In environments where data is constantly shared between systems, it is important that time is properly synchronized. This is particularly important within Oracle VM where clustering is frequently used and where virtual machines can move between Oracle VM Servers as required. The most common approach to this requirement is to configure an NTP server to run on the same host where you install Oracle VM Manager. Each Oracle VM Server can then use the Oracle VM Manager host as an NTP server. You can find out more about the installation and configuration of NTP in Configure the NTP Service on the Oracle VM Manager Host in the Oracle VM Installation and Upgrade Guide.

By default, Oracle VM Servers that are not under the ownership of any Oracle VM Manager instance, are configured to point to localhost (127.127.1.0) for NTP. Once an Oracle VM Server has been discovered and ownership is taken inside of Oracle VM Manager, it becomes possible to configure the NTP servers that should be used for that Oracle VM Server. The Oracle VM Manager allows you to configure the NTP servers that should be used for any Oracle VM Server directly within the server configuration in the Oracle VM Manager Web Interface. See Edit Server in the Oracle VM Manager User's Guide for more information on how to configure NTP for each server. If you need to batch edit NTP for a large number of servers, the preferred method is to use the Oracle VM Manager Command Line Interface or the Oracle VM Web Services API. See edit Server for an example of how to edit an Oracle VM Server to configure NTP using the Oracle VM Manager Command Line Interface.

Removing all NTP servers from an Oracle VM Server configuration results in the configuration reverting to its default state, where the Oracle VM Server is configured to point to localhost as its NTP server. This is the same behavior that is applied when an Oracle VM Server is released from ownership of an Oracle VM Manager instance. Therefore, whenever an Oracle VM Server is newly discovered and the Oracle VM Manager instance takes ownership, the NTP configuration on the Oracle VM Server is always configured to point to the localhost.