Theory 33/Telecommunications Engineering
Holdover Is a Drift Ratio
The claim
Network holdover performance is set by the ratio of oscillator drift rate to the permissible time error, so a better oscillator buys holdover in proportion to the specification.
01Mechanism
Without synchronisation, phase drifts linearly; the time to exceed the limit is the allowed error divided by the drift rate.
02Predictions
- P1Holdover time should track the ratio.
- P2Oscillator quality alone should mispredict.
03Refutation
Holdover tracking quality without the error budget would remove the ratio.