Patent ID: 7920587

Claim:
A method for establishing a global time base in a time-controlled communications system that comprises a network and multiple subscribers connected to this network, the method comprising: defining at least one of the subscribers of the communications system as a time master with which the remaining subscribers are synchronized; defining one subscriber as the main time master and at least one additional subscriber as a reserve time master; predefining the order of the reserve time masters when more than one subscriber is defined as a reserve time master; configuring each of the subscribers to make an initial attempt at synchronizing with the main time master; and configuring each of the subscribers to, when the initial attempt fails, attempt to synchronize with a selected reserve time master, wherein the selected reserve time master is the next reserve time master in the predefined order, the selected reserve time master is configured to automatically select itself, and the attempt to synchronize with a selected reserve time master continues until either the synchronization of the subscribers has succeeded or a synchronization of the subscribers with the last reserve time master has failed.