How Can Time Server Help Protect Microsoft Active Directory Infrastructure for Resilience
Microsoft Active Directory is one of the most popular systems for enterprise network and client management, providing centralized authentication and authorization for clients and network security. However, improper use of Microsoft Active Directory can cause the entire system to fail, preventing clients from authenticating.
When Does Active Directory Use Time Synchronization?
Active Directory typically uses time from a Time Server as a timestamp reference. This is used to prevent conflicts during AD replication and as a timestamp for Kerberos authentication to prevent replay attacks that impersonate user identities.
What Happens When Systems in Active Directory Have Unsynchronized Time?
By default, Windows sets the maximum time difference between an authenticating client and the Domain Controller to 5 minutes. If the time difference exceeds this, authentication fails, preventing users from accessing any systems.
Additionally, if virtualization is used in the network and guest machines have unsynchronized time relative to host machines, resources may become inaccessible during certain periods.
Solving the Problem with Stratum-1 Time Server or Time Synchronization Appliance
Although public NTP services are widely available, relying on external time sources carries risks. You cannot control potential failures or damage to the time synchronization system, and you may not understand system behavior during unexpected events. This could cause the system clock to run too fast or reverse time, damaging systems that depend on these time references.
Investing in a Time Server or Time Synchronization Appliance reduces risk while allowing control over system behavior during failures. You can also design redundancy to improve uptime, preventing simultaneous login failures across all PCs. The entire system maintains synchronized time with lower delay and latency than public networks, and it also helps resolve other network issues such as log tracking.
For more information about Time Server or Time Synchronization Appliance solutions, please contact Throughwave at 02-210-0969.
About Wavify TimeNX
Wavify TimeNX is a unified time synchronization appliance that synchronizes time using GPS signals received via an integrated antenna, delivering Stratum-1 accuracy in compliance with Thailand's Computer Crime Act. In enterprise environments, it is typically used for the following purposes:
Synchronizing system logs across firewalls, switches, and software to ensure accurate and legally compliant log correlation
Aligning time across all servers and client devices to ensure consistent application performance
Synchronizing machinery in production lines and laboratory environments for accurate operations
Synchronizing network devices across branch offices to ensure seamless cross-site operations
Recommended Wavify TimeNX models include:
NX-500: GPS-based unified time synchronization appliance supporting up to 4,400 devices per second
NX-300: GPS-based unified time synchronization appliance supporting up to 2,500 devices per second
NX-200: Peer-to-peer unified time synchronization appliance for branch offices, supporting up to 1,000 devices per second via NX-500 and NX-300
Additional information: www.wavify.com