MC1000 NTP Time Reference System User Manual Version 2.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS To reduce the risk of fire, or electric shock, DO NOT allow the MC1000 to be exposed to rain or moisture. To avoid the risk of electric shock, DO NOT open the enclosure. This unit is designed to be installed into an equipment rack or on a suitable flat surface. DO NOT install this product on an uneven surface. To prevent damage to the unit, clean ONLY with a dry cloth. Use this product ONLY with the supplied power cord.
Contents 1 - Introduction.....................................................................................................................1 1.1 - Quick start guide....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 - Package contents..................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 - Front & Rear drawings.....................................................
1 - Introduction What is NTP? The World Time Solutions MC1000 NTP Time Reference System is a professional grade NTP time server. The system is designed for use in applications where a source of accurate time is of high importance, including general business and banking, security, manufacturing and many other fields. Network Time Protocol (NTP) enables the synchronisation of computer clocks across data networks.
Section 1: Introduction • USB cable • Rubber feet and 19” rack fixing bolts • A4 user manual • MC1000 Utilities and Microsoft® .NET framework CD-ROMs The package may also contain the following: • Either one or two compatible antenna systems 1.3 - Front & Rear drawings The drawings below show the front and rear view of the MC1000. 1.3.1 - MC1000 front view 2 3 7 MC1000 - NTP TIME REFERENCE SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATE 1 STATUS SYNC 1 SYNC 2 100BASE-TX LINK 4 No. SETUP ENTER 5 Function 6 8 No.
Section 1: Introduction 1.4 - LCD time and status displays In normal operation, the liquid crystal display (LCD) shows the local time, the local date and the offset from UTC. The MC1000 also has three status display screens accessible via the ‘STATUS’ switch. The status display screens show basic information from the connected antenna systems and the status of the network interface. 1.4.1 - Standard time and date display 19 21 20 22 No. 19 20 Function No.
2 - Installing the MC1000 The MC1000 is supplied in a robust metal case suitable for mounting into an industry standard 19” rack. The system requires a mains power source, a connection to your local area network and connection to a compatible World Time Solutions Time Receiver System. System setup may be performed using the front panel switches.
Section 2: Installing the MC1000 2.2.3 - Antenna system setup and status When mains power is connected, the MC1000 monitors the status of any connected antennae and automatically selects the most stable and accurate as a synchronisation reference source. All compatible World Time Solutions Time Receiver systems incorporate setup information into data messages sent to the MC1000. This setup information is used by the MC1000 to perform any required setup changes automatically.
3 - Network setup The Ethernet port enables the MC1000 to be connected to a TCP/IP network via an Ethernet switch or hub (see section 2.4). The network interface may be programmed to operate with DHCP enabled or disabled. When DHCP operation is enabled, the MC1000 attempts to obtain network address settings automatically from a DHCP server on the network. With DHCP disabled, network address settings are manually entered into the unit.
Section 3: Network setup ENTER IP address screen before a DHCP lease is obtained. IP address screen after a DHCP lease is obtained. From this point, the network setup menu may be exited by a further three presses of the ‘ENTER’ switch. 3.3 - Programming static IP settings. If DHCP operation is disabled, the MC1000 uses the IP address, subnet and gateway address as programmed in the network setup menu. The IP settings can be adjusted one byte at a time with the selected byte flashing.
4 - Setting the time zone NTP (Network Time Protocol) always operates using UTC as a time reference (see side panel for further details). It does not include any information regarding local time or daylight saving time changes. The MC1000 operates in a similar manner, using UTC for the main internal time count. In order to enable simple user monitoring of time accuracy, the MC1000 also has a local time count.
5 - Remote access Status and setup information can be accessed remotely either via the network connection (using either the built in HTTP web server or Telnet) or through the USB port. During normal operation, remote access via the network interface may be used to obtain status information. The USB port, together with the supplied MC1000 Interface software application may be used to obtain both status information and to adjust any settings that may be programmed using the front panel switches.
Section 5: Remote access Figure 5.1 - Example web page 5.1.2 - Telnet access Telnet allows access to the internal file systems of the Linux operating system via a command line interface (see side panel for further details). Upon accessing the unit via Telnet, a section of welcome text will be displayed explaining that any changes made via the Telnet interface will be lost when system power is removed (as shown in the example below).
Section 5: Remote access Information transmitted using the Telnet protocol is unencrypted, therefore care should be exercised when using this function in certain applications. Telnet access is disabled by default. Please refer to section 5.1.3 for details of how to enable Telnet access. 5.1.3 - Enabling / disabling HTTP / Telnet access The MC1000 is supplied with HTTP access enabled and Telnet access disabled.
Section 5: Remote access 5.2.1 - Installing the MC1000 Interface software application PLEASE NOTE: The USB drivers should be installed prior to connecting the MC1000 to the PC. The software should be installed on a Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2 (or later), Windows Vista™ or Windows® 7 PC, observing the following procedure: • Insert the supplied ‘MC1000 Utilities’ CD-ROM into a DVD/CD reader on the PC. • The ‘MC1000 Utilities’ program should automatically run.
Section 5: Remote access Figure 5.4 - MC1000 Interface application - Network Setup tab Figure 5.5 - MC1000 Interface application - Time Zone tab Figure 5.6 - MC1000 Interface application - Remote Access tab MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
6 - Advanced setup The Advanced Setup menu contains various settings, most of which typical users should not need to access or adjust. Settings may be adjusted following the procedure detailed in section 6.1 below, or alternatively via the USB interface and supplied MC1000 Interface software application (see section 7 for further details).
Section 6: Advanced setup SETUP ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER Some screens display read only values (e.g. software versions), others show values that may be adjusted. If a particular setting can be adjusted, the value will be flashing on the screen and the ‘UP’ and ‘DOWN’ multi-function switches used to adjust the value. If multiple values can be adjusted (e.g. local time setup), the ‘LEFT’ and ‘RIGHT’ multi-function switches can be used to move between values.
7 - Software updates Occasionally, updated software versions may become available for the MC1000. The updated software may include capability upgrades or enhancements, Linux revisions or updates due to changes in time zone daylight saving rules. Updated software revisions are available at the World Time Solutions web site: http://www.worldtimesolutions.com The MC1000 is based around two distinct processing architectures both requiring different software versions.
Section 7: Software updates Figure 7.1 - MC1000 Interface application - Software Update tab • In the section labelled ‘Timing Software Version’ the current timing software version is shown. Click the ‘Browse’ button. A ‘File Open’ window will appear. • Select the recently downloaded file (MC1000T_x.x) and click ‘Open’. The new file version will now be displayed in the ‘Replacement Timing Software Version’ text box. • Click the ‘Start Update Procedure’ button.
Section 7: Software updates 7.2 - Applying a network software update The MC1000 network software version may be updated following the procedure detailed below. The network software files are loaded into the MC1000 from a TFTP server on the local area network. The update procedure is controlled via the USB connection and MC1000 Interface software application. Before commencing this procedure, a functioning TFTP server should be running on the local area network (see side bar).
Section 7: Software updates • Upon update completion, click the ‘Exit’ button. Figure 7.3 - MC1000 Network Software Update window For troubleshooting advice, please refer to appendix A. MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
8 - NTP authentication NTP authentication is a digital signature added to the end of each NTP data message allowing the user to ensure that a particular time stamp originated from a particular server (or client) and was not modified after transmission. The digital signature is generated using the NTP data and a special passcode or ‘key’. Assuming this key is hidden from public view (known only to the server and client / clients), a trusted relationship can be established.
Section 8: NTP authentication SETUP ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER Press the ‘ENTER’ switch again to exit the Key Management menu and return to the time screen. MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
A - Troubleshooting Problem Possible Cause Time synchronisation error Antenna not synchronised Solution Check sync LEDs (see section 2.2.3) Check sync status screen (see section 1.4) Refer to antenna user guide Cabling fault Check sync LEDs (see section 2.2.3) Refer to antenna user guide (and section 2.2.
Appendix A: Troubleshooting Problem Possible Cause Solution ‘MC1000 not found’ error displayed in MC1000 Interface software application MC1000 USB interface not detected by software application at startup Check USB connection between MC1000 & PC (see section 5.2) ‘Communication failure’ error displayed in MC1000 Interface software application Unspecified comms error between MC1000 and PC Check USB connection between MC1000 & PC (see section 5.
B - Menu structure The flow diagram below shows the basic structure of the MC1000 programming menu. STATUS STATUS SETUP ENTER ENTER ENTER (Refer to section 3 for details of network settings) ENTER (Refer to section 4 for details of time zone settings) ENTER ENTER ENTER ENTER 24 (Refer to section 8 for details of authentication settings) PLEASE NOTE: Some detail has been omitted from this diagram to aid clarity. MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
Appendix B: Menu structure STATUS ENTER ENTER STATUS ENTER (Refer to section 5 for details of remote access settings) ENTER ENTER (Refer to section 6 for details of advanced settings) ENTER ENTER ENTER (Remaining Advanced Setup menu screens have been omitted to aid clarity. Please refer to chapter 6 for further details) ENTER MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
C - Time zones The table below lists the preprogrammed time zones. Time zone offsets followed by a * character indicates that the time zone has daylight saving changes. UTC Offset City / Time Zone 0 UTC/Reykjavik 0* London/Dublin/Lisbon 0* Casablanca +1 Lagos/Algiers +1* CET/Paris +2 Cape Town/Johannesburg/Harare +2* Athens/Sofia +2* Cairo +2* Jerusalem +2* Beirut +2* Amman +3 Khartoum/Nairobi/Baghdad +3* Moscow (old) +3.5* Tehran +4 Dubai/Moscow +4.5 Kabul +5 Karachi +5.
Appendix C: Time zones UTC Offset City / Time Zone -10 Honolulu -9 - -9* Anchorage -8 - -8* Vancouver/San Francisco -7 Phoenix -7* Edmonton/Denver -6 Guatemala/San Salvador/Managua -6* Winnipeg/Houston/Chicago -6* Mexico City -5 Lima/Kingston/Bogota -5* New York/Toronto/Nassau -5* Havana -4.5 Caracas -4 Santo Domingo/La Paz/San Juan -4* Halifax -4* Santiago -3.5* Newfoundland -3 - -3* Brasilia/Sao Paulo -3* Montevideo -3* Buenos Aires -2 - -1 - Table C.
D - Specifications Typical Performance Specifications Synchronised accuracy: Dependent on synchronisation source accuracy, time elapsed from first lock and cable lengths. Typically within 100nsec of synchronisation source PPS after 30 mins. Unsynchronised holdover: 3.
E - Certificate of Conformity MC1000 - NTP Time Reference System - User Manual - Version 2.
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