Abstract
A real-time computer system must provide its results at specified instants of physical time. But what is time? After a short look at the history of time, this contribution investigates time measurement in a distributed computer system and introduces the notions of precision and accuracy of a global time base. It then discusses different methods for the synchronization of the local clocks of a distributed computer system. Since the global time base of a safety-critical real-time computer system must not fail if any one of its constituent physical clock fails, the topic of fault-tolerant clock synchronization is treated in detail. The final section elaborates on the benefits that can be accrued from the existence of a fault-tolerant global time base in a large real-time system. One of the most important benefits is the achievement of temporal predictability and the simplification of the interfaces among the nodes of a large distributed computer system by the use of time-triggered protocols. Time-triggered protocols provide error detection without failure propagation from a faulty receiver to a correct sender.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Bennett et al., Huygen’s Clock. Proc. Math. Phys. Eng. Sci.. British Royal Society 458(2019), 563–579 (2002)
C. Craig, Thermodynamic Asymmetry of Time. (The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016). Stanford University, Stanford. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/time-thermo/
F. Cristian, Probabilistic Clock Synchronization. Distribut. Comput. 3. Springer Verlag, 146–185 (1989)
P.H. Dana, Global Positioning System (GPS) time dissemination for real-time applications. Real-Time Syst.. 12(1), 9–40 (1997)
C.T. Davies, Data processing integrity, in Computing Systems Reliability, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1979), pp. 288–354
J.D. Decotignie, Which network for which application, in The Industrial Communication Technology Handbook, ed. by R. Zuwarski, (Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, 2005), pp. 19/1–19/15. -- p. 19-4
S. Hawkins, A Brief History of Time (Bantam Books, New York, 2016)
W.A.S. Herandes, Augustine on Time. Int. J. Human. Sci.. 6(6), 37–40 (2016)
H. Kopetz, Real Time Systems—Design Principles for Distributed Embedded Applications, 2nd edn. (Springer, New York, 2012)
H. Kopetz, Anytime algorithms is time-triggered control system, in Principles of Modeling, ed. by M. Lohstroh. Springer LNCS 10760, (Springer, New York, 2018), pp. 326–335
H. Kopetz, Simplicity Is Complex—Foundations of Cyber-Physical System Design (Springer, Cham, 2019)
H. Kopetz, G. Gruensteidl, TTP, a protocol for fault-tolerant real-time systems. IEEE Comput.. 7(1), 14–23 (1994)
H. Kopetz, W. Ochsenreiter, Clock synchronization in distributed real-time systems. IEEE Trans. Comput.. 36(8), 933–940 (1987)
L. Lamport, P.M. Melliar Smith, Synchronizing clocks in the presence of faults. J. ACM 32(1), 52–58 (1985)
G. Moyer, The Gregorian calendar. Sci. Am. 246(5), 144–153 (1982)
I. Newton, Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Originally published in 1687 (University of California Press, Berkeley; London, 2016)
R. Obermaisser, Time-Triggered Communication (Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, 2012)
M. Pease, R. Shostak, L. Lamport, Reaching agreement in the presence of faults. J. ACM 27(2), 228–234 (1980)
B. Taylor (ed.), The International System of Units. NIST Special Publication 130. 2001 Edition. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). US Department of Commerce. Gaithersburg, Maryland (2001)
R. Wilhelm et al., The Worst-case Execution-time Problem Overview of Methods and Survey of Tools. ACM Trans. Embed. Comput. Syst. 7(3), 1–36 (2008)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kopetz, H. (2022). Timing and Timing Control. In: Tian, YC., Levy, D.C. (eds) Handbook of Real-Time Computing. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-251-7_52
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-251-7_52
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-250-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-251-7
eBook Packages: EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering