A computer node comprising a synchronization unit for comparing network timing information for a first network with network timing information for a second network and for communicating to the first network the sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information to allow the first network to alter its network timing information using the sign of the difference to allow the network timing difference between the first network and the second network to be reduced.
1. A first computer node for operating in a system comprising a first network and a second network each having a local time base and comprising a plurality of computer nodes, the first computer node comprising:
a synchronisation unit operable to:
compare first network timing information indicative of a first local time base associated with the first network with second network timing information indicative of a second local time base associated with the second network and to determine a sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information;
in response to the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information exceeding a threshold, determine a first fixed code value based on a sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information; and
in response to the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information exceeding the threshold, communicate the first fixed code value to a second computer node to request a change in network timing information associated with the second computer node by a predetermined fixed step value sufficiently small to avoid loss of local synchronisation with the plurality of other computer nodes in the first network.
2. A computer node according to claim 1 , wherein the network timing information corresponds to the phase of a network clock.
3. A first computer node according to claim 1 , wherein the request to change the network timing information comprises a request to reduce the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information.
4. A first computer node according to claim 1 , wherein the computer node is arranged to be coupled to the first network.
5. A first computer node according to claim 1 , wherein the computer node is arranged to be coupled to the second network via a second computer node.
6. A device comprising:
an interface coupled to a first network and operable to receive a fixed code value based on a sign of the difference between first network timing information associated with the first network and second network timing information associated with a second network; and
a synchronization unit coupled to the interface and operable to adjust network timing information associated with the first network by a predetermined fixed amount based on the code value the predetermined fixed amount sufficiently small to avoid loss of local synchronization with another computer node in the first network.
7. A device according to claim 6 , wherein the code value is a fixed code value.
8. A method comprising:
comparing network timing information for a first network with network timing information for a second network; and
receiving at a first network node a first fixed code value indicating a sign of the difference between first network timing information associated with the first network and second network timing information associated with the second network;
adjusting the first network timing information by a predetermined fixed amount based in response to receiving the first code value the predetermined fixed amount sufficiently small to avoid loss of local synchronization with another computer node in the first network.
9. A first computer node according to claim 1 , wherein difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information indicates that a first communication cycle associated with the first network is ahead of a second communication cycle associated with the second network.
10. A first computer node according to claim 1 , wherein the synchronization unit is arranged to measure a time between a start of a first communication cycle of the first network and a start of a second communication cycle of the second network.
11. A system device according to claim 6 , wherein the sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information indicates that a first communication cycle associated with the first network is ahead of a second communication cycle associated with the second network.
12. A device according to claim 6 , wherein the synchronization unit is arranged to measure a time between a start of a first communication cycle of the first network and a start of a second communication cycle of the second network.
13. A method according to claim 8 , further comprising determining the sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information.
14. A method according to claim 13 further comprising determining the code value based on the sign of the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information.
15. The first computer node of claim 1 , wherein the synchronization unit is operable to communicate a second fixed code value to the second computer node in response to determining the difference between the first network timing information and the second network timing information not exceeding the threshold.
16. The first computer node of claim 15 , wherein the first fixed code value and the second fixed code value are each two bit binary values.
17. The first computer node of claim 1 , wherein the first fixed code value is a two bit binary value.
18. The first computer node of claim 1 , wherein the first fixed code value is a first value when the sign of the difference is positive and a second value when the sign of the difference is negative, and wherein second value is a complement of the first value.
19. The device of claim 6 , wherein the fixed code value is a first value when the sign of the difference is positive and a second value when the sign of the difference is negative, and wherein second value is a complement of the first value.
20. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first fixed code value is a first value when the sign of the difference is positive and a second value when the sign of the difference is negative, and wherein second value is a complement of the first value.