What are the differences between TimeKeeper Platform, Server, and Client?

TimeKeeper Platform, Server, and Client are three layers of the same clock-sync chain rather than competing products. Client synchronizes individual application servers and VMs to network time sources at sub-microsecond accuracy; Server acts as a Grandmaster/Boundary clock that both consumes time from network timing and GNSS appliances and serves time over NTP/PTP and other protocols; Platform is the single dashboard that integrates all TimeKeeper products for management and visibility. A deployment typically needs Server and Client to move time through the network, with Platform added when you want one place to see and manage the whole chain.

TimeKeeper Client: sub-microsecond sync for applications

Client is the software that runs where time actually matters — on application servers and virtual machines. According to FSMLabs, TimeKeeper Active Client synchronizes clocks on Linux, Windows, and Solaris application servers and VMs to multiple sources over the network, targeting sub-microsecond time-synced applications.

• What it solves: keeping each server's clock aligned closely enough for latency-sensitive workloads.
• Where it runs: Linux, Windows, and Solaris servers and VMs.
• How it gets time: from multiple network sources, which supports resilience if one source degrades.
• What to verify: that your target OS versions are covered and that your network path to the chosen time sources is stable.

TimeKeeper Server: the Grandmaster/Boundary clock

Server is the distribution point. FSMLabs describes it as a Grandmaster/Boundary clock that uses network timing and GNSS time server appliances as multiple time sources, while serving and receiving time over NTP/PTP and other protocols.

• What it solves: providing a trustworthy, redundant time reference to the rest of the network.
• Inputs: network timing plus GNSS time server appliances, used as multiple sources.
• Outputs: time served over NTP/PTP and other protocols.
• What to verify: whether you have (or need) GNSS reception at the site, and which of NTP/PTP your downstream devices require.

TimeKeeper Platform: one dashboard for the whole chain

Platform is the integration layer. FSMLabs positions it as the complete solution: all integrated TimeKeeper products experienced in one dashboard, described as the gold standard in enterprise-class clock sync.

• What it solves: managing and observing Server and Client together instead of as separate tools.
• What it is not: a replacement for Server or Client — it is the view and control surface over them.
• What to verify: which integrated products you already run, since Platform's value scales with how much of the chain it covers.

How the three fit together

The practical flow is: Server establishes and distributes accurate time, Client pulls it onto the machines running your applications, and Platform gives you one place to see the state of both. FSMLabs frames the overall proposition as the most accurate, reliable, and verifiable time-sync solution available, and cites trust from large banks, major stock exchanges, and Fortune 500 customers — useful context for judging whether the full chain is warranted for your environment.

Choosing between them

• If your problem is one server or VM drifting: start with Client and confirm your available network time sources.
• If you need to distribute time across a network or lack a reliable reference: Server is the missing piece, and GNSS availability shapes the design.
• If you already run several TimeKeeper components and lack a single view: Platform is the addition, not a substitute.
• If you are building from scratch: plan Server and Client as the chain, then add Platform for management.

Because FSMLabs publishes these as complementary products in one chain, the decision is less "which one" and more "which layers does my environment currently lack."