When operating a guest virtual machine (VM) in VirtualBox, ensuring efficient time synchronization is crucial for maintaining consistency and performance. One effective way to reduce the time it takes for a guest VM to sync its clock with the host system is by adjusting the time synchronization threshold. By setting an optimal threshold, you prompt the VM to sync more frequently, preventing significant time drift.

To achieve this, you can employ the VBoxManage command from the host machine. The command to reduce the time sync threshold is as follows:

vboxmanage guestproperty set {VM_NAME_HERE} "/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/--timesync-set-threshold" 30000

Replace {VM_NAME_HERE} with the name of your specific virtual machine. The value 30000 represents the threshold in milliseconds, meaning if the time drift exceeds 30 seconds, the guest additions time sync service adjusts the VM’s clock. By decreasing the threshold, you ensure more frequent synchronization, enhancing application performance and reliability in time-sensitive environments.