OpenShift 4.14 Precision Time Offering Adds Telecom Grandmaster
Here in this blog, we will learn how openshift 4.14 precision time offering adds telecom grandmaster.
Red Hat OpenShift has incrementally enabled Precision Time Protocol (PTP) use cases through open source innovation. In Red Hat OpenShift 4.7, an Ordinary Clock (OC) was first available. In order to synchronize the system clock with an upstream time leader system, this supported a single follower clock port. This feature made use of the Linux PTP Project’s ptp4l and phc2sys software components, as well as the open source driver and hardware for the Intel x710 Fortville Network Interface Card (NIC). This eventually changed to accommodate Red Hat OpenShift 4.9’s Boundary Clock (BC) use case.
In order to synchronize systems downstream, the BC expands upon the OC by having multiple leader clock ports in addition to a single follower clock port. The Linux kernel’s open source driver and the e810 Columbiaville NIC family were responsible for enabling this. These particular NICs eliminate the need for software level synchronization by providing a single PTP Hardware Clock (PHC) shared by all physical interfaces. The PHC time is shared with the local master clock ports for the downstream devices since this PHC is synchronized via the follower clock port. This BC functionality was extended on Dual Intel e810 NICs by Red Hat OpenShift 4.11 (without high availability, which we plan to deliver in 2024). Originally, the Distributed Virtual Radio Access Network (D-vRAN) Far Edge use case required each of these use cases. These features don’t have to be restricted to use cases in telecommunications, though.
Red Hat OpenShift version 4.14.6 is prepared to offer a Telecom Grandmaster (T-GM) technical preview. For the entire system domain, this system will serve as the leader clock. Compared to a BC, a T-GM has two extra capabilities:
1. It has the ability to synchronize with a highly precise time source, like GNSS.
2. It is equipped with a digital phase-locked loop (DPLL), an oscillator-based electronic circuit that continuously modifies the output frequency to match the frequency of an input signal (such as the GNSS).
These new parts are supplied by Intel via their Westport Channel (WPC) NIC (E810-XXVDA4T) for 4.14.
Red Hat worked together on two upstream projects to enable this functionality in order to bring this software to market. To enable the DPLL Configuration API in the Linux kernel, Intel and the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Networking Services Team worked together in the first instance. The teams collaborated closely to successfully backport the new functionality into the RHEL 9 Linux kernel in addition to ensuring upstream acceptance. Customers of RHEL have come to expect a more reliable, tested, and consistent experience, and this delivers just that. The second partnership involved adding ts2phc to the Linux PTP Project. The GNSS module on the Intel WPC NIC, for example, is one of the external time stamp signals that this software synchronizes the Physical Hardware Clock (PHC) with.
The PTP Operator provides a single Custom Resource Definition (CRD) to deploy the T-GM, simplifying the configuration of all these components. The PTP Operator is also in charge of determining the PTP clock class based on the T-GM state, as well as events and metrics associated with the T-GM’s operation.
An Intel WPC-based T-GM is supported by Red Hat OpenShift 4.14.6. Expanding this technical preview to support a T-GM based on two Intel WPCs is something Red Hat is currently working on. As these capabilities develop, the D-vRAN Far Edge use case’s Cell Site Router may not require GNSS as much, lowering total cost of ownership.
As you can see, Red Hat has significantly improved OpenShift PTP capabilities with each release and is still a leader in precise timing. This accomplishment can only be realized by utilizing open source software and community collaboration. For their assistance in putting this solution together, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Intel and the linuxptp community.