Emulator software for time synchronization equipment

An emulator program is presented, designed for testing and debugging software for time synchronization hardware — either in the absence of physical equipment or in the event of equipment failure — as well as for simulating off-nominal operating scenarios. A solution for the frequency correction of a rubidium frequency standard is been developed: an algorithm for subdividing arbitrary correction values, adapted to the discrete nature of the physical hardware, is proposed and implemented. The architecture of the target hardware is described, comprising a time-scale generation unit and signal generation units that communicate via the Ethernet UDP protocol. Emulation classes for these units are created, featuring a graphical interface for parameter configuration and the visualization of network traffic. To ensure system state reproducibility, operating parameters are saved in JSON format, enabling the recovery of a system following a failure. The resulting data are analyzed, and the algorithm’s operation is demonstrated through a graph displayed via an external oscilloscope application. Utilizing this emulator program during the comprehensive debugging of time synchronization software makes it possible to resolve discrepancies between calculated frequency correction values and the hardware’s frequency adjustment step.