Microchip Technology Inc. has integrated its BlueSky technology GPS signal-anomaly detection software into the SyncServer S600 Series network time server and instruments, to protect network timing applications in banking, stock trading, electric utilities, aerospace and defense and other applications. The SyncServer S600 with intelligent jamming and spoofing detectors continuously monitors local GPS constellation health and examines GPS and local RF signal integrity to assure validity. The device improves the security, accuracy and the reliability of the time services on the network for IT network administrators working to provide network time services in hardened network operations. The S600 network time server is purpose built to deliver exact hardware based Network Time Protocol (NTP) timestamps.
The device fully integrates GPS jamming and spoofing detection and protection, in combination with local radio frequency (RF) data logging and analysis, inside a time server. If an anomaly is detected, the device sends an alarm and, if necessary, the SyncServer instrument can be shifted to alternative time sources or an internal oscillator. This protects ongoing timing outputs while ensuring only minimal, predictable timing degradation to vital network and business operations.
SyncServer BlueSky includes a comprehensive suite of logging, charting and measuring tools to characterize local GPS satellite signals as well as local RF events over time. This can help enable correlating, troubleshooting, identifying and correcting local anomalies, some of which may be related to consumer electronics, or nearby RF signal broadcasts. The solution is optionally available through the SyncServer v4.1 software release that provides a selection of features found in Microchip’s BlueSky GNSS Firewall solution for third-party GPS receivers and critical infrastructure.
High Security and Capacity
The four standard GbE ports, and optional 10 GbE ports, all combined handle more than 10,000 NTP requests per second using hardware time stamping and compensation. All traffic to the S600 CPU is bandwidth limited for protection against denial-of-service (DOS) attacks. For significantly more robust and secure NTP time server operations, the security-hardened NTP Reflector can be enabled, with 100% hardware-based NTP packet processing capable of 360,000 NTP requests per second.
