Timestamping

Achieve Unprecedented Network Visibility with 1-Nanosecond Timestamping

In today’s fast-paced and high-volume network environments, the demand for ultra-precise visibility has never been higher. Cubro’s advanced Network Packet Brokers, including the EXA32100A and EXA64100, deliver hardware-based 1-nanosecond timestamping, providing unmatched accuracy for critical network monitoring, analytics, and compliance.

Why 1-Nanosecond Timestamping Matters

Traditional 6-byte timestamps used in many tools provide only millisecond or microsecond-level granularity – insufficient for the demands of modern networks. Cubro’s enhanced 8-byte timestamping enables nanosecond-level accuracy, offering a transformative leap in resolution and integrity.

Precision Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Detect and resolve anomalies like jitter, latency, and out-of-order packets with unprecedented granularity. This ultra-fine time resolution enables real-time diagnostics and root cause analysis in high-speed links such as 100G.

Compliance and Forensic Assurance

Whether you’re operating in finance, telecom, or critical infrastructure, verifiable timestamp data is essential. Cubro provides a trustworthy audit trail that meets regulatory and internal policy requirements.

High-Frequency Trading & Financial Integrity

Every nanosecond counts. In environments where even the slightest delay can lead to lost profits or compliance failures, Cubro’s timestamping guarantees transactional transparency and synchronisation with global time standards.

Built for High-Performance Enterprise Networks

Within enterprise networks, multiple applications rely on high-resolution timestamps – security, analytics, performance, and forensics all depend on it. Yet, most existing tools fall short in consistency and granularity:

Many devices only timestamp at the millisecond level.
Time drift or desynchronization between tools can corrupt telemetry data.
Network congestion and traffic bursts often mask true packet timing.

Cubro overcomes these challenges by offering:

Flexible time synchronization using PTP (Precision Time Protocol) or NTP (Network Time Protocol).

1-nanosecond Time of Day (ToD) timestamps, hardware-stamped for every packet.

Uniform timestamp standards across all ports and traffic flows.

Resolution options between 20 and 200 nanoseconds for applications that do not require full 1-ns precision.

Cubro’s Network Packet Brokers provide the option to apply a timestamp to all traffic on a given interface with a resolution between 20 and 200 nanoseconds. By contrast, typical network devices offer timestamping resolution in the range of milliseconds. In networks with higher throughput, such as 10Gbps and faster links, such a low resolution can lead to numerous packets sharing the same timestamp and thus reducing the overall usefulness of any telemetry data.

The timestamp can be configured locally or synchronised with a network time source via NTP (Network Time Protocol) or PTP (Precision Time Protocol). This creates a precise, consistent timestamp, with a finer resolution detail than typical network monitoring tools offer, for all traffic destined for a wide range of enterprise applications. The In-Band-Telemetry data gathered from the use of these timestamps can form the foundation for network optimisation and increased efficiency by identifying specific times where network congestion is higher and implementing routing changes and modifying forwarding policies as a result.

Use Cases Enabled by Cubro Timestamping

Security & Forensics: Determine the exact moment of a breach or suspicious activity.

Performance Monitoring: Pinpoint and correlate delays or drops across segments.

Network Optimization: Build time-aware telemetry models to optimize routing and forwarding policies.

Regulatory Logging: Provide precise, indisputable packet arrival records

Financial Transactions: Guarantee micro-traceability in trading environments.

The Cubro Advantage

Feature	Cubro EXA32100A / EXA64100	Traditional NPBs
Timestamp Resolution	1 nanosecond	Milliseconds to microseconds
Sync Options	NTP, PTP	Usually NTP only
Format	8-byte IEEE-based	6-byte (custom/limited)
Packet-Level Accuracy	✓	x
High-Throughput Ready	100G Support	Limited

The above timestamp implementation is only valid for the EXA32100A and EXA64100 models, but not for the EXA32400.
Timestamping is part of the ACL filter settings and can be enabled or disabled. This means timestamping is only applied to packets that match a defined filter criterion.

The timestamp encapsulation adds 22 bytes to the original packet.
The original packet is encapsulated using 802.1ah Provider Bridging.
The timestamp includes an absolute Date/Time value with a resolution down to 1 nanosecond and occupies 8 bytes.

Conclusion

Cubro’s 1-nanosecond timestamping isn’t just a specification – it’s a game-changer for organisations that need absolute timing precision. Whether you’re securing critical infrastructure, optimising network performance, or ensuring compliance in the financial sector, Cubro gives you a level of visibility that’s simply not possible with legacy tools.

Products in this Solution

Advanced Network Packet Broker

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