PTP stands for Precision Time Protocol, which is a protocol used to synchronize clocks throughout a computer network. It achieves clock accuracy in the sub-microsecond range, making it suitable for measurement and control systems. PTP is employed to synchronize financial transactions, mobile phone tower transmissions, sub-sea acoustic arrays, and networks that require precise timing but lack access to satellite navigation signals. PTP operates over Ethernet networks and uses a hierarchical, master-slave architecture to distribute time information. A single master device on the network acts as a reference clock, and the slave devices synchronize their clocks to the master. PTP was originally defined in the IEEE 1588-2002 standard, officially entitled Standard for a Precision Clock Synchronization Protocol for Networked Measurement and Control Systems, and published in 2002. In 2008, IEEE 1588-2008 was released as a revised standard, also known as PTP version 2 (PTPv2), which improves accuracy, precision, and robustness but is not backward compatible with the original 2002 version. PTP is used in various IT applications for effective communication between devices, synchronization of computers, routers, switches, microprocessors, NIC cards, and protocol stacks, RF instrumentation, aircraft monitoring instruments, and GPS-linked systems.