Overview
The Login Enterprise virtual appliance uses timesyncd for synchronizing time via NTP (Network Time Protocol). By default, timesyncd is configured to use the Debian time servers:
0.debian.pool.ntp.org
1.debian.pool.ntp.org
2.debian.pool.ntp.org
3.debian.pool.ntp.org
The service is enabled by default and configured to fall back to these servers if no specific servers are defined.
Modifying NTP servers
If you need to use different NTP servers, you can modify the configuration file located at /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf
Steps to modify NTP servers
1. Open the configuration file in a text editor:
nano /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf
2. Locate the [Time] section and update the NTP line with your preferred NTP servers.
For example,
[Time]
NTP=time.nist.gov time.google.com
3. If you need to ensure that the appliance never attempts to connect to the Debian servers, you need to set the FallbackNTP line in the configuration file to a specific, non-default value. If FallbackNTP is empty, it will still use the default fallback servers.
For example, you can set it to a custom NTP server:
FallbackNTP=ntp0.ntp-servers.net
This will prevent the appliance from using the default Debian fallback servers if the main NTP servers are unreachable.
4. Save the file and exit the text editor.
5. Restart the timesyncd service to apply the changes:
systemctl restart systemd-timesyncd
6. Verify the configuration
a. Check the status of the systemd-timesyncd service:
systemctl status systemd-timesyncd
b. Check the configured NTP settings:
timedatectl show-timesync --all
Notes and considerations
It is also possible to synchronize the guest operating system's time with the compute host through VMware tools, though this is disabled by default.
If you encounter any issues with time synchronization, please verify the settings on your VMWare appliance. If problems persist, consider submitting a bug report for further assistance.