Time servers have become an assumed part of our daily technology experience. From your bank recognizing online deposits and transfers, to your phone automatically updating to the local time when you get off the plane to your time clock system for payroll, nearly every piece of technology equipment and software that we use is dependent on a time server. Many of these time servers are available via the internet and use NTP, Network Time Protocol. NTP basically allows for clock synchronization between computer systems and networks to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), the variance is typically within milliseconds.
With readily available access to times servers across the internet, why does your organization need an internal time server? When your organization relies on an external time server it is vulnerable to connectivity issues, hackers and spoofing. By installing a time server inside your firewall you’re guaranteeing access to an accurate and reliable source of time across your network operations. This is particularly important for networks of over 10 clients or a network that spans several LANs. The more devices on your network, the more important data synchronization becomes. Enabling this synchronization ensures accuracy in your IT transaction logs and monitoring as it relates to packet loss, bandwidth issues and real time systems like surveillance and access control.
Also the sensitivity of the applications on your network is to be considered. Think back to my earlier example of banking transactions. Any variation or hiccup in time logs with banking transactions could result in a loss of millions in investments opportunities or computed interest. To ensure accuracy, reliability and security and time server INSIDE of your firewall is required. Financial services companies and healthcare organizations are obvious beneficiaries of internal control systems. However, any organization that has a many devices, is using VOIP or is running their access control system will benefit from the control that an on-premise solution offers.
Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, Zultys, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania.