I am trying to run ntp on the ESXi 4 server but seem to have an issue. In "Time Configuration" of the host, I have setup the NTP server and it NTP service is running. But when I look at the properties, NTP Configuration shows "--" for Outgoing Port and also Protocol.
To fix this, I saw that you can go into Security Profile and then Firewall and then enable the NTP Client there which will allow UDP port 123. I had done this many months ago on my own test server and it works fine. So it looks like this is what I need to do to get NTP running. But the problem now is that when I go to Security Profile, I only see "Services." I do see that "Firewall" shows up for a second but then disappears.
I assume that the firewall service is not running according to these links:
http://buildvirtual.net/working-with-the-esxi-firewall/
VMware KB: Troubleshooting the firewall policy on an ESX host
But I can't get into the shell with Putty and enable the firewall because it also looks like the shell service isn't running. But I can't turn this on from the vSphere Client because it isn't listed under services. So at this point, I'm not sure how I can complete NTP and get it running, even though the NTP Daemon service is running. The time is off so I believe it is the firewall.
Question: Is there another way to enable the firewall so I can allow NTP? Or is there another way I can get NTP up if I can't get into the shell?