured to synchronize with the plurality of clocks using the signals indicating the current times output from the plurality of clocks, an instruction unit configured to give an instruction to acquire count values of the plurality of counter units, an acquisition unit configured to acquire the count values of the plurality of counter units based on the instruction from the instruction unit, and a calculation unit configured to calculate a difference between the acquired count values.

A system for providing networked access to media signals, the system comprising at least one virtual media card configured to interface with at least one application that produces and/or consumes media signals, and/or at least one media interface configured to interface with at least one physical media card that produces and/or consumes media signals. The system may also comprise a network interface configured to enable the system to exchange media signals with other devices on a common network, and a reference clock configured to provide a common clock signal to the at least one virtual media card, the at least one media interface, and the common network. An advertisement and discovery module configured to identify when the at least one application is started and/or stopped and when the at least one media card is attached and/or detached from the system may also be provided. The advertisement and discovery module is configured to: (i) make I/O channels of the at least one media card available to the system and the common network, and (ii) make I/O channels of the at least one application available to the system and the common network.