#define NQPTP_INTERFACE_NAME "/nqptp"
-#define NQPTP_SHM_STRUCTURES_VERSION 8
+#define NQPTP_SHM_STRUCTURES_VERSION 9
#define NQPTP_CONTROL_PORT 9000
-// The control port expects a UDP packet with the first space-delimited string
-// being the name of the shared memory interface (SMI) to be used.
-// This allows client applications to have a dedicated named SMI interface with
-// a timing peer list independent of other clients.
-// The name given must be a valid SMI name and must contain no spaces.
-// If the named SMI interface doesn't exist it will be created by NQPTP.
-// The SMI name should be delimited by a space and followed by a command letter.
-// At present, the only command is "T", which must followed by nothing or by
-// a space and a space-delimited list of IPv4 or IPv6 numbers,
-// the whole not to exceed 4096 characters in total.
+// The control port expects a UDP packet with the first character being a command letter
+// and the rest being any arguments, the whole not to exceed 4096 characters.
+// The "T" command, must followed by nothing or by
+// a space and a space-delimited list of IPv4 or IPv6 numbers.
// The IPs, if provided, will become the new list of timing peers, replacing any
-// previous list. If the master clock of the new list is the same as that of the old list,
-// the master clock is retained without resynchronisation; this means that non-master
-// devices can be added and removed without disturbing the SMI's existing master clock.
+// previous list. The first IP number is the clock that NQPTP will listen to.
+// The remaining IP address are the addresses of all the timing peers. The timing peers
+// are not used in this version of NQPTP.
// If no timing list is provided, the existing timing list is deleted.
-// (In future version of NQPTP the SMI interface may also be deleted at this point.)
-// SMI interfaces are not currently deleted or garbage collected.
+// The "B" command is a message that the client -- which generates the clock --
+// is about to start playing.
+// NQPTP uses it to determine that the clock is active and will not sleep.
+// The "E" command signifies that the client has stopped playing and that
+// the clock may shortly sleep.
+// The "P" command signifies that SPS has paused play (buffered audio only).
+// The clock seems to stay running in this state.
+
+// When the clock is active, it is assumed that any decreases in the offset
+// between the local and remote clocks are due to delays in the network.
+// NQPTP smooths the offset by clamping any decreases to a small value.
+// In this way, it can follow clock drift but ignore network delays.
+
+// When the clock is inactive, it can stop running. This causes the offset to decrease.
+// NQPTP clock smoothing would treat this as a network delay, causing true sync to be lost.
+// To avoid this, when the clock goes from inactive to active,
+// NQPTP resets clock smoothing to the new offset.
+
#include <inttypes.h>
#include <pthread.h>
pthread_cleanup_push(mutex_unlock, &conn->flush_mutex);
conn->ap2_rate = rate;
if ((rate & 1) != 0) {
+ ptp_send_control_message_string("B"); // signify play is "B"eginning or resuming
debug(2, "Connection %d: Start playing, with anchor clock %" PRIx64 ".",
conn->connection_number, conn->networkTimeTimelineID);
activity_monitor_signify_activity(1);
#endif
conn->ap2_play_enabled = 1;
} else {
- debug(2, "Connection %d: Stop playing.", conn->connection_number);
+ ptp_send_control_message_string("P"); // signify play is "P"ausing
+ debug(2, "Connection %d: Pause playing.", conn->connection_number);
conn->ap2_play_enabled = 0;
activity_monitor_signify_activity(0);
reset_anchor_info(conn);
// if it's a full service PTP stream, we get groupUUID, groupContainsGroupLeader and
// timingPeerList
if (conn->airplay_stream_category == ptp_stream) {
+ ptp_send_control_message_string("B"); // signify play is "B"eginning
if (ptp_shm_interface_open() !=
0) // it should be open already, but just in case it isn't...
die("Can not access the NQPTP service. Has it stopped running?");