Posted by Richard N Williams on May 14th, 2012
In large organisations, such as schools, colleges, hospitals and businesses, one of the most difficult tasks is to ensure people all know the correct time. When meetings, classes and events rely on everybody arriving at a specific time, if people are late it can have a knock on effect disrupting the rest of the day. The problem is that precise and accurate time is more difficult than it sounds. While placing up wall clocks in highly visible locations will give people an indication as to what time it is, if these clocks are running different times then problems will still occur.
Most wall clocks are not very accurate. Set two clocks to the same time and after a week or so, the clocks could be a minute or so apart, and over several weeks there could be as much as ten minutes difference between the clocks. Of course, constant resetting and synchronisation is one solution, but that means somebody has to take charge of synchronising an organisations clocks, which in a large building could me quite a task. Fortunately, NTP POE wall clocks are the ideal solution for maintaining accurate, precise and synchronised time.
Network Time Protocol
NTP POE wall clocks use Network Time Protocol (NTP) to maintain accuracy and synchronisation. NTP is a computer algorithm that works by taking a single master time source that it distributes to all devices on a network. In the case of most NTP systems, the time is received via a NTP time server that is hooked up to a computer network.
All computer networks need an accurate source of time for security and preventing errors. This time source typically comes from an atomic clock source, usually received by the NTP server by either GPS or a radio signal. NTP then checks all devices, including NTP POE wall clocks, and continuously adjusts them to ensure they exactly match this master time source.
Power Over Ethernet
NTP POE wall clocks are connected to a computer network using an Ethernet cable. They don’t require batteries because they utilise power over Ethernet, a system that provides both data and power to run the clocks.
Power over Ethernet is an efficient system that is easy to install and means clocks can maintain time without fear of batteries running down or having to use the services of an electrician to wire the clocks to the mains.
Once installed and connected to the network, a NTP POE wall clock will set itself, taking the time directly from the NTP time server. This means the clock will be accurate to an atomic clock source. Furthermore, all NTP POE wall clock installed on the network will always have the exact same time, ensuring that everybody in a large organisation can have access to a precise source of time.
Once installed, a NTP POE wall clock will never have to be manually set. Even daylight saving hours will be accounted for with the clocks automatically setting themselves to the exact time. Easy to install, an NTP POE wall clock is the ideal solution for providing accurate, precise and visible time around large organisations.