Clock Synchronization and Latency Attribution
Latency attribution across hosts requires clocks with known offset, drift, precision, and timestamp location. A precise timestamp can still be inaccurate.
Planned model
Send events across clocks with drift and offset, then apply software, hardware, NTP-style, and PTP-style synchronization. Show attribution error at each stage.
Questions
- Where in the packet path was a timestamp taken?
- How is clock error bounded rather than merely estimated once?
- Which intervals can be measured safely on one clock?
Exercise
Create an error budget for one-way latency measured across two hosts and identify what independent evidence validates it.