Patent ID: 7835402

Claim:
A synchronization module for providing synchronization messages required to be sent with a timestamp according to the Precision Time Protocol of the IEEE 1588 standard, comprising: a program module that generates a synchronization message to be sent and provides the synchronization message with a first timestamp according to the Precision Time Protocol; and a hardware timestamp module that accepts synchronization messages from the program module and sends synchronization messages according to the Precision Time Protocol, comprising: a realtime clock, a message detector that recognizes a synchronization message, a message timestamp point store configured to store a second timestamp called up from the realtime clock for a recognized synchronization message, the second timestamp being stored when the message timestamp point store receives a corresponding trigger signal from a module of a physical interface that is generated when a preamble of the synchronization message is recognized; and a message manipulator that overwrites the first timestamp in the recognized synchronization message with the second timestamp.