Organic Synchronization: Design of the Controls and Some Simulation Results

A model for certain mutually-synchronized systems of clocks and transmission links has been described by M. Karnaugh. 1 He calls systems that conform to this model "organic systems." The work on organic synchronization has been motivated chiefly by a desire to synchronize the sampling and switching operations in a geographically widespread pulse code modulation communication network. Broad sufficient conditions for the stability of nonlinear organic systems have not yet been mathematically established. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that systems having readily achievable clock stabilities and transmission delays of terrestrial magnitude can be well behaved. Because of this, and because performance under a variety of starting conditions, parameter choices, and perturbations is of interest, an analog simulator for organic synchronization has been constructed and put to use. 227 228 T H E BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL, FEBRUARY 10(38 Details of the simulator hardware are described in the preceding article. 2 The present discussion will center on what has been learned from experimenting with the simulator. Preliminary attention is given to the analysis of linear organic systems; this aids the selection of reasonable control parameters for the design and study of some representative systems. The experiments have supported the conjecture that systems of continental, or even global, dimensions will be stable and easy to implement. No great difficulty in starting the systems or in modifying their structures has been encountered.