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Network Time Synchronization: Clock Skew & Distributed Systems

Medium

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Clock synchronization: the hidden challenge of distributed systems

Every distributed system relies on time — for log correlation, ordering events, expiring tokens, and ensuring transactions. But no two clocks tick at exactly the same rate, and NTP synchronization has limits.

Understanding what guarantees NTP provides (and doesn't) explains why distributed databases need additional mechanisms like vector clocks, hybrid logical clocks, or purpose-built hardware like TrueTime.

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