Clock Synchronization At Scale In Data Centers

A method for performing clock synchronization, the method comprising:

• determine, by a network device, one or more time signals indicated by one or more peer network devices;
• measure, by the network device and based on the one or more time signals, an offset and a drift rate of the offset;
• aggregate, by the network device, the offset and the drift rate using a distributed swarm consensus algorithm;
• and
• synchronize, by the network device and based on the aggregation, the one or more peer network devices.

A system for performing clock synchronization, the system comprising:

• a plurality of network devices;
• and
• one or more peer network devices,
• wherein the plurality of network devices comprises the one or more peer network devices, and
• wherein a network device comprises one or more processors configured to:
• create a multi-layered arrangement of virtual clocks, wherein each subsequent layer arrives at a consensus value from values having error values smaller than the preceding layer and wherein an error from preceding layer will not affect the consensus achieved at each subsequent layer.