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Why synchronize?
The dangers of bad synchronization :
Securing your data network should be one of your top priorities. Please read carefully…
What happens when your network is not properly synchronized?
The internal clocks of the computers on a data network are not synchronized and malfunctions appear…
Most companies rely on computer networks which, in turn, rely on their internal clocks. When these clocks are no longer synchronized in relation to each other or to a reference time, problems arise…
The consequences can be disastrous: loss of e-mails, erratic behavior of software. For instance, e-mails often arrive hours after being sent.
Malfunctions due to lack of synchronization between computers in a network can have many adverse effects:
- Loss of data
Software such as file backup can mistakenly store the previous version of a file instead of the current version.
- Failed procedures
If programmed startup is not activated at the required time or if tasks that are to run on several computers cannot take place in chronological order. This means that automated operations, for instance data storage and the processing of orders, will not run correctly. If these tasks run when offices are shut, the problem will probably go undetected until the following day.
Some network-operated tasks save resources by allowing just one computer to implement a joint operation that would otherwise require the use of several computers Directory services (Lotus Notes, Microsoft Exchange, Novel Directory Services, Windows) use a common time source to schedule the chronological order of events, whence the advisability of identical times.
Here are
a few computing applications that require synchronized timing
:
- Production control
- Computer maintenance
- Electronic funds transfer or purchase
- Configuration of local time within a network
- Detection of interference stages
- Package timing/dating
- Data-base files timing/dating
Identification is required for encryption peripherals that check the certificates used to authorize payments; sign contracts and carry out other operations.
For security reasons, these certificates, whose validity is limited, must be modified at regular intervals. If, for example, the encryption system's clock is inaccurate, it might accept a certificate that is no longer valid; this is potentially a source of intrusion.
Similar problems are encountered when firewalls are opened temporarily at certain times during the day, for maintenance or downloading from remote servers, for instance. If the systems' clocks are not correctly adjusted, these firewalls can remain arbitrarily open.
Likewise, when a timing system is used to manage entrance codes, a card reader may be unable to read the badges if the access control systems are not synchronized.
In the world of business, contracts are signed and receipts issued, making the true time on a network a legal requirement, insofar as this time is used as a basis when the transactions are drawn up.
This is all the more true, with brokering or timing/dating of share trading, where there is a tolerance of only 3 seconds, meaning it is essential to be able to prove that the time was taken from an official source. Where e-commerce is concerned, simply synchronizing the clocks on a network is not sufficient, the time must be obtained from a recognized UTC source.
Whatever your branch of activity, the aim is to simplify and secure your work on a day-to-day basis, to automate operations, optimize data circulation and improve client-supplier relations.
Irrefutable
synchronization :
Synchronization that is inexpensive and easily-installed can
be yours today and the fore-mentioned risks averted if you
choose one of the GORGY TIMING NTP Secured Solutions.
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