Time Distribution Within Electronic Trading Networks Is Crucial

Electronic trading networks and financial institutions rely on high-speed networks to serve their customers around the world. As the demand for higher speed connections grows, the need to accurately synchronize the computers with time servers also increases. Competition has developed among exchanges for the fastest processing times for completing trades. Companies need to have the fastest servers, fastest hardware out of every other company and will invest in that technology.

This is especially crucial for High-Frequency Trading (HFT), where milliseconds can be the difference between profit and loss. Therefore, financial institutions need ways to synchronize their network equipment with even more granular levels of time synchronization, i.e. microseconds and nanoseconds, to respond to the needs of the market.

Advantages of having ultra-accurate synchronization inside trading networks:

Timing Solutions Comparison for Financial Market Infrastructure

Feature	Standard GNSS Appliance	Safran SecureSync® 2400	White Rabbit Systems
Regulatory Compliance (FINRA, MiFID II)	Basic support; limited audit capability	Fully compliant; FINRA (≤50 ms) & MiFID II (≤100 µs) with traceable audit logs	Sub-nanosecond precision; ensures full integration for UTC traceability
Timing Accuracy to UTC	±1–10 µs with GNSS	±15 ns to UTC with full traceability and GPS/Galileo/Beidou	<1 ns to reference clock; integration required for UTC lock
Timestamping Resolution	Millisecond-level hardware timestamps	PTP capability with <10 ns via IEEE 1588 v2 hardware timestamping	Picosecond-level timestamps via WR Time Protocol
NTP/PTP Throughput	Moderate (~1K clients)	High throughput (10K+ NTP, 128+ PTP clients)	Designed for high precision
Latency and Determinism	Variable; depends on oscillator quality	Deterministic response with OCXO or Rubidium holdover	Deterministic sub-nanosecond over fiber (Synchronous Ethernet)
Failover & Redundancy	Single-GNSS input, limited holdover; vulnerable to attacks	Multi-GNSS input, redundant power, OCXO/Rubidium holdover, NTP/peer failover	Auto failover between GPS at different sites – ideal if not all sites have GPS capability
Firmware Stability & Security	Vendor-specific; infrequent updates	Hardened OS, secure boot, signed firmware, role-based access	undergoes rigorous vetting for production use
Support & SLAs	Business-hours support only; 48 hour response times	24/7 global support with optional SLA and managed service options	24/7 global support with optional SLA and managed service options

Failover Capability – Operational Guarantee

Safran synchronization products – including both time servers and time distribution devices – possess failover capabilities. This means that your network will continue to operate even if one of your sites loses a GPS signal.

Ultra Accurate Time Distribution For Your Network and End Nodes

White Rabbit is a time-transfer and synchronization protocol designed to distribute ultra-accurate time and frequency to all the nodes in a network – using a hierarchical architecture. It uses external time references such as GNSS-based time servers or atomic clocks, and then distributes the exact time signal through the rest of the network – with sub nano-second accuracy.

In a local area network, White Rabbit enables every node on your network to be synchronized to the exact same time and frequency. With less than a billionth of a second of accuracy, you’ll be able to log more discrete timestamps and analyze your data with much greater precision.

White Rabbit can also distribute the time signal across metro or wide area networks using fiber optic cables – without losing any accuracy due to the number of hops or the distance.

Browse Safran White Rabbit Solutions

Time Synchronization Configuration

To have the most accurate time information, you’d typically have a time reference device at the top of your network topology. In this case, you can use Safran’s field-proven SecureSync 2400.

A White Rabbit Z-16 is typically used as a grandmaster device, where it will be connected directly to the time reference and act as the initial time distribution appliance. It will lock to the incoming 10MHz, 1 PPS, and Time of day via NTP signals from the time server.

The Z-16 will then transfer the timing information to the WR ZEN TP-FL acting as a boundary clock. The reason for connecting these two WR devices together is so you can disseminate the timing information via the White Rabbit protocol which provides you with optimal performance and sub-nano second accuracy timing information.

Because White Rabbit is a highly scalable protocol, you will be able to extend the number of nodes in your timing network, without affecting the performance.

You can then distribute the time directly to your hardware via PTP, NTP, IRIG B or PPS connections…

…or use a switch to fan-out the time distribution across the network.

Network Timing Architecture – Complete Solution

From the very top stratum layer – all the way down to your individual nodes and servers – Safran offers a full suite of products to accommodate the fast-paced environment of financial trading systems. Safran offers a complete hierarchical solution for your network timing needs.

View The White Rabbit On-Demand Demo

Learn more about the significance of accurate timingkeeping and synchronization in trading systems here >

Secure and Reliable Timestamping For Your Financial Trading Network Starts Here

Between new regulations and a constantly changing competitive landscape, the need for precision time in the Financial Services Industry has never been greater. We understand that meeting internal requirements and external regulations isn’t always easy. At Safran, we have the solutions to simplify your challenges and ensure that your timing chain is fully compliant.

Many financial institutions, including some of the world’s largest investments banks, high frequency traders, stock exchanges, market makers, etc. already rely on our GNSS time server (SecureSync 2400) and our White Rabbit solutions (WR-Z family) to support their time synchronization and regulatory compliance initiatives. Connect with us to learn more about how we can provide a custom solution for you.