VPS Shows the Wrong Time

The VPS system clock is synced with the dom0 (host) clock unless an independent “wall” clock is specified. This is done by performing the following:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/xen/independent_wallclock

To make this change persist on boot, edit /etc/sysctl.conf and add the following on a new blank line:

xen.independent_wallclock = 1

Then you may set the time as you desire, or sync it with an NTP server, e.g.:

ntpdate ntp1.ndchost.com

Syncing your time via NTP is considered good practice to ensure proper server functionality. By default the ntpdate command is not installed, so you will need to add it. The process dependson your distro. For CentOS/RedHat/Fedora Core:

yum -y install ntp

For Ubuntu/Debian:

apt-get install ntp

For cPanel servers:

Log into the WHM and go to Main » Server Configuration » Server Time and select Sync with Time Server.