White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol on Long-Distance Fiber Links

The application of White Rabbit precision time protocol (WR-PTP) in long-distance optical fiber links has been investigated. WR-PTP is an implementation of PTP in synchronous Ethernet optical fiber networks, originally intended for synchronization of equipment within a range of 10 km. This paper discusses the results and limitations of two implementations of WR-PTP in the existing communication fiber networks. A 950-km WR-PTP link was realized using unidirectional paths in a fiber pair between Espoo and Kajaani, Finland. The time transfer on this link was compared (after initial calibration) against a clock comparison by GPS precise point positioning (PPP). The agreement between the two methods remained within ±2 ns over three months of measurements. Another WR-PTP implementation was realized between Delft and Amsterdam, the Netherlands, by cascading two links of 137 km each. In this case, the WR links were realized as bidirectional paths in single fibers. The measured time offset between the starting and end points of the link was within 5 ns with an uncertainty of 8 ns, mainly due to the estimated delay asymmetry caused by chromatic dispersion.