Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) provides the required synchronization at the physical level. In SyncE, Ethernet links are synchronized by timing their bit clocks from high-quality, stratum-1-traceable clock signals in the same manner as SONET/SDH. Operation messages maintain SyncE links and ensure that a node always derives timing from the most reliable source.
SyncE provides the Ethernet physical layer network (ETY) level frequency distribution of known common precision frequency references. Clocks for use in SyncE are compatible with the clocks used in the SONET/SDH synchronization network. To achieve network synchronization, synchronization information is transmitted through the network via synchronous network connections with performance of egress clock. In SONET/SDH the communication channel for conveying clock information is Synchronization Status Message (SSM), and in SyncE it the Ethernet Synchronization Message Channel (ESMC).