VCF installer validation fails with "Provide value for field NTP Servers in NTP Specification"

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• When performing the Validate & Deploy phase of a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) deployment, the validation process fails with a specific error regarding the Network Time Protocol (NTP) configuration.
  
  Error Message:
Found either a blank value or missing entry that is mandatory in the spec: NTP Servers missing for NTP Specification
  
  

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x

Cause

• This error occurs because the NTP Server details were omitted during the initial OVF/OVA deployment of the VCF Installer appliance.
• While some parameters in the deployment wizard appear optional, the VCF bring-up process requires a valid NTP source to synchronize clocks across the Fleet Manager, SDDC Manager, vCenter, and ESXi hosts. If the installer appliance itself does not have these values populated in its internal configuration, the validation engine flags it as a "missing entry."

Resolution

The NTP configuration is injected into the appliance at the time of deployment. Because these settings are fundamental to the appliance's initialization, the most reliable fix is to redeploy the installer.

• Delete the current VCF Installer VM from your vSphere inventory.
• Initiate a new OVF Deployment using the VCF Installer OVA.
• Navigate to the Customize Template section of the deployment wizard.
• Locate the NTP Specification field.
• Enter the FQDN or IP addresses of your authorized NTP servers (comma-separated if using multiple).
• Complete the deployment and power on the appliance.
• Restart the Validation process within the VCF interface.