You can configure VMware Tools options to set the time of a virtual machine guest operating system to be the same as the time of the host. Starting with vSphere 7.0 Update 1, VMware Tools provides accurate and synchronized time between guest and host operating systems.

You can synchronize the time between guest and host operating systems while the virtual machine is running. This operation does not depend on the hardware version of the virtual machine.

For information about the timekeeping best practices for Windows guest operating systems, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1318.

For information about the timekeeping best practices for Linux guest operating systems, see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1006427.

Prerequisites

To synchronize the virtual machine guest operating system time with that on the host, install VMware Tools on the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. To synchronize the time of the virtual machine guest operating system with the host time, open VMware Tools options for your virtual machine while creating, editing, cloning or deploying a virtual machine.
    Option Action
    Create a virtual machine
    1. Right-click any inventory object that is a valid parent object of a virtual machine and select New Virtual Machine.
    2. On the Select a creation type page, select Create a new virtual machine and click Next.
    3. Navigate through the pages of the wizard.
    4. On the Customize hardware page, click the VM Options tab and expand VMware Tools.
    Edit a virtual machine
    1. Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Edit Settings.
    2. Click the VM Options tab and expand VMware Tools.
    Clone an existing virtual machine
    1. Right-click a virtual machine in the inventory and select Clone > Clone to Virtual Machine.
    2. Navigate through the pages of the wizard.
    3. On the Select clone options page, select Customize this virtual machine's hardware and click Next.
    4. On the Customize hardware page, click the VM Options tab and expand VMware Tools.
    Deploy a virtual machine from a template
    1. Right-click a template in the inventory and select New VM from This Template.
    2. Navigate through the pages of the wizard.
    3. On the Select clone options page, select Customize this virtual machine's hardware and click Next.
    4. On the Customize hardware page, click the VM Options tab and expand VMware Tools.
  2. Select the time synchronization options.
    Option Action
    Synchronize at startup and resume (Default) This option is selected by default to ensure the best time synchronization between guest and host operating systems after performing certain operations, for example:
    • When you resume a virtual machine from a suspended operation.
    • When you migrate a virtual machine with vMotion.
    • When you revert a snapshot.
    Synchronize time periodically Periodically synchronize the time of the guest operating system of a virtual machine with the host.
    Note: Select this option if the guest operating system of a virtual machine does not have a native time synchronization software.
  3. To save your changes, click OK.