Timestamp-free network synchronization with random pairwise message exchanges

This paper describes a network synchronization technique based on bidirectional message exchanges between randomly chosen node pairs without the use of timestamps. Each node in the network has a clock with independent stochastic delay and drift. Relative delay and drift synchronization information is conveyed implicitly in the physical layer through the timing of responses to directed messages. Simultaneous delay and drift correction is performed by the node initiating the message exchange. Steady-state synchronization performance bounds are developed as a function of the synchronization stepsize parameter and the statistics of the delay and drift estimation errors. Numerical results for two different connectivity scenarios show that synchronization among the nodes can be achieved without the overhead of digital timestamps, a dedicated synchronization protocol, or network hierarchy.