The April 14, 2020 announcement for z15 T01 and z15 T02 introduced a new external time source option for Sysplex Time Protocol (STP) for an IBM Z Coordinated Timing Network (CTN), called Precision Timer Protocol (PTP), which is the subject of the IEEE 1588 standard. PTP provides much better time accuracy for systems than was possible when using Network Time Protocol (NTP) alone as a time source.
Connectivity for PTP is managed via the IBM Z HMC/SE which will allow the use of a PTP-based external time source. The goal is to enhance the role of IBM Z machines in a PTP environment that addresses the many governmental regulations and security concerns our clients are facing.
We configured our z15 server named T91. Our testing included configuring our T91 machine to use PTP as External Timer Source (ETS) while in the Preferred Time Server (PTS) role as the Current Time Server (CTS).
I’ll change T91’s ETS from NTP to PTP:
T91 is the PTS/CTS using NTP