Article ID: 976924 - Last Review: April 30, 2012 - Revision: 2.0

You receive Windows Time Service event IDs 24, 29, and 38 on a virtualized domain controller that is running on a Windows Server 2008-based host server with Hyper-V

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SYMPTOMS

When the Windows Time Service (W32Time) synchronizes with a primary domain controller, the following events are logged in a System log that resides on a virtualized domain controller. The virtualized domain controller is running in a guest operating system on a host server that is running Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V.
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 24
Date: Date
Time: Time
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description:
Time Provider NtpClient: No valid response has been received from domain controller Yourpdc.forestroot.com after 8 attempts to contact it. This domain controller will be discarded as a time source and NtpClient will attempt to discover a new domain controller from which to synchronize.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 29
Date: Date
Time: Time
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description: The time provider NtpClient is configured to acquire time from one or more time sources, however none of the sources are currently accessible. No attempt to contact a source will be made for 15 minutes. NtpClient has no source of accurate time. For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

Event Type: Information Event
Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 38
Date: Date
Time: Time
User: N/A
Computer: ComputerName
Description: The time provider NtpClient cannot reach or is currently receiving invalid time data from Yourpdc.forestroot.com.


If you enable Windows Time Services Debug logging on the domain controller, information that resembles the following is logged in the Debug log:
149040 14:15:14.2970940s - Logging information: The time service is now synchronizing the system time with the time source VM IC Time Synchronization provider.
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CAUSE

On a host server that is running Windows 2008 with Hyper-V, virtualized domain controllers that are running on a guest operating system are allowed to synchronize their system clocks with the clock of the host operating system. Because domain controllers have their own time synchronization mechanism, a virtualized domain controller logs the events that are listed in the "Symptoms" section in the System log.

If domain controllers synchronize time from their own source and synchronize time from the host, the domain controller time can frequently change. Because many domain controller tasks are tied to the system time, a jump in the system time could cause lingering objects to be left in caches, and replication to stop.
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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, you must disable host time synchronization by virtualized domain controllers that are running on a guest operating system.

Disable time synchronization on the host by using Integration Services, and then configure the virtualized domain controller to accept the default Windows Time Service (W32time) domain hierarchy time synchronization. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Open Hyper-V Manager.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Click Integration services.
  4. Clear the Time Synchronization option.
  5. Exit Hyper-V Manager.
  6. Restart the server.
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REFERENCES

For more information about virtualized domain controllers, see the following Microsoft TechNet article:
Deployment Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd348449(WS.10).aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd348449(WS.10).aspx)
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008, when used with:
    • Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
    • Windows Server 2008 Standard
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, when used with:
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
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Keywords: 
kbhyperv kbtshoot kbexpertiseinter kbsurveynew kbprb KB976924
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