Configure the System Time Zone and Time Synchronization Settings

After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can change the system time zone and time synchronization settings.

When you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you either use the time settings of the ESXi host on which the appliance is running or you configure the time synchronization based on an NTP server. If the time settings in your vSphere network change, you can edit the time zone and time synchronization settings in the appliance.

Important: If the vCenter Server Appliance is using an external Platform Services Controller, you must configure both the vCenter Server Appliance and the Platform Services Controller to use the same time synchronization source. Otherwise, authentication with vCenter Single Sign-On might fail.

Prerequisites

Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface as root.

Procedure

1. In the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface, click Time.
2. Configure the system time zone settings.
   1. In the Time zone pane, click Edit.
   2. From the Time zone drop-down menu, select a location or time zone and click OK.
3. Configure the time synchronization settings.
   1. In the Time Synchronization pane, click Edit.
   2. From the Mode drop-down menu, configure the time synchronization method.

      Option	Description
      Disabled	No time synchronization. Uses the system time zone settings.
      Host	Enables VMware Tools time synchronization. Uses VMware Tools to synchronize the time of the appliance with the time of the ESXi host.
      NTP	Enables NTP synchronization. You must enter the IP address or FQDN of one or more NTP servers.

   3. Click OK.