Analytical computation of frequency metric for a Synchronous Ethernet Network

Measurement of clock accuracy is an important aspect in any Synchronous Ethernet Network. Various standards exist today for characterizing the frequency and phase metrics for a clock of a specific type. Usually these metrics are measured using highly sophisticated measurement devices such as digital counters. This paper outline an analytical method to compute the frequency metric for a synchronous ethernet network element which uses Ethernet Equipment Clock (EEC). Computation of frequency metric such as TIE, FFO and FFD is performed over a large number of samples collected during EEC in holdover state. These computed metrics are analysed against the standard specifications. The results thus obtained are provided to support the concepts elucidated with experimental evidence. Analysis and measurement results shows that the long-term frequency holdover performance of the clock, indeed meets all specifications as per the standard recommendations.