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Computer Creations Software Providing Computer system services, turn-key solutions, and custom Applications or DLL's. For more information please Contact me  |
Computer Creations Software : CCSBatch
Nuke-Time v1.5
| NukeTime |
| Single PC $20.00 10 - pack $150.00 Unlimited $650.00 |
What is Nuke-Time?
Using NukeTime
Options
Revision History
Known Issues
Registration
Online Help
External Links
Ever look at your PC clock and
actually compare the time to another clock in your house?
It's true, PC clocks are notoriously inaccurate and can lose minutes per week.
Nuke Time is a network application that can synch your PC's clock to that of
an Atomic clock, which are greatly known for their accuracy. (For more
information see http://tf.nist.gov/timefreq/cesium/fountain.htm)
In some environments time between two computers can be CRITICAL.
Windows
2000 (TM) has the ability to synch up with external time servers, but they are not
NIST, and you may not wish 30 computers synching and using your bandwidth, however slight it is. In most instances ONE computer
will check an external clock, all others will compare to it.
But, for that one computer, running Nuke-Time for example, how it works is actually QUITE simple.
To connect to the internet Nuke-Time sends a single packet to the destination
time server. This is called a SYN packet, you've probably seen
reports of SYN attacks on webservers.
The timeserver then sends a SYN-ACK, acknowledging the packet, after that he
sets the flag to RESET the connection.
The DATA in the SYN-ACK packet contains either the NIST time or a 5 digit number
representing the date, depending on which TYPE of time server it is.
There are a few
standards, and there may be a few issues if you use a port other than 13 or 37
in the network options (See below).
At this point things are easy, you know what time is is when you received
that packet, but wait.............Nuke-Time does more than take the prescribed
ESTIMATED 50 millisecond network delay, it removes that, and measures the time
BEFORE the connection is established until the connection is closed.
Now, if you are on dialup or a slow connection, that may be 250 ms, thus
affecting the accuracy of your PC clock.
Now, PC clocks are notoriously inaccurate as is, but why make it any worse?
Now, Nuke-Time jumbles that data around, determines the ACTUAL time locally based on the time that was received in GMT format.
All of this said, Nuke-Time can be as accurate as the NIST server, down to about 100 milliseconds, depending on your processor and load on the operating system.
To use Nuke-Time, double click the Icon, after the splash screen you will see this dialog box
Pressing the mushroom cloud only CHECKS the atomic clock, it does not synch
your PC with the clock.
From there you can look at the difference and determine if you even want to.
Pressing the alarm clock however will re-synch, and will then adjust your clock
settings to that of the NIST clock.
The tools button brings up the options dialog box.
The "I" button is a Help->About box, and of course the HELP icon
itself.
See the chapter on "Options" for auto-checking/setting of time.
Available options for the program itself are listed below
Show Splash Screen - You may get tired of it, why not turn it off?
Show Status Bar - Some people insist on seeing it.
Use Sounds - You may wish to turn this off so it does not wake you at 2AM.
Stay on Top, stays on top of all other applications and is always viewable
Run in System Tray - Removes from the TaskBar and puts in the system tray where
it can stay hidden if desired.
Log Events - This started out as a debug tool, but you may wish to see how it
performs. It does not use much space.
Start With Windows - Starts when you boot your computer up, used in conjunction
with auto-set time and it is self-sufficient
Rotate Icons in System Tray - Each time you start Nuke-Time the icon in the
system tray will change.
Auto-Set Time - Should you desire to leave Nuke-Time in the System Tray, you can
set it to Auto-Check time every few hours, days, weeks etc
This will ensure accuracy at all times.
Network options.
This will allow you to select a time server that works best for you, some are
slower depending
on the distance from you.
Time port defaults for NIST to 13, changing it to 37 can return an RFC868 time.
Network timeout indicates, when Nuke-Time will give up trying that server.
You can also add your own server, Nuke-Time supports up to 25 time servers.
If you are technical or savvy and wish to modify the NukeTime.ini file, the
servers
are stored there.
Proxy support not yet available.
These are quite self-explanatory, basically Nuke-Time displays both the GMT
time it receives from the
NIST server, and local time, you can display either as either GMT time or Local
time.
You can also select to see the raw data returned from the NIST time server.
New feature is the difference between civilian time and Military time for
viewing local PC time.
Clicking apply will save your changes, or click OK and Nuke-Time will click the apply and close the box.
1.5 - final release - bugfixes, enhanced features. Maintenance release.
1.4 - third release - bugfixes, enhanced features, UI changes.
1.3 - Second release - bugfixes, enhanced features, still working on proxy
support. If you have a proxy server and can beta v1.4 email
me
1.2 - First release.
Known Issues
Timing on the "Set Time Interval is not quite perfect - FIXED IN v1.3
Using any other port than the default of 13 or 37 may return results not wanted
and Port 123 is not supported yet.
please report any bugs to Computer
Creations Software
This will be updated shortly, Regnow is discontinuing market operations.
Nuke Time Licenses are as follows:
All funds are US Currency only please. Or register online!
Single PC $20.00
10 - Pak License $150
Site License - Unlimited use - $650
Computer Creations Software
PO Box 2941
Silverdale, WA 98383-2941
Online help can be found here: http://www.tngbbs.com/ccs/nuketime
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)