NTP

Summary

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) Working Group held a virtual interim meeting to review the status of its active drafts, discuss technical challenges, and align on upcoming milestones. Key topics of discussion included tracking the progress of draft-ietf-ntp-ntpv5, coordinating alignment with the IEEE 1588 working group for draft-ietf-ntp-nts-for-ptp, and evaluating DNSSEC validation subtleties and early IANA allocation timelines for draft-ietf-ntp-nts-keyexchange-pool. The Working Group also planned its contribution to the upcoming IETF 126 Hackathon and evaluated the need for additional interim meetings.

Key Discussion Points

1. Welcome and Document Status

Chairs' Introduction: Karen O'Donoghue opened the meeting and presented the NTP WG Chairs slides, noting the Note Well guidelines. Dieter Sibold assisted with the minutes. The chairs welcomed the new Area Director (AD), who succeeded Erik Kline in March.
RFC Editor Queue: The "NTP over PTP" and "Rough Time" documents have been approved by the IESG and are currently with the RFC Editor for final publication. Karen O'Donoghue also highlighted the launch of the new RFC Editor website.

2. active Draft Status

Network Time Protocol Version 5 (draft-ietf-ntp-ntpv5)

Karen O'Donoghue noted that the chairs still need to issue formal consensus calls on the four issues identified during the previous virtual interim.
Tal Mizrahi confirmed there were no new updates on the draft from his side or from Miroslav Lichvar since the last meeting, as they are waiting for the consensus calls to be issued and completed before implementing the agreed-upon changes in the document.
Karen O'Donoghue urged participants to review the draft and file issues on GitHub to keep progress moving.

Network Time Security for the Precision Time Protocol (draft-ietf-ntp-nts-for-ptp)

IEEE 1588 Alignment: Karen O'Donoghue reported that the IEEE 1588 Working Group is making progress on its complementary specification, with an upcoming face-to-face meeting. A working group ballot is anticipated by late summer.
Martin Langer reported that no updates have been made to the IETF draft recently, as work is pending progress in the IEEE. Once the IEEE specification is stabilized, he will resume work to finalize draft-ietf-ntp-nts-for-ptp.
Draft Sharing: Karen O'Donoghue reminded the group that she has permission to share non-public IEEE 1588 drafts with specific individuals for the purpose of review and cross-WG coordination. Interested reviewers should contact the chairs.

NTS Extensions for Enabling Pools (draft-ietf-ntp-nts-keyexchange-pool)

Early IANA Allocation: The mailing list consensus call for the early IANA allocation showed no opposition. Karen O'Donoghue requested approval from the new Area Director. She estimated a turnaround of two to four weeks for the allocation once approved by the AD.
Technical Discussion: David Venhoek provided an update on public experimentation with the SRV record-based approach. He warned of subtle security risks in SRV-based NTS pools: if DNSSEC validation and record generation are not carefully managed, the security benefits of NTS can be severely weakened.
Document Updates: David Venhoek plans to add more background information on how individual records are intended to be used and how they fit into the broader pool ecosystem. He hopes to submit an updated version of draft-ietf-ntp-nts-keyexchange-pool before the IETF 126 document submission deadline (July 6, 2026).

3. IETF 126 Hackathon & Next Interim Planning

Hackathon Attendance: The NTP WG is planning to participate in the IETF 126 Hackathon (July 18–19, 2026).
- David Venhoek and a colleague plan to attend in person to focus on NTPv5 and pool mechanisms.
- Martin Langer stated he would not be able to attend IETF 126 in person.
- Sarah Grant and Miroslav Lichvar may participate remotely.
Interim Meeting Planning: The chairs proposed holding an interim meeting between June 29 and July 3, 2026. However, Tal Mizrahi expressed that an interim so close to IETF 126 might be redundant, suggesting instead that the WG focus on mailing list discussions over the next two weeks to enable a draft update before the IETF 126 cutoff. The group agreed to prioritize mailing list progress.

Decisions and Action Items

Decision: The Working Group will not hold a virtual interim meeting in late June/early July, opting instead to resolve current NTPv5 issues on the mailing list before IETF 126.
Action Item (Chairs): Issue the consensus calls on the four outstanding draft-ietf-ntp-ntpv5 issues on the mailing list.
Action Item (Chairs): Follow up with the new Area Director to secure approval for the early IANA allocation request for draft-ietf-ntp-nts-keyexchange-pool.
Action Item (Chairs): Create and publish the NTP Hackathon description on the IETF 126 Hackathon wiki.
Action Item (David Venhoek): Update draft-ietf-ntp-nts-keyexchange-pool with background details on record usage before the IETF 126 draft freeze on July 6, 2026.

Next Steps

Mailing List Discussions: Resolving the four draft-ietf-ntp-ntpv5 consensus items to allow a new draft version to be posted before IETF 126.
IETF 126 Preparation: Submit NTP WG session requests and coordinate hybrid attendance for the Hackathon.

Automatic IETF Minutes

NTP