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NTP is an Internet protocol that devices can use to obtain the most accurate time possible via radio or atomic clocks at various locations on the Internet. The protocol can synchronize the time of a computer client or server to another server or reference time source. Time provided by NTP servers is typically accurate within milliseconds.

SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol) is an adaptation of the NTP, which is used to synchronize computer clocks in the Internet. SNTP can be used when the ultimate performance of the full NTP implementation described in RFC-1305 (Network Time Protocol Version 3, March 1992) is not needed or justified.

Refer to the following RFCs for more information:

• RFC 1128 (Measured Performance of the Network Time Protocol in the Internet system, October 1989)


• RFC 1129 (Internet Time Synchronization: The Network Time Protocol, October 1989)


• RFC 1165 (Network Time Protocol over the OSI Remote Operations Service, June 1990)


• RFC 1305 (Network Time Protocol Specification, Implementation, March 1992)


• RFC 2030 (Simple Network Time Protocol Version 4 for IPv4, IPv6 and OSI, October 1996)

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