Self-stabilizing Byzantine Clock Synchronization with Optimal Precision

Abstract: We revisit the approach to Byzantine fault-tolerant clock synchronization based on approximate agreement introduced by Lynch and Welch. Our contribution is threefold: (1) We provide a slightly refined variant of the algorithm yielding improved bounds on the skew that can be achieved and the sustainable frequency offsets. (2) We show how to extend the technique to also synchronize clock rates. This permits less frequent communication without significant loss of precision, provided that clock rates change sufficiently slowly. (3) We present a coupling scheme that allows to make these algorithms self-stabilizing while preserving their high precision. The scheme utilizes a low-precision, but self-stabilizing algorithm for the purpose of recovery.