Network time server delivers precise, secure time stamps for physical security networks

Microsemi Corporation offers a new SyncServer S80 server integrating a GPS antenna, receiver and Network Time Protocol (NTP) timing server into a single ruggedized, environmentally hardened unit ideal for outdoor installation with physical security systems. The high-reliability device, well-suited to synchronize timing for IP security cameras, access control devices, DVR or NVR, or operate as the master clock for time display networks common to transportation like railways and airports, education institutions and even small enterprise networks, secures accurate time to reduce network exposure to vulnerable public time servers or external attacks such as DoS. “Accurate, reliable and secure time stamps on video surveillance footage are essential to prove when a video was recorded. Our legal system has shown video footage may be inadmissible as court evidence without these accurate timestamps,” said Paul Skoog, senior product manager for Microsemi. “The challenge the SyncServer S80 solves is bringing that accurate and secure time into video surveillance networks, which are often network isolated for security or practical purposes from the outside world. The S80 is also a much more accurate, secure and reliable source of time inside the network versus using time from public time servers on the open internet, which are susceptible to spoofing and DoS attacks.”