Time synchronization on Virtual Windows 2003 domain

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I have created a virtual domain with an XP client and a Windows 2003 server.

Unfortunately I keep getting kerberos ticket errors complaining the time is out by more than 5 seconds.

The machines are both VM's in VirtualBox and the client is joined to the domain.

I've tried various stuff but still having same issue of clocks drifting.

Can anyone help ?

 

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Have you installed the vm additions into each of the gues OS's, what about have you tried sync both vm's with an external time source uk.pool.ntp.org for example. When you shut them down you do actually shut them down and not suspend the vm's I take it.

 

What happens when you force a time sync?
How long does it take to drift out of the 5 seconds slot?

Is the Windows Time service set to Automatic and is started on the XP box?

 

Yes client has Time service started and it is automatic.

Time drift appears random, has been seen after a w32tm /resync in anything between 5 hours or a week.

Have tried to set server to sync against external time source, was expecting client to sync against PDC automatically.

Its a test environment, not sure what other people have been doing with the boxes, it is possible they are not being shut down tidily sometimes.

 

I had this issue a long time ago (good pun!)

Fixed it with some registry changes and a reboot from this KB How to configure an authoritative time server in Windows Server

 

Yay! A random anomoly that floats around with no discernable predictablity - gotta love these problems

AFAIK the client should automatically update the time from the DC with the PDC Emulator role (obviously the only server in your environment) but I can't remember ever seeing anything in the logs to say it has corrected itself - I only remember seeing it in the DC once it's updated itself to a remote online time source or an offline external GPS clock.

Would be interesting to know if craigie's fix sorts it.

 

Now you mention it sparky I remember doing that for an old linux server in esx 3.5, as you say a bit "A Team" style but it did the trick.

 

So essentially what I need is a bunch of guys to build a tank from an old combine that fires cauliflowers ?

 

We had HP servers that drifted all the time until we upgraded the BIOS

 

essentially yes dont forget the AK47's that they left in the crate in the old shed you were not tied up properly in.

I seem to remember in the dim and distant past an article in esx 3.5 where vm's essentially are suspended when they have no work or traffic going too/from them, hence random time skew on occasion and thats also why windows perfmon is not a good performance indicator when within a vm, or summint like that, possibly a similar situation with virtualbox.

(Runs off to google)

 

vmware based doc, tick keeping paragraph seems quite interesting. is the vm's host hardware being squeezed for resources!?

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/Timekeeping-In-VirtualMachines.pdf

 

Yes, the host has been struggling a lot recently, its due an upgrade. New memory had been added to the server this week, hopefully this might fix.

Opps no still got same issue..

 

Ok have you tried ticking the "Hardware clock in UTC time" under settings\system\motherboard of each VM.