Hard Processor System Technical Reference Manual: Agilex™ 5 SoCs

ID 814346
Date 4/01/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

5.1.6.9. IEEE 1588-2008 Advanced Timestamp

The IEEE 1588 standard defines a precision time protocol (PTP) which enables precise synchronization of clocks in measurement and control systems implemented with technologies such as network communication, local computing, and distributed objects. The PTP applies to systems communicating through local area networks supporting multicast messaging, including (but not limited to) Ethernet. This protocol enables heterogeneous systems that include clocks of varying inherent precision, resolution, and stability to synchronize. The protocol supports system-wide synchronization accuracy in the sub-microsecond range with minimal network and local clock computing resources.

The EMAC supports the IEEE 1588-2008 (version 2) standard, PTP transported over Ethernet with the following features:
  • Supports both timestamp formats
  • Provides an option to take snapshot of all packets or only PTP type packets
  • Provides an option to take snapshot of only event messages
  • Provides an option to take the snapshot based on the clock type: ordinary, boundary, end-to-end transparent, and peer-to-peer transparent
  • Provides an option to select the node to be a time transmitter or time receiver for ordinary and boundary clock
  • Identifies the PTP message type, version, and PTP payload in packets sent directly over Ethernet and sends the status
  • Provides an option to measure sub-second time in digital or binary format