Test & Measurement


PTP wander measurement for improved 5G network synchronisation

27 October 2021 Test & Measurement

Anritsu has added a function for PTP wander – a metric for evaluating frequency variations as low as 10 Hz with respect to the PTP (precision time protocol) network time synchronisation error – to the company’s compact 100 Gbps Network Master Pro MT1000A.

5G networks require very close to real-time communications supporting anticipated new services in various industries, such as autonomous vehicles, smart factories, telemedicine and others. PTP wander is a key index expressing long-term time synchronisation stability. Adding this improved time sync measurement to the MT1000A will play an important role in assuring 5G network quality.

Development background

Due to their advantages of ultra-high speeds, high reliability and low latency and multiple simultaneous connections, 5G communications networks are spreading into various use scenarios. Of these, high-reliability and low-latency communications are key features for implementing various industrial use cases.

Applications using these mission-critical technologies demand the lowest possible communications latency to facilitate equipment peer-to-peer communications at the highest speeds, while also requiring precision time synchronisation between each piece of equipment.

Additionally, implementing low-latency communications requires support for MEC (multi-access edge computing) architectures in 5G networks and precision time synchronisation is essential to achieving communications between MEC systems distributed at each site.

Implementing time synchronisation uses network technologies called SyncE and PTP and assuring high-accuracy and high-stability synchronisation using these technologies is linked to operators’ service quality guarantees regarding high speeds and low latency.

Measuring wander supports quantitative evaluation of long-term synchronisation stability. In addition, support for measurement of new time synchronisation networks called PTS (partial timing support) will help assure customers’ service quality guarantees.

Product outline

The MU100090B is a GNSS-disciplined oscillator supporting the GPS, QZSS, Galileo, Beidou and GLONASS constellations. It can receive signals from each satellite system and outputs UTC-traceable reference time and 10 MHz frequency signals. This reference timing is supplied to the portable MT1000A, supporting SyncE and PTP up to 25 Gbps to measure network time synchronisation accuracy.

Moreover, combining the SyncE Wander MU100011A-021 and MU100090B software options facilitates ITU-T recommended pass/fail evaluation of network-supplied Ethernet frequency accuracy. When used with the Site Over Remote Access MX109020A software, multiple MT1000A units located at separate sites can be remotely operated and monitored from a central office to support speedy troubleshooting when synchronisation problems occur.


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