Prove your clocks are traceable to UTC
A traceability audit plus managed synchronization for regulated entities. The deliverable is not a server: it is the dossier that demonstrates, with evidence, that your clocks are traceable to UTC — defensible to your regulator.
1. The frameworks that demand time evidence
Several European regimes put synchronization and timestamping at the heart of their obligations. None is satisfied by a clock that is merely "on time": all require, in one form or another, that you be able to prove that time is controlled.
RTS 25 (Reg. EU 2017/574)
Maximum divergence from UTC and timestamp granularity, tiered by activity profile. Article 4 requires a UTC traceability system that is documented, demonstrable and reviewed at least once a year.
DORA (Reg. EU 2022/2554)
Digital operational resilience: reliable logging, detection and reconstruction of incidents. Consistent, traceable timestamps are a practical precondition for correlating events and demonstrating control of the system.
NIS2 & ANSSI guidance
Risk management, logging and investigation capability for essential and important entities. A reliable, traceable time base underpins the evidential value of logs and the ability to correlate during an incident.
2. What the regulator actually requires
The most precise case is MiFID II / RTS 25, which puts numbers on the constraint. Only two variables: the maximum divergence from UTC and the timestamp granularity, set per profile. The strict 100-microsecond tier is the most demanding cell of the scheme — not a general rule applying to all activity.
| Activity profile | Max. divergence from UTC | Timestamp granularity |
|---|---|---|
| High-frequency algorithmic trading; trading venue with gateway-to-gateway latency ≤ 1 ms | 100 microseconds | 1 microsecond or better |
| Other automated activity (non-HFT); venue with latency > 1 ms | 1 millisecond | 1 millisecond or better |
| Voice trading, request-for-quote with human intervention, negotiated transactions | 1 second | 1 second or better |
Source: annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/574 (tables 1 and 2). Summary for decision-making; the official text prevails. Detailed tier analysis on our RTS 25 reference page.
3. Our deliverable: the UTC traceability dossier
We sell an operated synchronization service and, above all, the document that makes it defensible: a UTC traceability dossier built on an unbroken chain to a national realization of UTC — typically UTC(OP) at LNE-SYRTE, Paris Observatory (or an equivalent UTC(k): UTC(PTB), UTC(NPL), UTC(NIST)), or via UTC broadcast by GNSS with the offset documented and removed.
What the dossier contains
- System design document. The full chain from your clocks to the chosen realization of UTC, with the timestamp application point identified.
- Per-profile divergence evidence. Measurement and retention of the offset from UTC, mapped to the tier applicable to each of your activities (100 µs / 1 ms / 1 s).
- Granularity evidence. Demonstration that the recorded timestamps resolve the unit required by your profile.
- Operating specifications. Sources, redundancy, supervision, and the procedure to follow on drift or loss of reference.
- Documented annual review. A dated, archived periodic review of compliance — the dossier is a living document, per Article 4.
4. Our infrastructure proof
The traceability dossier rests on real, operated and verifiable infrastructure. These reference pages document its components:
The infrastructure behind the service
- GNSS Stratum 1 server — time reference disciplined by GPS/Galileo, sub-microsecond accuracy, PPS signal.
- NTS (Network Time Security) — cryptographic authentication of the time source, deployed across all our servers.
- NTS pool status & monitoring — live state of every server and its NTS certificates, probed every 5 min: the living proof of the infrastructure.
- Our infrastructure since 2005 — 20+ years of continuous operation, timeline and current architecture.
- Our own AS206014 network — BGP routing, peering at Paris IXPs, IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack.
- NTP stratum hierarchy — where each link of the traceability chain sits.
5. Fixed-fee or time-and-materials
The engagement adapts to your need, on the same model as our MariaDB audit: a scoped mission to produce the dossier, and/or managed operation over time.
UTC traceability dossier
Scoped mission: audit of the existing chain, measurement of divergence and granularity per profile, and assembly of the regulator-defensible dossier. Scope and deliverable defined in the quote.
Managed synchronization & annual review
Managed operation of the synchronization, continuous divergence monitoring, upkeep of the dossier and a documented annual review of compliance. Billed by time spent.
No price is shown: every regulatory scope and every architecture differs. We quote on the basis of your activity profile and your compliance target.
6. Request a quote
RDEM Systems SAS publishes these NTP reference contents; this page is the single commercial offer attached to them. The linked technical pages remain informational and do not by themselves constitute an engagement.