>Number: 162187
>Category: conf
>Synopsis: /etc/localtime is never updated
>Confidential: no
>Severity: serious
>Priority: medium
>Responsible: freebsd-bugs
>State: open
>Quarter:
>Keywords:
>Date-Required:
>Class: sw-bug
>Submitter-Id: current-users
>Arrival-Date: Mon Oct 31 09:30:15 UTC 2011
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator: Gleb Smirnoff
>Release: FreeBSD 10.0-CURRENT i386
>Organization:
>Environment:
System:
FreeBSD think 10.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 10.0-CURRENT #12 r226163M: Sun Oct 9
16:17:18 MSD 2011 glebius@think:/usr/obj/usr/src/head/sys/THINKPAD_T60 i386
>Description:
By default, the /etc/localtime file isn't a symlink but a copy of
timezone selected upon installation with tzsetup.
As the system undergoes upgrades, runs installworld, mergemaster,
etc, the file /etc/localtime is never touched. For example in my
system it is dated year 2004.
The problem pops up when the system doesn't change its timezone, but
the timezone the system resides in is changed itself. For example
new daylight saving policies are published by state.
Administator expects that keeping system up to date, or installing a
package upon /usr/share/zoneinfo would make his system configured to
an updated timezone.
>How-To-Repeat:
1) Update your system.
2) ls -l /etc/localtime.
>Fix:
1) At job, our network installation process makes /etc/localtime a
symlink. All these systems underwent the transition process to
new 2011 daylight saving timezone in Russia correctly, unlike
the systems installed by sysinstall.
We have been running hundreds of installations with symlink for
years, and we didn't notice any problems with this approach.
2) If having symlink to /usr/share/zoneinfo in /etc is not feasible
for some reason, then some updating tool should check whether
the /etc/localtime copy needs to be updated. Probably mergemaster?
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted:
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