At ITSF 2022 data centers were one key market that was extensively discussed throughout the presentations and a key element highlighted throughout as something that needs to be minimized was latency. Modern applications require low levels of latency to meet user expectations and to support this, many data center operators are looking to move the data closer to the user in edge-located centers.

However, the decentralization of these data centers and the distribution of databases across the network is very inefficient without improved synchronization to the µs. Without this level of synchronization accuracy, very time-consuming processes such as commit-wait must be employed to assure that the correct and most current version of data is accessed.

As a solution, many data center operators are adopting PTP. Hyperscalers are leading the way (read our META case study here), but it is only a matter of time before tenants start to seek PTP from their CoLo host to ensure synchronization of their data.

Recognizing this, Calnex has launched Sentry, a data center native measurement solution providing independent verification that a data center’s synchronization accuracy is being maintained 24/7.

As a data center-friendly rack mount solution, Sentry is controlled over VNC or via the API. It is capable of simultaneously monitoring multiple PTP, 1PPS and NTP signals to ensure that the synchronization capability that is relied upon is working as expected and that any trends in performance are spotted before they become an issue.

Learn more about Sentry here.