




Sonoma is a third-generation Network Time Server that will deliver accurate and reliable time throughout any system running Network Time Protocol (NTP) or Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) clients. Most Time Servers require an antenna that must be installed on the roof of your building. With the CDMA-synchronized Sonoma, you can install the antenna inside your data center.
- Indoor antenna. (No cell phone subscription required.)
- Two 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet ports.
- 7,500 NTP packets/second with < 10 microsecond NTP timestamp accuracy.
- Supports hundreds of thousands of network clients.
- View and correlate data plots with NTP, CPU and Oscillator statistics.
- IPv4 and IPv6 compliant.
- NTP, SNTP, HTTPS (Web Interface), SNMP, SSH, MD5, TELNET, FTP, DHCP and more.
- User-friendly display and keypad with built-in help messages (Sonoma D12 only).
- Free technical support for life.
- Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed.
- Options: Oscillator Upgrades, Dual Power Supplies, Alarm, Timecode, 1PPS, Pulse Rates, Sysplex, -48Vdc,
PTP/IEEE-1588 Grandmaster and more.
Easy & Safe to Install
Most NTP Time Servers require an antenna that must be installed on the roof of your building, with good sky visibility. Sonoma eliminates this problem by synchronizing to signals broadcast from the CDMA mobile cellular/PCS telephone system. You can install the antenna wherever the unit is located, even on top of your equipment rack, and still have an NTP time server that is as stable and accurate as with GPS. And, by installing the antenna safely inside, Sonoma eliminates any risk of damage to your equipment rack caused by lightning strikes.
Network Security Hardened
Extra care has been taken with Sonoma to "harden" it against network attacks. There are only a small handful of settings that need to be made and they typically need to be set only once in the lifetime of the product. Since this is a set-it-and-forget-it box we have eliminated all extraneous protocols/services in order to minimize exposure to security holes. You can change critical settings over the network using SSH or Telnet and monitor the alarm/status information by using HTTPS, SNMP, SSH or Telnet. Security-conscious users can disable any of the risky protocols or restrict access to specific hosts.
Web Interface
A wealth of information is available via the Sonoma Web Interface:
- Monitor status.
- View configuration.
- Easily upgrade firmware.
- View and correlate data plots with NTP, CPU and Oscillator statistics.
- Security-conscious users can choose to completely disable the Web Interface (HTTPS).
Data Plots
While providing precise time to the network, Sonoma is saving status information not only to the typical log files (Syslog), it also stores daily and weekly status plot files for the CPU, NTP and Oscillator. All of the plot files are available via the Web Interface and can be downloaded from the server as .png files.
Extended Stratum 1 Operation if Signal Lost
If your CDMA signal is lost, then Sonoma will continue to serve Stratum 1 time for awhile. This is called the holdover period and is dependent upon the quality of the oscillator and the quality of the software control algorithms.
The basic Sonoma D12 is provided with a TCXO. If the signal is lost it will drift away from perfect at the rate of 10 milliseconds during the first day. For better holdover performance you may want to consider an oscillator upgrade. Oscillator drift rates and Stratum 1 holdover periods are listed below:
Oscillator | Drift Rate If No CDMA Signal | Stratum 1 Holdover Period |
TCXO | 10 milliseconds for 1st day | 24 hours |
Premium OCXO | 80 microseconds for 1st day | 35 days |
Rubidium | 5 microseconds for 1st day | 140 days |