Integrated GPS antenna, receiver and time server

Microsemi Corporation’s new SyncServer S80 server integrates a GPS antenna, receiver and Network Time Protocol (NTP) timing server into a single ruggedised, environmentally hardened unit ideal for outdoor installation with physical security systems.

The high-reliability device, well-suited to synchronise timing for IP security cameras, Access Control Devices, Digital Video Recorders (DVR) or Network Video Recorders (NVR).

Also to 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 denial of service (DoS).

The network-ready SyncServer S80 is designed for easy integration into existing physical security networks and serves as the primary source of accurate time for the essential time stamps on security video footage.

Equipped with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), the device easily connects into an existing PoE infrastructure that runs power, timing and video feed through a single cable.



In the cases where Ethernet infrastructure is in place but PoE is not available, the S80 can be powered through the addition of a Microsemi single-port PoE Injector or a managed 6, 12 or 24 port PoE Midspan.

Since the S80 is also ruggedised for outdoor installations, it can connect to the network right alongside an existing outdoor camera installation, with the addition of a Microsemi PDS-104GO 4+1 managed outdoor switch.

Once connected to the network, the S80 is ready to be the source of authoritative NTP time stamps for all video camera recordings.

“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.”

According to a 2017 IHS Markit Top Video Surveillance Trends for 2017 report, 98 million network surveillance cameras will be shipped globally in 2017 in a market estimated to be growing at almost 7 percent annually.

Many of these cameras are destined for isolated networks, including moving platforms such as ferries, where accurate time is essential to add the trusted “when” to video recordings.

Microsemi’s new SyncServer S80 is designed to provide ultra-accurate, nanosecond caliber NTP time stamps using the company’s security-hardened NTP Reflector technology.

Unlike other NTP servers often used for IP camera time stamps, Microsemi’s NTP Reflector also works as a central processing unit (CPU)-protecting firewall, shielding the S80 CPU from excessive NTP request loading, which negatively affects time stamp accuracy, reduces availability of time stamps and can leave the device susceptible to CPU freezing or system reset.

The S80 is suited for video networks with tens to thousands of IP cameras, with no degradation in NTP server performance while operating as the trusted source of accurate time on the network.