Western Australia (Perth) Daylight Savings Trial from 3rd December 2006 - GroupWise

In a media statement released on November 21, 2006, the Government of Western Australia announced a three-year trial of daylight saving.

The trial will begin on Sunday December 3, 2006 with clocks set forward one hour at 2am. Clocks will be set back one hour at 3am, 25 March 2007.

In 2007 and 2008 daylight saving will begin at 2am on the last Sunday in October, and end at 3am on the last Sunday in March the following year. A referendum will be held in 2009 to decide whether it should become permanent.

Daylight Saving Time transition rules are part of time zone definitions maintained by server and workstation operating systems. In addition, a set of GroupWise time zone definitions is maintained by ConsoleOne. The definition for the Western Australia (AWT) time zone needs to be updated to enable DST and set the transition rules. Calendaring applications, including GroupWise, rely on these definitions to correctly calculate and store appointment times.

Server Operating Systems

The following links provide details for updating servers with the new DST information:

Novell SUSE Linux

Novell NetWare

Microsoft Windows

GroupWise Agents

The GroupWise agents (POA, MTA, GWIA) do not need to be updated. However, an updated WebAccess Agent will be made available at the following locations:

GroupWise 7

GroupWise 6.5

NOTE: The changes made to WebAccess to implement recent changes to US time zones are also required for the Western Australian time zone change. There is no additional update specifically for the Western Australian time zone change.

GroupWise Time Zone definitions maintained by ConsoleOne

The GroupWise time zone definition for the AWT zone, listed as "(GMT +8.0) Perth”, needs to be modified to enable DST and set the transition rules. The time zone definition will need to be changed twice, first for the initial change for 2006, and a second time after DST commences on December 3^rd, 2006 to set the correct DST start date for the following years. Steps for making these changes can be found in the GroupWise Documentation.

For the initial change for 2006, enable DST by checking the"Observe Daylight Saving Time” box, then set the start day and last day to:

Start Day: FirstSunday of Decemberat2.00AM

Last Day: LastSunday of Marchat3.00AM

After updating the time zone database, you should restart the agents to ensure that updated time zone information takes effect. These changes should be made as soon as possible.

For the second change to configure DST for following years, set the start day to:

Start Day: LastSunday of Octoberat2.00AM

After updating the time zone database, you should restart the agents to ensure that updated time zone information takes effect. These changes should be made as soon as possible after December 3, 2006.

GroupWise Clients

It is not necessary to update GroupWise clients. GroupWise clients depend on the workstation's operating system for time zone information. Updating the operating system's time zone information helps ensure that GroupWise appointments are scheduled correctly.

Workstation Operating Systems

Windows Workstations:

Microsoft has released an update for the Western Australian time zone change.

Linux (SLED) Workstations

Linux workstations that are set for automatic update have likely already been updated with correct time zone information. Information on updating Linux workstations can be found here.

Consequences of Using old DST information

Before a workstation's time zone is updated, an appointment scheduled for a date between the DST start and end dates could be off by one hour. For example, an appointment scheduled to occur between December 3, 2006 and March 25, 2007 (the DST start and end dates for 2006), will be scheduled at the wrong time because wrong DST information will be used. This will only be apparent after updating to the new DST transition rules. After a workstation's time zone definitions are updated, appointments can be correctly scheduled for this time period.

What is the best way to handle this?

The best course of action is to update workstation time zone definitions in a timely manner. The sooner this is done, the less likely it is that users will create appointments in the affected time periods.

Users may have already created appointments in these time periods, or may do so before the workstation's time zones are updated. After a workstation is updated, users should be advised to inspect appointments in those time periods and adjust them if necessary.

Steps for dealing with this issue are:

1. Update workstation time zone definitions as soon as possible.

2. Advise users to inspect appointments in the affected time periods and, if necessary, adjust them.

3. Advise users to reset their work schedule time zone.

Adjusting appointments that are mis-scheduled

Adjusting Posted Appointments:

1. Drag and drop the appointment to the new time

   or

2. Open the appointment, modify the time, then post.

Adjusting Sent Appointments:

1. Drag and drop the appointment to the new time. When prompted to edit, choose no. The old appointment is retracted and the new one sent.

   or

2. Select the appointment. Choose the Resend menu option. Modify the time (and other changes if desired) then click Send. Choose Yes to retract.

Adjusting Posted All-Day Events:

1. Drag/Drop the all-day event onto the same day.

   or

2. Open the item, click the all-day event check box, then click Post.

Adjusting Sent All-Day Events.

1. Select the all-day event. Choose the Resend menu option. Click the all-day event check box, then click Send. Choose Yes to retract.

Adjusting Received Appointments or All-Day Events.

1. Contact the organizer and ask him or her to adjust and resend the item.

NOTE: You have no control over the calendars of external recipients of appointments in your users' calendars, so your users will have to confirm appointment times with all external recipients regardless of what you do to implement this time zone change for your GroupWise system.

Setting the Work Schedule time zone

The current work schedule time zone is displayed next to the "Work Schedule” group box title on the Tools – Options – Date and Time dialog. Even if the work schedule time zone displays correctly, performing the following steps ensures that the correct time zone information, along with DST transition rules, is stored correctly.

1. Choose Tools | Options | Date and Time...

2. Change the start/end time (or uncheck a workday).

3. Click OK.

4. Choose Date and Time...

5. Set Start/End back to what it should be.

6. Click OK. Click OK.