There aren't many deficiencies in NTPv4 which can't be fixed by adding extension fields. A change big enough to make a version bump worthwhile would incorporate at least most of the following:
1. Drop everything other than client/server mode. Replace mode 6 with something that runs over HTTPS on the NTS-KE port. 2. Let client and server packets be formatted differently. Achieve data minimization by just taking the unnecessary fields out of client packets altogether. 3. Forbid use of the legacy MAC field, thus fixing the hairiness around extension parsing. 4. Make NTS mandatory. In the NTPv5 packet format, the version, mode, NTS unique identifier, and (in client packets) NTS cookie come first in plaintext, then the whole rest of the packet is encrypted. 5. Ditch the useless poll, stratum, refid, and reference timestamp fields. Given that all of the above are implemented, origin timestamp also becomes redundant (NTS takes the place of its anti-spoofing role). 6. Represent timestamps as days, seconds, and fractions so that the time can be represented unambiguously during leap seconds. Make the day field 64 bits wide so that its range comfortable exceeds the lifespan of the solar system. 7. Don't implement leap smearing in the wire protocol (servers should always report accurate, unsmeared time), but standardize a formula for translating NTP time into smeared UNIX time seen by other applications. _______________________________________________ devel mailing list devel@ntpsec.org http://lists.ntpsec.org/mailman/listinfo/devel
