3 Sync Quality Measurement

PolyNet Ltd.
Synchronization Quality and

Testing
Network Synchronization Training
Zoltán Zorkóczy
Viktor Szigeti
Objectives

Why the sync quality measurement is
important?

What to measure?

How to carry out a test measurement?

How to evaluate the measured data?

The Audit Report
PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

2016 Safaricom Sync Training
Content

Definition: time, jitter, wander, holdover, etc.

Standards, Wander parameters

Testing methods

Measuring instrument and evaluate software
PW101x Wander Analyzer + WanderCalc

Importance of network synchronization

The sync quality has primary
importance on proper network operation

Operation stability

Number of system alarms

Direct affects on network performance

Base station handover success rate

Download/upload speed

Number of dropped calls

Importance of sync quality measurement

Why to measure?

The network is never static

Reconfiguration, rerouting and capacity expansions
may affect the timing signal distribution chain

Avoid the synchronization loop

How frequently to tests?

Occasionally – if failures are suspected

Regularly – network wide comprehensive
measurement two times a year

Time measurement
Time-of-day measurement Time interval measurements
(year, month, day, hour, minute, ♦ Measuring the interval that elapses
second…) between two (periodic) events
♦ Time is a basic standard (time,
length, mass, and temperature) is SI
♦ Usually the periodic event that repeats at a constant rate.
♦ The device that does the counting the periodic events is called a
CLOCK. (The word "clock" generally means, when used for
synchronization networks, the generator of the frequencies which
will be used to synchronize the network.)
♦ Time scale basic unit in SI system: second.
♦ Since 1971 the cesium atom has been used to define the second: The
duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to
the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of
the cesium-133 atom.
♦ Important note: The words time or timing, when used to describe
synchronization networks, usually refer to the frequency signals
used for synchronization or measurement.
Time (cont.)

Difficulties: slightly different time scales

Astronomical time scales: based on the mean solar day

The mean solar second is defined as 1/86,400 of the mean solar day
until 1956

This mean solar second provides the basis for Universal Time (UT)

Several variations of UT have been defined: UT0, UT1, UT2

International Atomic Time (TAI), maintained by the Bureau International
des Poids et Measures

This is an atomic time scale.

1996:created by averaging data obtained from about 250 laboratory and
commercial atomic standards located at more than 40 different
laboratories.

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

Differs from TAI by an integer number of seconds:

Atomic second caused it to be slightly shorter than the mean solar second

The speed of the Earth’s rotation is generally decreasing

The reference frequency for network synchronization is the frequency
which generates the UTC time scale. It is therefore preferable to use the
words "UTC frequency" instead of "UTC".

GPS system

Global tool for positioning

Become the primary system for distributing
time and frequency

Military satellite based navigation system developed by the
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

Freely available to civil users

The space segment consists at least of 24 operational
satellites in six orbital planes (As of September 2007, there
are 31 actively broadcasting satellites in the GPS
constellation )

Each GPS satellite has an atomic clock, and continually
transmits messages containing the current time at the start
of the message, parameters to calculate the location of the
satellite
PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti 2016 Safaricom Sync Training

GPS system (cont.)

The atomic clocks on the satellites are set
to GPS time

GPS time and UTC synchronized on 6 January 1980

GPS time does not contain any corrections since 1980

The difference between GPS time and UTC is 16 seconds in
2013

The satellites transmit on two L-band frequencies:
L1 = 1575.42 MHz and L2 = 1227.6 MHz

The coarse/acquisition (C/A) code has a 1.023 MHz chip rate, a period
of 1 millisecond (ms) and is used primarily to acquire the P-code.

The precision (P) code has a 10.23 MHz rate, a period of 7 days and is
the principal navigation ranging code.

The Y-code is used in place of the P-code whenever the anti-spoofing
(A-S) mode of operation is activated.
PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti 2016 Safaricom Sync Training

GPS system, user segment

Antenna + Receiver + Processor

By observing a minimum of four satellites simultaneously,
a GPS receiver can automatically determine its own
location by triangulation.

Position accuracy is ~10 meters in this case.

1PPS pulse time accuracy is few tens of times nanoseconds.

1PPS pulse can synchronize a high stability local clock

Receiver together with the local oscillator provide both the
accuracy and stability required to meet or exceed the
requirements standards for a Primary Reference Source
used for telecom network synchronization.

Frequency and frequency accuracy

For cyclical processes, such as rotation, oscillations, or
waves, it is defined as a number of cycles, or periods,
per unit time (f, Hz).

In telecommunications the nominal frequency and its
accuracy tolerance is defined by the signal’s format
specification, even for synchronous signals (ITU-T Rec.
G.703).

The maximum magnitude of the fractional frequency
deviation for a specified time period. (The frequency
accuracy includes the initial frequency offset and any
aging and environmental effect).
 (t )   nom
y (t ) 
 nom
Jitter
Jitter Short term (non-cumulative) variations of the

significant instants of digital signal from their ideal positions
in time. (ITU-T Rec. G.701 and G.810 definition)
1
J [ s]= Δϕ [ rad ]
R efre nce signa l 2πf d
Jittered sign al 1
J [ UI ] = Δϕ [ rad ]
A B C D E F G 2π
Jitter w ave form
Jitter am plitude
A
B
C D Jitter can be defined as an
t
unwanted phase modulation
E F
G of a digital signal.

Wander
 Wander Jitter with a phase modulation of less than 10
Hz is referred to as wander.
 Long-term (cumulative) variations of the
significant instants of a digital signal from their ideal
positions in time (ITU-T Rec. G.701 and G.810 definition).
W a nder
0,1m 1m 10m 0 ,1 1 10 100 1k 10k 0,1M 10M

F requency[H z]

Effect of Wander
 Wander is the phase variation with often a very slow
frequency (mHz, Hz) generated in the network, which
does not cause direct bit errors in the transmission.
Bu ffer
slips
Tim ing variation B it erro rs!
(w and er)
Pointer
Jitter
adjustm ents

The influence of slips
Service type Influence of slips
Voice transmission (64kbit/s) A small portion of slips causes a „click” that
can be heard
Compressed voice Clicking sound effect
Fax transmission One or more lines are getting deleted or
distorted
Modem transmission Outage for a few seconds, the modems loose
each other, a new connection is getting built.
Constant speed (TDM) data Data loss, byte-errors

transmission
Burst data transmission (IP, ATM) Speed rate decrease, packet loss
Compressed video transmission Lines are deleted. A large number of slips may
cause loss of total compressed blocks. The
connection is getting restored only after a return
period characterizing video codec (0.5-2 sec.).
Typical sources of wander
♦ Mapping jitter due to justification process

♦ Accumulated jitter (& jitter gain) due to multiple
timing imperfections
♦ Tributary jitter due to SONET/SDH pointer
adjustments
♦ Changes in the propagation delay of cables
(temperature);
♦ Wander due to clock instability (drift) and noise
♦ Phase transients due to reconfiguration of the
synchronization chain

Overview of the Standards Picture

Big forest…

ITU-T; International Telecommunications Union –
Telecommunications (formerly CCITT)

ETSI; European Telecommunications Standards Institute

Telcordia (formerly Bellcore)

ANSI; American National Standards Institute

IEEE; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IETF; Internet Engineering Task Force

ATM Forum

…..

…..

ITU-T Recommendations
G.703 Physical/electrical characteristics of hierarchical digital interfaces
G.803 Architecture of transport networks based on the synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH)
G.810 Definitions and terminology for synchronization networks
G.811 Timing characteristics of primary reference clocks
G.812 Timing requirements of slave clocks suitable for use as node clocks in synchronization networks
G.813 Timing characteristics of SDH equipment slave clocks (SEC)
G.822 Controlled slip rate objectives on an international digital connection
G.823 The control of jitters and wander within digital networks which are based on the 2048 kbit/s
hierarchy
G.824 The control of jitter and wander within digital networks, which are based on the 1544 kbit/s
hierarchy
G.825 The control of jitter and wander within digital networks, which are based on the synchronous
digital hierarchy (SDH)
G.8251 The control of jitter and wander within the optical transport network (OTN)
G.8261 Timing and synchronization aspects of packet networks
G.8262 Timing characteristics of synchronous ethernet equipment slave clock (EEC)
G.Sup36 Jitter and wander accumulation in digital networks
ETSI Standards
ETSI EN 300 462-1-1 Definitions and terminology for synchronization networks
ETSI EN 300 462-2-1 Synchronization network architecture
ETSI EN 300 462-3-1 The control of jitter and wander within synchronization networks
ETSI EN 300 462-4-1 Timing characteristics of slave clocks suitable for synchronization supply to
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH)
equipment
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) and Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH)
equipment. Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS) proforma specification
ETSI EN 300 462-5-1 Timing characteristics of slave clocks suitable for operation in Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy (SDH) equipment
ETSI EN 300 462-6-1 Timing characteristics of primary reference clocks
ETSI EN 300 462-6-2 Timing characteristics of primary reference clocks. Implementation Conformance
Statement (ICS) proforma specification
equipment in local node applications
ETSI EN 302 084 The control of jitter and wander in transport networks

Telcordia
General Requirements
GR-253-CORE Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) Transport Systems:
Common Generic Criteria
GR-1244-CORE Clocks for the Synchronized Network: Common Generic Criteria
GR-378-CORE Generic Requirements For Timing Signal Generators
GR-436-CORE Digital Network Synchronization Plan
GR-2830-CORE Primary Reference Sources, Generic Requirements

ANSI Standards
T1.101-1999 Synchronization Interface Standard
T1.102-1993 (r1999) Digital Hierarchy, Electrical Interfaces
T1.105-1995 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Basic Description

including Multiplex Structure, Rates and Formats
T1.105.02-1995 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Payload Mappings
T1.105.03-1994 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Jitter at Network

(r2001) Interfaces
T1.105.09-1996 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Timing and
(r2001) Synchronization

IEEE
 New and important industry standard:
 IEEE-1588: Standard for a Precision Clock
Synchronization Protocol for Networked
Measurement and Control Systems

IETF
 IETF well known from IP word

RFCs:

Time: RFC-868

Daytime: RFC-867

Network Time Protocol (NTP): RFC-1305

Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP): RFC-1769

How to measure?
Measurable parameters
Measurement configurations
Instrument

Wander parameters
M ax. T IE pp
P aek-to-pe ak
d etector
W a nder
m easurem ent O bserva tion
Te st signal
(TIE ) interva ls
B andpass
filter
fc=0,42/
R eference clock
TDEV
RMS
detector
Output wander
Derived O b servation
measurement interva ls
parameters

Wander measuring (relative)
MC
Etalon
Freqency SC
Tref(t) Tref(t)
CU T CUT
X(t) X(t)
T(t) T(t)

Wander measuring (absolute)
MC
Etalon SC Etalon
Frequency Frequency
Tref(t) Tref(t)
CUT C UT
X(t) X(t)
T(t) T(t)

Monitoring – sync quality indicators

Possibilities to collect information about synchronization
quality without any measuring equipment

Collect Alarm and Status information

Switch over

Existence of holdover

Timing loop: The classic unalarmed fault condition

Analysis of Synchronization Problems

Slip rate

PRC – PRC : 1 slip/72 days

G.822: <5 slip/day  acceptable

5 – 30 slip/day  degraded

>30 slip/day  unacceptable

Pointer actions

Pointer-counts are indicators of clock differences across timing islands

No benchmarks published for rating the acceptability of an STM-N signal

What to measure?

Definitions

Characteristics

Specifications

Time Interval Error (TIE)
The Time Interval Error (TIE) is the deviation / error
of the tested timing signal with respect to a
reference source, expressed in terms of a time unit.
Time error:
x(t )  T (t )  Tref (t )
TIE(t ;  )  [T(t   )  T(t )]  [Tref (t   )  Tref (t )]  x (t +  )  x (t )
t sampling time
τ observation interval
At the beginning of the observation interval the absolute

error („time error”) between the signal to be measured
and the reference signal is regarded zero.
Time Interval Error (cont.)
TIE
TIE
Tim e
O bservation interval ( )
M easuring interval (T )

Raw TIE measurement data

Relative Time Interval Error (RTIE)
T IE/RT IE
T IE
e t
o ff s
n cy A djusted TIE
u e
q
F re
I E
RT
Tim e
RTIE n= x n − yτ 0 n
where xn is the nth TIE measuring result in nanoseconds, and “y” is the
slope of the compensating straight line and 0 is the sampling time in
seconds

Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE)
The Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE) is the maximum

peak-to-peak time interval error of the signal to be
measured within the given observation interval (=n0) with
respect to the reference signal.

MTIE(n 0 )  max max xi  min xi ,
1 k  N  n k i  k  n k i  k  n
 n  1,2,..., N  1
0 sampling time,
 observation interval,
T measuring time,
xi : ith time interval error,
xppk: peak-to peak xi within the kth observation interval,
MTIE(): maximum xpp along with the total  observation length (interval)
in the total measuring period.

Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE)
The MTIE calculation and the result received characterize the:

 frequency offset,
 phase transients,
 phase noises
depending on the observation interval.
= n x 
TIE
x ppk
0 1 2 3 4 k k+n N Tim e
M easuring interval T = N x 

MTIE specifications
10000
M T IE [ns]
1000
PD H PRC
SS U
SE C
n is ed
100 ch ro
sy n
SSU
10
1
0,1 1 10 10 0 1000 10000 1 000 00
O bservation tim e [s]

Time deviation (TDEV)
TDEV is a statistical value, it characterizes the spectral
components of the phase error changes of the signal to
be measured depending on the integration time.
2
1 
N 3 n 1 n  j 1 
TDEVn 0      xi  2 n  2 xi  n  xi 
6n 2 N  3n  1 j 1  i j 
xi is the interval error of the ith time,

N number of the total samples,
0 sampling time,
 observation or integration interval (n*0),
n number of sample intervals () within the integration interval

TDEV characteristic

TDEV provides the RMS value of the “filtered” TIE,
where the medium frequency of the band-pass filter is
0.42/.

TDEV is practically not sensitive at all to the constant
frequency offset and it is slightly sensitive to phase
transients.

The slope of the TDEV plot indicates the noise
mechanism and its extent in the time domain.

The TDEV calculation essentially extracts differences in
slopes of adjacent segments of TIE data.

TDEV specifications
1000
T D EV [ns]
100
PDH
SEC U is ed
10 S S ro n
SSU ch
PRC s yn
1
0,1 1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
O bservation tim e [s]

Wander tester basic block diagram

Wander Analyzer types: PW1010

Wander Analyzer types: PW1010D

Wander Analyzer types: PW1012D

Wander Analyzer types: PW2013DP
Wander Analyzer
GPS PTP 1 PTP 2 Channel A Channel B Rubidium Reference Channel A
Ative 10 MHz
antenna 2 MHz
Tune RUN 179
!
71 69 ns
8
!
2 Mbps 2 Mbps
2 MHz 2 MHz 2 MHz
Status Status Status
Main Input Main Input
10 MHz 10 MHz 10 MHz

Error Channel B
Unlock
2 MHz 2 MHz 2 MHz 2 Mbps RUN 179

2510 2540 ns
REF OUT/IN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
ON
REF OUT
2/10M
! FRM PRBS
0 1
2 Mbps 2 Mbps 0 2 SSM
0 4 value
ETH ETH Control 2 MHz 2 MHz
1 PPS 2 Mbps 0 8
1 Sa8 SSM
1 Sa7 SSM
Ref. Input Ref. Input 1 Sa6 SSM On Mains
1 Sa5 SSM
1 Sa4 SSM
PW 2013DP PolyNet

IEEE1588-V2 Wander measurment
IEEE1588 V2 Built in
Master Slave
Clock Network
Clock
Wander Analyser
~ ~
Synchronisation source Reference source
(Atomic clock, GPS, etc) (Atomic clock, built in
GPS+Rubidium, etc)

045
PW1012D block diagram
10/2.048 MH z
2.048 M bps
2.048 M bps
2.048 M H z
In/O ut
Controll Softw are
and
P W 1 01 2D contain s tw o blocks of Input circuits, Calculation Softw ares
M e asuring u nit and C P U u nit (A and B )
PRBS/F RM
G enerator
B HDB-3 Coder
A
10/2,048 MHz Rubídium

PLL O scillator
2 M bps Line
PLL
receiver Internal reference
B
M ain A
Inputs RS232 port
to PC
Line B
2 M Hz receiver A
. A/D
Converter
LCD
Line
2 M bps PLL
receiver Phase 10 Hz / 0.1 Hz
Selection µP
detector Low Pass Filter
Sw itch
Reference
Inputs
Line
2 M Hz receiver
Input circu its M e asuring U nit C P U U nit

PW1010 screenshot

PW1010 screenshot: Configuration

PW1010 screenshot: TIE curve

PW1010 screenshot: Compensation

PW1010 screenshot: MTIE Setting

PW1010 screenshot: MTIE Curve

PW1010 screenshot: TDEV Setting

PW1010 screenshot: TDEV Curve

2Mbps channel in freerunning SDH trail
E1 transmission through free running SDH link
Observation time [s]
Testing time [s]

2Mbps channel in synchronized SDH trail

Calculated from SALBM1B1.TIE file
Testing time [s]

Calculated from SALBM1B1.TIE file

Source switching
Faulty SDH network element
Testing time [s]

Malfunction in exchange
Testing time [s]

Before E1 stream through
non-synchronized
The same E1 stream
through the After
SDH link synchronized SDH link

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PolyNet Ltd.

Synchronization Quality and

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti 2016 Safaricom Sync Training

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti 2016 Safaricom Sync Training

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

Jitter Short term (non-cumulative) variations of the

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

0,1m 1m 10m 0 ,1 1 10 100 1k 10k 0,1M 10M

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

Constant speed (TDM) data Data loss, byte-errors

♦ Mapping jitter due to justification process

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

ETSI EN 300 462-2-1 Synchronization network architecture

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

GR-378-CORE Generic Requirements For Timing Signal Generators

GR-436-CORE Digital Network Synchronization Plan

GR-2830-CORE Primary Reference Sources, Generic Requirements

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

T1.101-1999 Synchronization Interface Standard

T1.102-1993 (r1999) Digital Hierarchy, Electrical Interfaces

T1.105-1995 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Basic Description

T1.105.03-1994 Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) – Jitter at Network

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

At the beginning of the observation interval the absolute

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

The Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE) is the maximum

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

The MTIE calculation and the result received characterize the:

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

xi is the interval error of the ith time,

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

2016 Safaricom Sync Training

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

10 MHz 10 MHz 10 MHz

2 MHz 2 MHz 2 MHz 2 Mbps RUN 179

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

10/2,048 MHz Rubídium

Input circu its M e asuring U nit C P U U nit

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti

PolyNet Ltd. Viktor Szigeti