Self-Stabilizing, Byzantine-Fault-Tolerant Clock Synchronization System and Method

  • Magazine Article
  • TBMG-25375
Published September 01, 2016 by Tech Briefs Media Group in United States
Language:
  • English

NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a portfolio of technologies regarding clock synchronization in distributed systems. Distributed synchronous systems that need to provide globally coordinated operations require each component (node) in the system to be precisely synchronized. Such systems could include electronic components within an aircraft or automobile, or large-scale networks of components that communicate with each other (e.g. multiple aircraft or automobiles). NASA’s technologies provide for very quick synchronization while tolerating various faults. These protocols provide distributed autonomous synchronization (i.e. no master clock signal required) and do not rely on any assumptions regarding the initial state of the system or internal status of the nodes.