Using Robot/SCHEDULE with the QTIMZON System Value

Before You Begin

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the United States by four additional weeks. Starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

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.

Introduction

IBM introduced the QTIMZON (Time Zone) system value with OS/400 V5R3. The QTIMZON system value has a type of *DATTIME and automatically changes the system time to or from Daylight Saving Time on the appropriate day and time.

Use the OS/400 command, WRKTIMZON, to see information about various time zones. The time zone description currently specified in the QTIMZON system value is indicated by a greater than symbol (>) on the display. Select option 5, Details, for a time zone to see the dates and times when the system time will change for daylight saving time. For example, the time zone value for the Central time zone is QN0600CST2. The default setting for this time zone value changes the time from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

Note: IBM also added a time adjustment feature in V5R3. This runs through the iSeries Navigator and cannot be automated. If you use this feature while Robot/SCHEDULE is active, run times are skewed. Therefore, we do not recommend using the time adjustment feature.

Setting Up Robot/SCHEDULE Jobs

Because Robot/SCHEDULE must be inactive while any changes are made to the system date or time, we suggest you set up two Robot/SCHEDULE jobs to end and restart the product around the time the operating system changes the system time. The examples below show how you might define the Robot/SCHEDULE jobs for the Central time zone.

Start of Daylight Saving Time:

Run Time: 01:58

Run Days: 2 Sunday (run on the second Sunday of each month)

OPAL Code: Skip job if it is not March

IF @@MONNO NE 03

SKIP

END

Robot Command Entry:

CALL PGM(RBT107) (end Robot/SCHEDULE)

DLYJOB DLY(240) (wait four minutes)

CALL PGM(RBT103) (start Robot/SCHEDULE)

To process any jobs that were missed while Robot/SCHEDULE was not running (from 1:58 to 3:02, the new time), do one of the following:

1. On the System Setup General System Defaults panel, enter a Y in the Run Autowork at Startup of ROBOT field. In the Robot/SCHEDULE GUI, select System Setup in the Tree view, right-click on System Defaults and select Properties, and select Run Autowork at startup of SCHEDULE on the Default Options tab.
2. Call the AUTOWORK program. See the Help/FACTS, “Using the AUTOWORK Program in Robot/SCHEDULE to Run Missed Jobs” for more information.
3. On the Control Menu, select option 4, Run Missed Jobs. In the Robot/SCHEDULE GUI, right-click the system name in the Tree view and select Run Missed Jobs. You must select the missed jobs you want to run.

Note: Robot/SCHEDULE must be active to process missed jobs.

End of Daylight Saving Time:

Run Time: 01:58

Run Days: 1 Sunday (run on the first Sunday of each month)

OPAL Code: Skip job if it is not November

IF @@MONNO NE 11

SKIP

END

Robot Command Entry:

CALL PGM(RBT107) (end Robot/SCHEDULE)

DLYJOB DLY(240) (wait four minutes)

CALL PGM(RBT103) (start Robot/SCHEDULE)

If you have defined other jobs to change the time for daylight saving time, you should hold or remove those jobs if you use the QTIMZON system value to change the time. If you do not want the operating system to change the time, set the QTIMZON system value to a value that does not change for daylight
saving time.

The Robot/SCHEDULE Help/FACTS “Using Robot/SCHEDULE to Automate Daylight Saving Time Change” describes how you can use a CL program in Robot/SCHEDULE to change the system time.