Patent ID: 6115825
Filing Date: 2000-09-05
Classification: H04J

Abstract:
A method of synchronizing a communications network having a plurality of interconnected sites, each site comprising at least one network element and being connected to at least one other site via a respective network segment providing a potential timing reference (PTR) for the site, the method comprising the steps of:(1) selecting the sites at which to deploy a primary reference source (PRS) clock, including at least those sites having exactly one PTR or having three or more independent PTRs;(2) selecting the sites at which to install a building integrated timing supply (BITS);(3) for each site not comprising a PRS, selecting one of the respective PTRs as a primary timing reference and selecting another of the respective PTRs as a secondary timing reference for the site; and(4) selecting the sites at which to enable synchronization status messaging (SSM).