Equinix, Inc.

Neha Net Corp.

Ankur Sharma

Danjue Li

Yury Kamen

Anand Ozarkar

Yakov Kamen

Neelakantan Sundaresan

Ravi V Condamoor

Brian James Lillie

Imam Sheikh

Srinivasan Raghavan

Lance Weaver

Alex Wilms

David Gofman

Anirvan Das

Stanley Chernavsky

Christopher Alan Anderson

Vadim Shmatko

Xin Wang

Systems and methods include techniques for recording information for tracing a timestamp to its source. The techniques can facilitate auditing of a time service by external auditors. The timestamps can be collected from all the sources and intermediate touch points like timing and network switches and can be stored in a distributed time ledger. In one example, a method includes receiving, at a collection time by a time collector, a timestamp from each of a plurality of timing devices at a collection time; aggregating the timestamp of each of the plurality of timing devices into a timestamp record, the timestamp record including the collection time and a timestamp entry for each of the timing devices, wherein the timestamp entry for a timing device includes a timing device identifier and the timestamp corresponding to the timing device providing the timestamp; and inserting the timestamp record into an immutable time ledger.

Tracing timestamps through immutable records

This disclosure describes techniques for providing customer isolation of time synchronization traffic using virtualization. For example, a method includes receiving, by a computing device, an Internet protocol (IP) address of a customer network of a plurality of customer networks connected to a cloud exchange executed by the computing device; configuring, by the computing device, a time synchronization server connected to the cloud exchange with a Virtualized Local Area Network (VLAN) associated with the IP address of the customer network, the time synchronization server comprising a plurality of instances that provide a time synchronization service; and configuring, by the computing device, the time synchronization server with a Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) or network namespace for the VLAN, wherein the VRF or network namespace includes a route to send time synchronization traffic between the customer network and a particular instance of the plurality of instances that provide the time synchronization service.

Isolating time synchronization traffic using virtualization

In general, techniques are described for using zero-knowledge proofs and digital signatures to verify the authenticity of log records generated by multiple parties, at least in some cases without exposing personally identifiable information for the parties.

Tamper-resistant, multiparty logging and log authenticity verification

The disclosure describes methods and systems for performing time synchronization in a heterogeneous system. In one example, a method includes, for each secondary device of one or more secondary devices in a network, determining, by a computing system, one or more time synchronization characteristics for the respective secondary device; and generating, by the computing system and based on at least the respective one or more time synchronization characteristics for each respective secondary device of the one or more secondary devices in the network, a time synchronization report for the network, wherein the one or more time synchronization characteristics include health data for the one or more secondary device.

Clock synchronization in a heterogeneous system

The disclosure describes methods and systems for performing time synchronization in a heterogeneous system. In one example, a method includes evaluating, by a computing system, one or more network conditions of a network to determine whether to perform a time synchronization process with a secondary device in the network, wherein the one or more network conditions include a health score for the secondary device, and, in response to determining, based on the evaluation of the one or more network conditions, to perform the time synchronization process: determining based at least in part on a time indication for a clock on a master device and a time indication for a clock on the secondary device, a time synchronization offset for the secondary device; and sending the time synchronization offset for the secondary device to the secondary device in a data packet.

The disclosure describes methods and systems for performing time synchronization in a heterogeneous system. In one example, a method includes, for each secondary device of a plurality of secondary devices in a network: determining, by a computing system and based at least in part on a time indication for a clock on a master device and a time indication for a clock on a secondary device in the network, a time synchronization offset for the respective secondary device; collecting, from the respective secondary device, one or more static parameters and one or more dynamic parameters; determining, based on the one or more parameters, a weight to associate with the time synchronization offset for the respective secondary device; determining, based on each of the respective time synchronization offset for each of the plurality of secondary devices and the respective associated weight, a universal time synchronization offset for the network.

This disclosure describes techniques for delivering high-accuracy and high-precision clock synchronization in heterogeneous distributed computer clusters. For example, the disclosure describes a synchronization engine that sets efficient clock synchronization processes based on a cluster node's characteristics, pricing, precision, geolocation, and/or cluster topology, while in some cases using a combination of master clock data with internal atomic clocks of computers. The techniques described herein integrate the synchronization engine into a time synchronization process that may provide stability, versatility, precision and cost balance using technical improvements for characterizing timing system delivery channels.

Timing synchronization service and distribution system

An electronic exchange creates and distributes value among trading partners in a trade. Trading agents for the trading partners use a value manager to store true values for a trading element in the trade. The true values are the values perceived by the trading partner, but are not shown to other trading partners. These true values vary with attributes of the trading element. The attributes modify the trading element and are valued differently by different trading partners. A trade manager receives offers from trading agents. The offers are sent with the true values and the attribute values. The trade manager compares true values of buyers and sellers across a range of attribute values. Net values are computed as the difference of a buyers' sum and a sellers' sum. The buyers' sum is the sum of all true values from buyer trading agents, while the sellers' sum is the sum of the true values of all seller trading agents. The trade manager finds a set of attribute values that has a maximum net value. The trade is conducted for the trading element with the attributes that maximizes the net value. The net value is then allocated among the electronic exchange and the buyer and seller trading partners.

Net-value creation and allocation in an electronic trading system

A multi-attribute trading system creates value for both the buyer and seller. A spread or net value between the buyer's true value and the seller's true value is divided among the buyer, seller, and trading system. Multiple true values are inputted by a buyer for products with varied attribute specifications such as travel services. These multiple values are stored in a buyer attribute tree. Likewise, the seller specifies multiple true values for a multi-attribute product that are stored in a seller attribute tree. The trading system compares the buyer attribute tree to the seller attribute tree. For each specification of the multiple attributes, the spread or difference between the buyer-specified true value and the seller-specified true value is calculated. The attribute specification producing the maximum of these spreads is selected for trading.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Ankur Sharma