Despite a recent revision, IEEE 1588™-2008 does not provide a complete implementation for PTP (precision time protocol) that accounts for variable delays introduced by network components. According to a broad aspect, the present disclosure provides implementations that account for variable delays introduced by network components. Therefore, the amount of time that a packet spends in transit through a transparent clock can be accounted for. According to another broad aspect, there is provided a master-slave mode that allows a transparent clock to function as a master or a slave to another clock.