VM /ETC

Keeping consistent date and time between your ESX hosts is critical. You can set up NTP sync manually by following the instructions from VMware, or you can run a script to configure ESX automatically.

I first found out about the setup_ntp.sh script from VMware Support. I have since discovered VMColonel » Script to setup NTP on ESX 3.x. I’m guessing this is where the script originated from? Regardless, this script has been a tremendous time saver.

Here’s a high level overview of how to use the script:

1. Download (extract it from the .zip) the script and transfer it to the /tmp directory on your ESX host(s)
2. From a console session (I usually do it remote with Putty) enter the following:
   • #cd /tmp
   • #./setup_ntp.sh
3. The script prompts you to enter the ntp servers you want to sync with. Enter them one at a time. The script walks you through entering as many as you want and asks you if you want to enter another ntp server or not.
   • I usually use pool ntp.org servers – us.pool.ntp.org and pool.ntp.org to be exact.
4. The script configures all files and saves backups of the originals and opens the ESX firewall.

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