Meta has announced the addition of a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) technology for its metaverse, which reduces the time lag between platforms and improves synchronization for different devices.
PTP, launched in 2002, enables computer networks across multiple locations to sync down to nanoseconds. Initially, PTP helped synchronize computer clocks globally. It is different from its predecessor, Network Time Protocol, in terms of accuracy as PTP synchronizes clocks down to a millionth of a second.
Meta argues the lack of sync can cause delays, network failures, and errors. It mentions how the addition of PTP to Meta’s data centers allows for more synchronization for users during texting and video calls, playing games online, or exploring the Meta Horizon Worlds in the metaverse. Meta adds:
“With PTP, the clocks within servers can be synchronized down to nanoseconds. We believe that PTP has the potential to enable synchronization of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) across data centers, which could open up unprecedented AI capabilities that are difficult to achieve today. This level of accuracy will help ensure synchronization of not only the computers on our networks today, but also the advanced systems that will be on our networks in the future.”
The company further shared that PTP will become a fundamental aspect of technologies powering the metaverse. According to the blog post, Meta mentions it open-sourced the software and hardware needed to support the inculcation of PTP to the company’s data centers. More details about the deployment of PTP by Meta can be found here.
2 Comments - Add comment