All management components must be configured to use NTP for time synchronization.

NTP Server Configuration

  • Configure two time sources per region that are external to the SDDC. These sources can be physical radio or GPS time servers, or even NTP servers running on physical routers or servers.
  • Ensure that the external time servers are synchronized to different time sources to ensure desirable NTP dispersion.

DNS Configuration

Configure a DNS Canonical Name (CNAME) record that maps the two time sources to one DNS name.

Table 1. NTP Server FQDN and IP Configuration in Region A
NTP Server FQDN Mapped IP Address
ntp.sfo01.rainpole.local
  • 172.16.11.251
  • 172.16.11.252
0.ntp.sfo01.rainpole.local 172.16.11.251
1.ntp.sfo01.rainpole.local 172.16.11.252
Table 2. NTP Server FQDN and IP Configuration in Region B
NTP Server FQDN Mapped IP Address
ntp.lax01.rainpole.local
  • 172.17.11.251
  • 172.17.11.252
0.ntp.lax01.rainpole.local 172.17.11.251
1.ntp.lax01.rainpole.local 172.17.11.252

Time Synchronization on the SDDC Nodes

  • Synchronize the time with the NTP servers on the following systems:
    • ESXi hosts
    • AD domain controllers
    • Virtual appliances of the management applications
  • Configure each system with the two regional NTP server aliases
    • ntp.sfo01.rainpole.local
    • ntp.lax01.rainpole.local

Time Synchronization on the Application Virtual Machines

  • Verify that the default configuration on the Windows VMs is active, that is, the Windows VMs are synchronized with the NTP servers. 
  • As a best practice, for time synchronization on virtual machines, enable NTP-based time synchronization instead of the VMware Tools periodic time synchronization because NTP is an industry standard and ensures accurate timekeeping in the guest operating system.