Comment by jeremyjh
2 hours ago
Doesn't each node just need to know its exact path (or latency of same) to the time source each is synchronizing from? The path from node to node doesn't matter because we're ordering log entries from the timestamp of the receiving node.
Imagine you take three atomic clocks, synchronize them, and move each within exactly 1 meter of one of those nodes, directly connected in an identical manner. Relativistic effects are constant. If there are elevation differences, you factor it once and done. The problem with this setup is not relativity. It is quantum uncertainty (and various interference sources, thermal radiation, etc).
How do you know the latency of the path if you haven't synchronized the clocks...
You might be able to control the latency on a LAN, but once you have servers in different locations, good luck. (GPS helps a lot, of course...)