How to configure Network Time Protocol (NTP) on vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA)

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides the necessary steps to configure Network Time Protocol settings on a vCenter Server Appliance.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.x

VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Resolution

Prerequisites: Ensure UDP Port 123 is permitted through any network firewalls between the VCSA management network and the designated NTP servers.

1. Open a web browser and navigate to https://<vCenter FQDN>:5480 to access the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI).
2. Log in using the local root account credentials.
3. Select the Time tab from the left-hand navigation pane.
4. Click Edit in the Time zone and time synchronization section.
5. Change the Mode dropdown to NTP.
6. Enter valid NTP server IP addresses or FQDNs in the provided field, separating multiple entries with commas (e.g., ##.###.##.##, ##.###.##.##).
7. Click Save to apply the configuration.

Additional Information

Configuring Time Synchronization Settings in vCenter Server

Use VMware Tools Time Synchronization

Add or Replace NTP Servers in the vCenter Server Configuration

Synchronize the Time in vCenter Server with an NTP Server