Field Notice: FN - 62657 - U.S. Daylight Savings Time Policy Changes Effective March 2007 for Cisco Emergency Responder (CER) Including Java Virtual Machine DST Rule Changes

Revised October 18, 2007

January 31, 2007

NOTICE:

THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.

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Revision History

Revision	Date	Comment
1.3	18-OCT-2007	Added the following to Products affected: CER 1.1(X) CER 1.2(X) Remarks: Earlier than 1.2(3a) Added the following to DDTS information: CSCsi10109, CSCsh20360, CSCsh91735 - Completely changed the workaround / solution section: Added version changes that address defects listed above. Added links to software downloads on CCO Added this note: NOTE: The highest OS version supported by ER 1.2(3a) is OS 2000.4.2(sr16)
1.2	19-MAR-2007	Title - added "Including Java Virtual Machine DST Rule Changes". Products Affected - changed 1.2(3) to 1.2(3a). Problem Description and Workaround/Solution - added Java Virtual Machine update information. Workaround/Solution - changed step 3 regarding 1.2(3a) and added software download link.
1.1	06-FEB-2007	Removed references to summertime and IP SLA
1.0	31-JAN-2007	Initial Public Release

Products Affected

Products Affected	Comments
Cisco Emergency Responder - 1.2(3a)
Cisco Emergency Responder - 1.3(1a)
Cisco Emergency Responder - 1.3(2)
CER - 1.1(X)
CER - 1.2(X)	Earlier than 1.2(3a)

Problem Description

Issue 1: CER Update for U.S. DST policy changes

New U.S. Daylight Savings Time rules go into effect in March 2007. Consequently, customers whose network components rely on the default U.S. clock settings will be affected by the following problem:

For operating systems that have not been updated with the new U.S. DST policy changes, timestamps will exhibit a one hour time clock offset lasting three weeks beginning at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March of 2007. They will also exhibit a one hour time clock offset lasting oneweek beginning at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November.

Any time-dependent applications not running the upgraded workaround will be affected by this problem.

Note that incorrect time on other network devices including CallManager does not affect CER's operation.

Issue 2: Java virtual machine DST rule changes

Cisco Emergency Responder incorrect reports the time for emergency calls. The time displayed by CER in server traces, in the web alert screens and in call history is skewed by one hour from the server time. CER time is still based on the 'old' DST change rule. This problem occurs even if the CER server has been updated with the appropritate Operating System update provided by Cisco.

Root Cause and Solution

The cause of this problem is that the Java virutal machine that Cisco Emergency Responder uses to determine current time is not updated with the new rules for DST changes in the United States.

The patch below in the Workaround/Solution section updates the Java virtual machine with the new DST rules. Applying this patch will resolve the time difference described above.

Background

On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R.6.ENR), was signed into law. Section 110 of this Act modified the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S.

Beginning in March of 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday of March and end the first Sunday of November.

For 2007 and beyond, the daylight saving time period will be:

2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March

to

2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November

For more information on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 visit: H.R. 6 (See Section 110)

Problem Symptoms

Networking systems often make use of local time to mark logs, as well as to schedule certain events.

In addition, inconsistencies between time zone definitions may impact event correlation systems as well as other management systems relating to problem escalation. Having accurately represented local time is a very big concern for most organizations. Local time may be reflected in logs and on phone displays. This is especially true of systems that require accurate time and time stamping for proper operations.

For networking systems, the clock or clock source is often derived from a trusted chronological source such as a private or public Atomic clock, often through Network Time Protocol (NTP). NTP communicates time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), colloquially known as GMT, and thus is not impacted, nor is a workaround for statutory time zone changes. Local time definitions are part of the configuration of most Cisco products.

Network Time Protocol (NTP) Implications

Regardless of whether or not network components are configured to use differing clock sources (i.e. UTC, NTP, etc.), networks still may be affected.

Workaround/Solution

1. For CER versions 1.3(x), please apply OS 2000.4.4(sr4) or OS 2000.4.3a(sr9) or 2000.4.2(sr16) (or higher) which can be downloaded from the links below. These Operating Systems contain the fix for the Daylight Savings issue and CER time stamps will be accurately recorded.

   Unified Communications Manager & Voice Apps Crypto Software (registered customers only)

   OR

   Unified Communications Manager & Voice Apps Crypto Software Archive (registered customers only)

2. For CER version 1.2(3a), please apply OS 2000.4.2(sr16) which can also be downloaded from the archives link above.

3. For all CER versions prior to 1.2(3a), please upgrade to ER 1.3(2), 1.3(1a) or 1.2(3a), available at:

   Cisco Emergency Responder Software Downloads (registered customers only)

   NOTE: The highest OS version supported by ER 1.2(3a) is OS 2000.4.2(sr16).

Solution for issue 2 - The Java virtual machine DST issue:

This patch updates the Java virtual machine with the new DST rules.

Cisco Emergency Responder Software Downloads (registered customers only)

Applying this patch will resolve the time difference described above.

Where to Apply This Update

The update contains a customized version of the original Java update for the DST change. The original Java update can be downloaded from:

Sun Java SE Platform TZupdater Tool

This customized version applies ONLY TO Cisco Emergency Responder SERVERS ONLY. Do not attempt to apply this update on other Cisco or non-Cisco applications.

This update should be applied to all CER servers in a group or cluster.

When to Apply This Update

This update should be applied after the Operating system patch has been applied on the CER server.

The correct time will be reflected by CER only when BOTH the OS patch as well as the Java patch have been applied.

How to Apply This Update

*** This update requires a stop and start of CER servers. Please perform this procedure during a scheduled maintenance window or during off-peak hours.***

1. Unzip the contents of the accompanying zip file onto the CER server hard drive (eg: C:\temp\cer-tzupdater).

   ***Note: DO NOT UNZIP THE FILES TO THE DESKTOP. ***

2. For CER 1.2 (including service releases and patch versions),double-click the cer-1-2-apply-dst-hotfix.bat file to start the update.

3. For CER 1.3 (including service releases and patch versions),double click the cer-1-3-apply-dst-hotfix.bat file to start the update.

Note that this update will not appear in Add Remove Programs or in the Start menu of the CER server. This update cannot be uninstalled.

DDTS

To follow the bug ID link below and see detailed bug information, you must be a registered user and you must be logged in.

DDTS	Description
CSCsf07541 (registered customers only)	MCS-OS Update needed for N America DST changes in 2007
CSCsi10109 (registered customers only)	CER needs Java Patch for DST issues
CSCsh20360 (registered customers only)	Looping in System Date & Time due to Daylight saving correction
CSCsh91735 (registered customers only)	February 2007 cumulative time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems

For More Information

If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:

• Open a service request on Cisco.com
• By email
• By telephone

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