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RFC 5906: Network Time Protocol Version 4: Autokey Specification

Still current, but amended. Parts of this document are changed or extended by RFC 9748. Read both.

In plain English — editorial summary, not part of the RFC

This memo describes the Autokey security model for authenticating servers to clients using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) and public key cryptography. Its design is based on the premise that IPsec schemes cannot be adopted intact, since that would preclude stateless servers and severely compromise timekeeping accuracy. In addition, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) schemes presume authenticated time values are always available to enforce certificate lifetimes; however, cryptographically verified timestamps require interaction between the timekeeping and authentication functions. This memo includes the Autokey requirements analysis, design principles, and protocol specification. A detailed description of the protocol states, events, and transition functions is included. A prototype of the Autokey design based on this memo has been implemented, tested, and documented in the NTP version 4 (NTPv4) software distribution for the Unix, Windows, and Virtual Memory System (VMS) operating systems at http://www.ntp.org. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

Document record

Document ID
RFC5906
Published
June 2010
Authors
B. Haberman; D. Mills
Status
INFORMATIONAL
Stream
IETF
Area
int
Pages
58
Also known as
—
Updated by:
RFC 9748

Topics

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The document record above — title, authors, date, status, stream, area, relationships, DOI and errata — is imported verbatim from the public RFC Editor index. The “in plain English” section is editorial: written by The metasystema editorial team, not part of the RFC. Where the two differ, the RFC text governs.

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canonical URL: /rfc/5906-network-time-protocol-version-4-autokey-specification