virtualbox.org

I need timing to be synced on my virtual network and physical devices that are plugged into it. I need the Virtual Network to control this since my servers are virtual. Is there any virtual NTP Server that is remotely reliable? I haven't been able to find anything that supports this idea and most things I come across say this is a bad idea.

I have devices that request an NTP Server's IP. Is there a known work around or option for this in VirtualBox?

I think it's a question of accuracy: If you only need a precision of ~1 second, you can simply run an NTP server on one of your servers. If you need sub-second precision, you'll have to cope with the situation that a VM usually isn't running continuously. Can you describe in more detail what you really need, perhaps with a detailed example?

I am setting up a proprietary system virtually for the purpose of Training and Tech Support. The system uses CCTV with Archived Video so an offset of +/- 1 second would be fine. All the VMs and Devices need an IP of an NTP Server to sync. I was hoping to find a virtual image of a NTP that I could emulate at the normal IP for the purpose of training. I don't want to deviate too far from the existing system to be able to provide the most realistic "Lab" as possible.

Sounds like I could run the NTP on a VM Box and just put the NTP VM at that IP location. Would this work best on a Linux Box or a Windows Box? Any suggested software that works across a Virtual Network? I already have the VLANs setup.

AFAIK, each Windows OS (including Windows 10) has an NTP server built-in (Windows Time service tools and settings), and each Linux OS has at least an ntp package to install an NTP server. It is a relatively small service, and a separate PC or VM for NTP alone would be overkill IMHO, so just run it on any member of your virtual network that you like.

I got it to work on a CentOS VM and used Chrony. Everything works great now as far as the timing.