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How does one ensure that linux hosts, running on vmware infrastruction 3 or vmware 3 esxi remain in sync with the ntp server. I have found that a linux guest running under esx or esxi has a tendency to have the clock drift in the future.
How does one ensure that the time remains in sync with the time server? Do i have to deploy vmware tools on the linux host? and then sync the host to the ntp server, the guest with the host and with the ntp server?
That's a problem I encountered and sometimes the drifts are so large that the ntp service refused to sync.
I found that if you install the vmware tools on the guest, it will automatically sync its time against the host's time.
Short Answer: proper kernel parameters and ntpd config
Long Answer: VMware has a best practices doc that is pretty good on this, http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1006427
Note that it is somewhat contrary to some of the information in this thread. For instance, it is specifically recommended not to use the vmware-tools timesync feature anymore.
Yes, installing vmware-tools for the clock sync tool is important, but might not be enough.
What has worked for me is adding the kernel boot parameter:
clock=pit notsc
This sets the clocksource to something vmware keeps updated, and disables the time sync counter.
Perhaps unrelated, but on recent enough kernels I always also append:
divider=10
which significantly reduces guest cpu utilization.
Both of these are also helpful with or without vmware tools are installed, and help keep the clocks more closely in sync (rather than a constant struggle between a quickly drifting clock and the vmware tools clock sync service).
Yes, you have to install vmware-tools on the VM client. Then you can set the box "synchronize guest time with host" button on the VM's Options screen.
There's an answer which is already selected (and it is the best answer, since vmware tools gives you so many other advantages), but another option is also to run regular ntpdate commands in the cron. This corrects your clock, however doesn't manage clock drift, but works in a pinch.
Be careful with ntpdate or rdate, it's usually not a wise idea to move the time the hard way, as many server applications depend on a continuous time.
Dovecot for instance, will just quit if it detects a large shift of time.
If you are using a "tickless" kernel (2.6.22+ is by default IIRC) in the guests then clock drift is easier to manage. I have found that using NTP is more accurate than VMWare's own tool but I've not scientifically tested this.
To stop NTP simply giving up if heavy load or some other issue makes the clock drift too far (this much more rare with the newer kernels but can still happen) make sure you have the line "tinker panic 0" line at/near the top of your ntp.conf.
To be considerate, sync your host machines clock with public clocks and the VMs with the host - don't have all your VMs separately contacting public time servers.
Also: do not use VMWare's own clock guest sync at the same time as NTPD. The two will trip over each other leaving your VM's clock in an undefined and unreliable state.
Here's a good compilation of vmware timekeeping articles that have helped me in the past: http://blogs.vmware.com/kb/2009/02/new-timekeeping-articles.html
If you install the NTP daemon on your Linux guest as a client, it will periodically check and make sure your clocks do not drift in the long run. You needn't do any fancy host-guest syncing, because the server is just .. on the net. :)
