In 2008, U.S. Daylight Saving Time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2. Whether you change the time manually or have the system change the time automatically, the most important thing to keep in mind is that Robot/SCHEDULE must be inactive when the time change is made.

Two ways to set up the time change
Basically, there are two ways to accomplish the time change in Robot/SCHEDULE.

1. Create a CL program to end Robot/SCHEDULE, change the time, and restart Robot/SCHEDULE. (You can set up a Robot/SCHEDULE job to call this program.) This approach is explained in the Help/FACTS “Using Robot/SCHEDULE to automate Daylight Saving Time change.”

Note: You can modify the program to restart additional products so they pick up the time change. Products that benefit from this include: Robot/ALERT, Robot/AUTOTUNE, Robot/CLIENT, Robot/CONSOLE, Robot/MONITOR, Robot/NETWORK, and Robot/REPORTS.

2. Use the QTIMZON system value to make the change. With this approach, you need to create two Robot/SCHEDULE jobs to make Robot/SCHEDULE inactive during the time change. Download the Help/FACTS “Using Robot/SCHEDULE with the QTIMZON System Value” to get the details.

Important note: If you use the QTIMZON system value, IBM has issued the following Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs) that add updated time zone descriptions. After you apply the appropriate PTFs for your OS level, you can change the QTIMZON system value to the new value for your region. Continue to check with IBM in the event that future PTFs become available.

* i5/OS V5R4M0: PTFs SI26040 and SI25990

* i5/OS V5R3M0: PTFs SI26039 and SI25991

There are no changes for the QTIMZON system value in V6R1M0.

If your system uses a Hardware Management Console (HMC), you might need to apply additional fixes.

Unless specifically mentioned above, other Robot products are not affected by the time change. In addition, SEQUEL, ABSTRACT, ESEND, and EASY VIEW are not affected by the time change.

Contributed by Jeanne Thiesfeld, Technical Consultant

Change in U.S. law requires updates

Due to a change in the law (The Energy Policy Act of 2005), Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States has been extended by four additional weeks. Starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March (March 11, 2007) and ends on the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007).

If you use the QTIMZON system value, IBM has issued the following Program Temporary Fixes (PTFs) that add time zone descriptions to comply with the new rules for 2007 and beyond. After you apply the appropriate PTFs for your OS level, you can change the QTIMZON system value to the new value for your region. Note: Continue to check with IBM in the event that future PTFs become available.

• V5R4M0 PTFs SI26040 and SI25990
• V5R3M0 PTFs SI26039 and SI25991

Note: If your system uses a Hardware Management Console (HMC), you might need to apply additional fixes. If the HMC code is at version 6.1 or version 5.2.1, no additional fixes are required. Previous releases of the HMC code require additional fixes to support the changes in DST. Check with IBM for a list of PTFs that might apply to your HMC.

Download Help/FACTS with more information.