Please refer to the findings below on How to configure TIME via ESXi Host Client correctly
- VMware ESXi host will show the UTC time rather than local time when accessing via ESXi Host client (https://ESXi/ui)
- VMware ESXi Host is showing the time in local time rather than UTC if accessing via vSphere Clint
- The BIOS time in Virtual Machines (VMs) is set to UCT time following the host when the VM first bootup.
- The BIOS time in Virtual Machines (VMs) is reconfigured automatically once the VM is installed with Windows Server successfully
- Sync Guest Time with Host is DISABLED by default in vSphere ESXi 6.0
- Ensure that all ESXi hosts is configured to sync with NTP Server correctly and DO NOT change the UTC time to local time
If you had used to configure standalone ESXi host using vSphere client, and you will noticed that the Time is shown correctly
The same situation when you are connecting to vCenter using vSphere Client
However, when you are configuring the standalone ESXi host by using ESXi Host Client, you will see that the TIME shown in UTC format rather than the correct time even with NTP Server configured
Please do NOT change it to local time as this is the behavior of ESXi when accessing it via Host Client (https://ESXi/ui)
So what is happening to our Virtual Machines (VMs) if the host is running on UTC time format and it cannot be changed
The time in BIOS will follow the UTC time in ESXi Host when the VM is power on first time without any OS installed
The BIOS time will automatically synced with Windows TIME once Windows Server is installed
Sync Guest Time with Host is DISABLED by default in vSphere ESXi 6.0