Meta introduces the Simple Precision Time Protocol (SPTP), a high-precision time synchronization protocol, as an alternative to the already established Precision Time Protocol (PTP) used in their own data centers.
According to Meta’s team, the complexity of PTP lies in its requirement to send and maintain multiple open connection packets, resulting in high CPU and memory usage as well as increased network traffic. In total, 11 data exchanges are needed for each time synchronization.
SPTP, on the other hand, achieves time synchronization with only 3 packets per exchange, significantly reducing CPU and memory consumption as well as network utilization. Meta’s SPTP time server demonstrates a 40% decrease in CPU usage, a 70% decrease in memory usage, and a 50% decrease in network utilization, all while maintaining a similar level of time accuracy as PTP.
To further enhance the open-source nature of their product, Meta has released the source code for both the server and client components of SPTP.
TLDR: Meta introduces SPTP, a simpler and more efficient alternative to PTP for high-precision time synchronization. SPTP reduces resource consumption while maintaining accurate time synchronization. The open-source nature of SPTP allows for collaborative development and improvement.
Leave a Comment