DataMiner PTP app
Precision Time Protocol

Collect and correlate data from each PTP device, and interface with third-party PTP network analyzers to achieve a true 360° real-time PTP monitoring solution.

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DataMiner PTP app

Keep your PTP network service under control

Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is used by broadcasters, media network operators and service providers to deliver precise time to all slave devices in a PTP stack. PTP enables all devices locked to a PTP master to synchronize their clocks for any kind of media infrastructure. That includes SMPTE ST-2110 media and broadband access networks, DOCSIS 3.1 architectures and 4G/5G infrastructures.

Underlying technology: DataMiner Mediation

Based on the DataMiner Mediation functionality, any PTP-aware node can be added to the PTP app easily. DataMiner Mediation maps vendor-specific PTP MIB files, API calls, naming conventions and metrics into an IEEE1588-2 compatible data model. This allows the PTP app to provide a uniform look and feel for the PTP environment, even if different vendors expose the same metric in different ways (e.g. with a different name, or with a different type of value).

Supported drivers

The following devices are currently supported out of the box. Other vendors and models can be added at any time.

Grandmaster Clocks
  • Evertz 5700MSC
  • Meinberg Lantime M3000
  • Tektronix SPG8000
PTP Slaves/Analyzers
  • Lawo Power Core
  • Lawo HD Core Ravenna
  • Imagine Communications Selenio Network
Boundary/Transparent Clocks
  • Arista switches
  • Cisco Nexus switches
DataMiner Automation

Out-of-the-box deployment

Comes with a deployment wizard that allows easy configuration

Includes a predefined set of alarm and trend templates that can be quickly adapted to a specific PTP environment

Uses the DataMiner Connectivity Framework (DCF) to visualize how the PTP devices are connected. The DCF information can be specified manually or retrieved automatically using the IDP Solution

Requires DataMiner version 10.0.3 or higher

PTP device configuration

Discover PTP device configuration

PTP monitor all nodes

Constantly monitor all PTP nodes

PTP network analyzers

Interface with PTP network analyzers

PTP fault analysis

Rely on PTP fault analysis

24/7 in-depth PTP monitoring of every single PTP node over time

in-depth 24/7 PTP-centric monitoring of all PTP nodes in a PTP stack

interfaces with any PTP grandmaster (e.g. Meinberg M3000, Tektronix SPG8000, Evertz 5700MSC), PTP boundary clock (e.g. Cisco Nexus, Arista 7000-series), PTP transparent clock and PTP slave device, independent of protocol or vendor

integrates third-party PTP network analyzers (e.g. Tektronix Prism)

out-of-the-box deployment (installation wizard, comprehensive set of information and alarm templates) facilitates rapid deployment

easy navigation using multiple pre-configured tab pages to drill down to every single PTP metric

monitor the current grandmaster, its profile, configuration (e.g. BMCA values & PTP message rates) and performance (e.g. mean path delay, offset)

PTP topology viewer indicating the current grandmaster and most severe alarm of every PTP node including alarms related to the network links

track all PTP-related changes such as GNSS loss, grandmaster change, PTP port changes (master, slave, passive)

consolidated view on all PTP-related alarms from all PTP nodes

compare settings of multiple grandmasters or boundary clocks

track master, slave or passive state for each network interface on every boundary clock

track configured and actual PTP message rates on each PTP interface

track network degradations

monitor PTP behavior and performance over time, with stored historical PTP data

monitor the PTP lock state and the reported grandmaster ID of each PTP slave node

force “master only” setting on boundary clocks to keep slave devices from becoming a grandmaster

A full list of supported KPIs of the DataMiner PTP app is available on DataMiner DOJO.

Precision Time Protocol

Complex underlying network architectures, PTP-aware switches, a vast number of PTP slave devices from multiple vendors and the best master clock algorithm (BMCA): this combination makes it a challenge to properly configure and maintain a stable and reliable PTP ecosystem. 24/7 in-depth PTP monitoring, keeping track of the PTP configuration, behavior and performance of every single PTP node over time has become a must.

And that’s exactly what the DataMiner Precision Time Protocol app enables you to do.

To access the PTP expert hub, you need a DataMiner Cloud Platform account. Creating this account is quick and easy, and will allow you to access not only our expert hubs, but also countless articles, videos, and more.

Extend your capabilities

The DataMiner Precision Time Protocol app can be combined with the DataMiner IDP app (Infrastructure Discovery and Provisioning) to automatically detect and configure new PTP nodes and their connectivity (via LLDP) in the media network.

How does clock synchronization work?

Clock synchronization is one of the most critical IT services in a wide range of industries, such as finance, power utilities, defense, media, broadband, and many more. All these industries rely on a highly accurate synchronization of time for their systems, ranging from millisecond to sub-nanosecond accuracy.

But how does clock synchronization work? And how do you even begin to manage clock synchronization?