Sharing | TSync function and use of the synchronization mechanism of the timestamp between multiple devices

In a multi-device operating environment, each device has an internal clock source. Usually generated by a crystal, the number of pulses are counted by the controller, which in turn timestamps specific events (e.g., message reception, send completion, etc.). This is shown in Figure 1. When multiple devices receive the same event, we would like to get the same timestamp, but this is usually not done and the sources of error include:

Phase Error:For example, different device power-up timings, startup sequences, etc. lead to fixed deviations in their timestamps;

Frequency deviation:Even though the phase deviation is corrected during startup, there is still a slight difference in the frequency of the crystal.

For example, a crystal with a temperature difference of ±30 ppm at room temperature, assuming that the actual deviation is 10 ppm, i.e., 10 parts per million, will produce 60*60*1000*10/10^6 = 36 milliseconds of deviation in one hour, which is brought about by the lowest level device, and the device can not be corrected by itself alone.