A network adapter includes a network port for communicating with a communication network, a hardware clock, and circuitry. The circuitry is coupled to receive from the communication network, via the network port, one or more time-protocol packets that convey a network time used for synchronizing network devices in the communication network, to align the hardware clock to the network time conveyed in the time-protocol packets, and to make the network time available to one or more time-service consumers running in a host served by the network adapter.