A technique for establishing a logical path between two servers in a coordinated timing network of a processing environment is provided. The technique includes the exchange of command and response message pairs by a server and an attached server, via a physical link. The server transmits a command message to an attached server to establish a server-time-protocol (STP) logical path and receives a response from the attached server. The technique also includes the server receiving a request transmitted by the attached server to establish an STP logical path to the server and transmitting a response to the attached server's request. A logical path between the server and the attached server is established if the attached server's response indicates that the server's request was accepted by the attached server and if the server's response indicates that the attached server's request was accepted by the server.