Note: The preceding link was correct as of December 11, 2013. If you find the link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
To work around this issue, add rtc.diffFromUTC=0 to the .vmx file of the affected virtual machine. This forces a time sync, which enables the arping process to complete as expected leading to normal boot times.
To add rtc.diffFromUTC=0 to the .vmx file:
- Power off the virtual machine.
- Log in to the ESXi/ESX host on which the virtual machine is located with a secure shell session.
- Change to the virtual machine's .vmx file location (located at /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name ).
Example:
# cd /vmfs/volumes/5a6f4389-4230ef12-acb1-32870eca/testVM
- Create a backup of the .vmx file.
Example:
# cp testVM.vmx testVM.vmx.bak
- Open and edit the original .vmx file with a text editor.
Example:
# vi testVM.vmx
- Add this entry to the end of the .vmx file:
rtc.diffFromUTC=0
When using the vi editor, you would press the Insert key to edit.
- Close and save the .vmx file.
If using the vi editor, you would hit the Esc key, then type "wq" to write and exit the editor.
- Power on the virtual machine.