Patent ID: 7885296

Claim:
A single appliance configured to maintain consistency among a plurality of timestamp counters distributed among a plurality of devices within the single appliance, the single appliance comprising: the plurality of timestamp counters with each of the plurality of timestamp counters configured to maintain a current timestamp value of a global time, with each of the plurality of timestamp counters disposed in a physical device of the plurality of devices within the single appliance different from the physical device of the plurality of devices within the single appliance in which another of said timestamp counters are disposed; wherein each of said timestamp counters receives a clock signal generated from a same or different clock of one or more clocks; wherein each particular timestamp counter of the plurality of timestamp counters includes a time advance input for either enabling or disabling the advancement of said particular timestamp counter by a same predetermined constant amount at the frequency defined by the clock signal, with each said particular timestamp counter being configured to be responsive to a clock advance signal communicated to its said time advance input in order to determine whether or not to advance its current timestamp value by the same predetermined constant amount in response to its said received clock signal; and a time advance generator, within the single appliance, configured to periodically generate the clock advance signal, wherein the time advance generator is communicatively coupled to said time advance input of each of the plurality of timestamp counters such that said time advance input of each of the plurality of timestamp counters receive the same clock advance signal; wherein the clock advance signal is an enable/disable signal and does not include a specification of the predetermined amount.