Daylight Saving Time (DST)

last updated on: 2008-05-29


Site Organization
This site will help you find information on affected products.

This site is organized into 5 sections:

• Overview - general information on DST changes
• Software - information on Sun Software products
• Storage - information on Sun Storage products
• Systems - information on Sun System products
• FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions on DST related issues

DST/Timezone Changes
See specific product information for details. If you do not find the information you are looking for, please contact your local Sun support organization.

Recent Updates
Pakistan, Morocco, and Mongolia
http://www.avmaroc.com/actualite/heure-dete-comment-a127896.html
http://www.worldtimezone.net/dst_news/dst_news_pakistan01.html

Mitigation is available for the recently announced changes. Sun customers seeking assistance with these events should contact your local Sun support organization.

Chile:
The Chilean government has recently formalized the new DST end dates effective for year 2008 only. The new DST end date was moved from March 9th at 0:00AM local time to March 30th 0:00 local time for Chile/Continental timezone. For Chile/Easter Islands timezone, the new DST end date was moved from March 8th 22:00 local time to March 29th 22:00 hours local time. A Spanish version of the announcement can be found at http://www.horaoficial.cl/cambio.htm. Sun customers in Chile seeking assistance with this event should contact Sun Chile Support Services at 800-FOR-SUN or +56 (2) 3724555. For customers outside of Chile please contact your local Sun support organization.

Sun statement on Y2K38:

Y2K38 reference to the general problem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem

1. 64-bit Solaris systems support 32-bit C, C++, and FORTRAN applications with a 32-bit time_t data type that can handle dates from late 1901 through early 2038, and support 64-bit applications with a 64-bit time_t data type that can handle dates from anytime prior to 1901 and anytime beyond 2038.
2. Java applications always use a 64-bit data type to store time values.
3. The standard utilities and service processors provided on Solaris systems are set up to at least handle dates correctly for the expected life of the system. (I.e., the date utility on current systems is a 32-bit application because current systems are not expected to be in service in 2038.) Some standard utilities and service processors are already written as 64-bit applications (to enable use of the larger address space or for other reasons).
4. User applications that store or process dates beyond the year 2037 or before the year 1902 need to be written as 64-bit applications or as Java applications.

Mitigation is available for the following changes:

Australia - New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania
Iran
Egypt
Brazil
Some counties in Indiana, USA
New Zealand

Argentina
The Argentine government has formalized the intention to change Argentinian timezone from GMT-3 to GMT-2 effective on Dec 30th at 0 AM local time until March 16th 2008. A Spanish version of the announcement can be found at http://www.telam.com.ar/vernota.php?tipo=N&idPub;=87481&id;=201230&sec;=1&dis;=1. Sun customers in Argentina seeking assistance to deal with this event should contact Sun Argentina Support Services at +54-11-4317-5621. For customers outside of Argentina please contact your local Sun support organization.

Argentina - San Luis Providence
On Monday, January 21, 2008 at 0:00 hours the San Luis provincial government in Argentina returned to standard time much earlier than the rest of the country.
http://www.sanluis.gov.ar/notas.asp?idCanal=8141&id;=22834

Sun customers in Argentina seeking assistance to deal with this event should contact Sun Argentina Support Services at +54-11-4317-5621. For customers outside of Argentina please contact your local Sun support organization.

Venezuela
The Venezuelan government has recently formalized the intention to change Venezuela timezone to GMT-4:30 effective on Dec 9th at 3AM local time. A Spanish version of the announcement can be found at http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=112279&lee;=18. Sun customers in Venezuela seeking assistance to deal with this event should contact Sun Venezuela Support Services at +58-212-9053888. For customers outside of Venezuela please contact your local Sun support organization.

Readiness for Former US/Canada/Western Australia DST Start/End Dates and 2007 End Date
Prior to the enactment of legislation that took effect this year, Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the U.S. and Canada would have begun on the first Sunday in April (April 1, 2007) and ended on the last Sunday in October (October 28, 2007). Under the new model, DST began on March 11, 2007 and will end on November 4, 2007. Measures designed to help mitigate DST impact for Sun products in advance of the recent (March 11) changeover also cover upcoming dates. In short, if Sun products were appropriately patched, upgraded, or otherwise prepared per Sun's specific recommendations for the new DST start date, no additional steps or actions may be required.

The US Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) mandates that Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States of America start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November starting in 2007. In 2007, the start and stop dates will be March 11 and November 4, respectively. The start date for DST in the US was previously the first Sunday of April and the end date for DST in the US was previously the last Sunday of October.

The majority of Canadian provinces have announced they will change the dates for DST to align with the U.S. Only the Province of Saskatchewan, which does not observe DST, and Nunavut Territory are not changing.

The Bahamas have announced they will change the dates for DST to align with the U.S.

Western Australia has introduced daylight saving for a trial 3-year period commencing December 3, 2006.

How do I know if my systems could be affected?
The change in DST applies to the specific territory making the announced DST change. The change may also have an impact on operations, customers or vendors based in other territories which interact or integrate with systems and applications in the territories that are making DST changes. If you are in this position but are unsure whether you need to implement DST mitigation, it is recommended you contact the appropriate customer, vendor or operation in the impacted territory for advice.

References
General world timezone resources:

• DST News
• The Olson TZ database
• The conventional tzdata file repository
• About Daylight Saving Time
• When Does Daylight Time Begin and End
• Daylight Saving Time from Wikipedia
• Saving Time, Saving Energy

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Change Log

Note: This Change Log only reflects changes made to this web page. Please refer to product specific information for details of product updates.

• [2007-05-29] Added Pakistan, Morocco, and Mongolia DST info to Recent Updates section.
• [2007-05-05] Added Chilean government new DST end dates effective for year 2008 only.
• [2007-02-20] Added Sun statement on Y2K38 to Recent Updates section.
• [2007-01-28] Added Argentina - San Luis Providence to Recent Updates section.
• [2007-12-28] Added Agentina to Recent Updates section.
• [2007-12-09] Added Venezuela to Recent Updates section.
• [2007-12-04] Removed old section, added Recent Updates section.
• [2007-10-24] Added text to inform of Indiana counties DST availability.
• [2007-08-22] Updated to notify of Mongolia and New Zealand mitigation availability.
• [2007-05-24] Updated to notify of upcoming changes for Mongolia and New Zealand.
• [2007-03-26] Added Readiness for Former DST Start/End Dates and 2007 End Date.