Order Precision Time with Quick Connect

You can now set up and provision your Equinix Precision Time services using Quick Connect on the Equinix Fabric portal. This enables you to use your existing Fabric account to create and manage Equinix connections. You can create new Precision Time connections through this single Fabric login.

Use the Fabric Portal to Order Precision Time Video

Important: Before you order a Precision Time service, ensure that your account meets the items listed in Prerequisites. If you plan to use a Network Edge device as a gateway, see the instructions in Configure Network Edge Devices as Timing Gateways before you add a Precision Time service.

Create a Connection Using Quick Connect

Note: When your Equinix Fabric account has been transitioned to Equinix Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform, use the Context Switcher drop-down list to access your project and its assets. For more information, see Identity and Access Management. 

1. Sign into the Equinix Fabric portal.

2. If your Fabric account has been transitioned to the Equinix Identity and Access Management (IAM) platform, use the Context Switcher drop-down list to access your project and its assets.

3. From the Precision Time menu, click Create Service.

   

   The Quick Connect 1 screen is displayed.

Precision Time Configuration

1. In the Quick Connect 1 screen, enter a Service Name.

   

2. Choose a Billing Account and a Country from the drop-down lists.

3. Choose a protocol and service tier from the Service Level drop-down list.

   For more details about protocols and service tiers, such as the support for clients per second and accuracy, click Compare Service Levels.

4. Choose the metro Service Location from the drop-down list.

   

Note: Currently, the only Redundancy option available is for Single Connections. Support for redundant connections will be added in a future release.

5. If needed, enter an IP address for the Primary Timing Server and the Secondary Timing Server.

   • The recommended values are provided.

   • If your new service is set up with the NTP Standard service tier, values for these fields are supplied.

6. If needed, enter a Network Mask.

   • The recommended value is provided.

   • If your new service is set up with the NTP Standard service tier, the value for this field is supplied.

7. For a PTP service, default PTP settings are provided. You can modify these values by deselecting the Use the default PTP settings checkbox. Provide the following information:

   

   • Time Scale:

     • ARB – Generates timestamps in UTC format with UTC offset as 0. (This is the default.)

     • PTP – Generates timestamps in TAI format with current UTC offset value.

   • Domain – Enter a PTP domain value for the time server. Any clocks that synchronize with this server should be configured with the same domain value. The range is 0 (the default) to 127.

   • Priority 1 and Priority 2 – Enter a value between 0-248. Lower values indicate a higher priority.

   • Log Announce Interval – Choose an option from the drop-down list. This logarithmic value controls the rate of PTP Announce packets from the PTP server. The default is 1, which indicates 1 packet every 2 seconds.

   • Log Sync Interval – Choose an option from the drop-down list. This logarithmic value controls the rate of PTP Sync packets. The default is -4, which indicates 16 packets every second.

   • Log Delay Req Interval – Choose an option from the drop-down list. This logarithmic value controls the rate of PTP DelayReq packets. This setting might also need to be specified on the PTP client. The default is -4, which indicates 16 packets every second.

   • Transport Mode – Choose Multicast (default), Unicast, or Hybrid.

     In the Unicast Grant Time field, enter the number of seconds from 30-7200.

8. For an NTP Enterprise service, you can set up additional Authentication. Click MD5 Authentication and provide the following information:

   

   • MD5 Type – Select the type of key string, ASCII or HEX.

   • MD5 Key Id – Enter the key ID. Integers from 1-65535 are valid.

   • MD5 Key Password – Enter a password that contains 10-40 characters:

     • For HEX passwords, only HEX characters 0-9 and A-F can be used.

     • For ASCII passwords, all ASCII characters can be used, including numbers, letters, and special characters.

   • Add Another – Click this option to add up to 25 more keys.

9. Click Next. The Quick Connect 2 screen is displayed.

Your Location

Tip: Details about your new Precision Time service are available, including pricing, the IP addresses of the time servers, the network mask, and the gateway interface. Click Show Pricing in the upper right corner of the screen.

1. In the Quick Connect 2 screen, select an Origin Asset Type.

   • Port – Choose a Port from the drop-down list and enter a VLAN ID.

   • Cloud Router – Choose a Cloud Router from the drop-down list.

   • Virtual Device – Choose a Virtual Device from the drop-down list.

   

2. If needed, specify an IP value for your Gateway Interface. (If your new service is set up with the NTP Standard service tier, the default value for this field is supplied.)

3. Click Next. The Quick Connect 3 screen is displayed.

Contact Information, Terms and Conditions

In the Quick Connect 3 screen, the email address associated with your login account is displayed in the Notifications field.

1. Choose a Purchase Order Option:

   1. Submit Without PO – No additional information is needed.

   2. Select Existing PO Number – Choose a purchase order from the drop-down Purchase Order List.

   3. Add New Purchase Order Information – Enter a Purchase Order Number, optional amount and dates, and upload the PO file.

      

2. Click Accept Terms and Conditions. Review the terms and conditions that display on the right, and click Accept.

3. Click Create Service. Your browser displays a confirmation message with the provisioning status.

4. To display the Equinix Precision Time dashboard, click View in Service Inventory.

   

   You can view your new service in the dashboard. From here, you can also add a new Precision Time service, or view and update another time service.

In addition, you can configure Network Edge virtual devices to act as gateways for Precision Time services. See Configure Network Edge Devices as Timing Gateways for more information.