Clock Manager: Extending Synchronization Visibility into Industrial Automation

Description

Downtime, safety risks, and quality escapes in automation and energy systems often stem from invisible synchronization failures. When clocks drift or a grandmaster changes without detection, manufacturing workflows break down, power grids destabilize, and critical operations falter, costing millions and eroding trust. Clock Manager is a novel, permissively licensed software solution designed to monitor synchronization across critical environments. It provides real-time telemetry and proactive alerts for synchronization status changes, enabling rapid intervention and minimizing downtime. The solution consists of two core components: a client-runtime library that provides APIs for applications to subscribe to synchronization updates and a backend service that interfaces with synchronization daemons such as the Linux PTP (ptp4l) or Chrony (chronyd) to deliver real-time status. This paper provides an overview of the Clock Manager’s value, architecture, technical advantages, and roadmap for scaling synchronization