A Network Time Protocol (NTP) server provides a precise time source to synchronize the system clocks of all the devices in the global data center design. NTP is transported over UDP and all NTP communications use Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) time. An NTP server receives its time from a reference time source, such as an atomic clock, and then distributes this time across the infrastructure.

Accurate time keeping and time synchronization is critical for a healthy vSphere infrastructure. All components, including ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, vCenter Single Sign-On, SAN and storage arrays, physical network infrastructure, and virtual machine guest operating systems must have consistent and accurate time sources.

vRealize Log Insight provides a consistent method of NTP configuration that synchronizes all the component clocks across the entire infrastructure and, as such, eases the task of reconciling, collating, debugging, and the tracing of log information. The following screen capture shows the vRealize Log Insight default NTP configuration.

 

This configuration might require modification, depending on the design approach to NTP. It is important to maintain consistent NTP server configuration across the entire global infrastructure. When configuring the vRealize Log Insight virtual appliance with NTP sources, VMware recommends that you use a minimum of two reference clocks.

For more information on configuring NTP in vSphere environments, see Configuring syslog logging for hostd and vpxa management agents on ESXi/ESX (1017658) at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1017658.