IEEE Std 1588-2019
IEEE Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems
Copyright © 2020 IEEE. All rights reserved.
3.1.3 Boundary Clock: A PTP Instance that has multiple PTP Ports in a domain and maintains the
timescale used in the domain. Within a domain, it may serve as the source of time to other PTP Instances,
that is, be a Master Clock, and it can in addition synchronize to another Boundary Clock or Ordinary Clock,
that is, be a Slave Clock.
3.1.4 clock: A device that can provide a measurement of the passage of time since a defined epoch.
NOTE 1— There are only two types of clocks specified in this standard: the Local PTP Clock and the Local Clock.
NOTE 2—
For Local PTP Clocks associated with Ordinary Clocks and Boundary Clocks that are properly
synchronized, the epoch is the epoch of the timescale in use. In the case of a Local Clock associated with a
Transparent Clock, the epoch is locally defined and not necessarily aligned with the timescale in use.
NOTE 3— A clock provides time at desired moments of the timescale it maintains. Time is obtained either:
Physically: in this type of clock, the time is modeled using a clock signal and a time counter that is
driven by the clock signal;
Mathematically: in this type of clock, the time is generated by a model that describes the relation of
this clock to another clock (e.g., to a physical clock in a different timescale). The model enables the
calculation of the time of the clock from the time of the other clock.
NOTE 4— The word “clock” appears many times in this standard modified as Boundary Clock, Ordinary
Clock, Transparent Clock, or Grandmaster Clock. When used this way the combination, e.g. Boundary
Clock, is not a clock as defined here but rather contains a clock. For historical reasons, these terms have
been retained.
3.1.5 clock signal: A physical signal that has periodic events. The periodic events mark the significant
instants at which a time counter is incremented. The clock signal is characterized by its frequency and
phase.
3.1.6 default: When applied to attribute values and options of a PTP Instance, “default” means the
configuration of a PTP Instance as it is delivered from the manufacturer.
3.1.7 device: An entity implementing some functionality, for example, a clock, a Boundary Clock, an
encoder, and a port. See also: PTP Instance.
3.1.8 Direct PTP Link: A direct physical link with no intervening network elements between two PTP
Ports of Boundary Clocks, Ordinary Clocks, and/or peer-to-peer Transparent Clocks.
NOTE 1— A direct physical link, where at least one end point is a PTP Port of an end-to-end Transparent Clock, is not
a Direct PTP Link.
NOTE 2— A Direct PTP Link is a PTP Communication Path if the delay request-response mechanism is used. It is a
PTP Link if the peer-to-peer delay mechanism is used, and is at the same time a PTP Communication Path if it is
between two Boundary Clocks, two Ordinary Clocks, or a Boundary Clock and an Ordinary Clock.
3.1.9 domain (or PTP Domain): A logical grouping of PTP Instances using PTP to ensure that all Local
PTP Clocks in the grouping are synchronized to the Grandmaster Clock of the domain, but are not
necessarily synchronized to the Local PTP Clocks in another domain.
3.1.10 end-to-end port: A PTP Port that is configured to use the delay request-response mechanism.
3.1.11 end-to-end Transparent Clock: A Transparent Clock that supports the use of the delay request-
response mechanism between a PTP Port in the MASTER state and a PTP Port in the SLAVE state in the
same domain.
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