Click filename to download:
dstshift_1.zip; 10456 bytes; Date/Time: 11-09-2006/02:59PM

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ADJUSTMENT TOOL FOR NETWARE SERVERS
[DSTSHIFT.NLM, DSTCFG.TXT]
November 2006

This utility should only be run on servers that require the time adjustment.

MD5 Checksum: d4462c31aef79273069cfb439e0b0f25

The proposed change to Daylight Saving Time start and end dates in the US will require an adjustment to every NetWare server that is currently using the "old" start/end settings. Novell is providing a tool that can be used to facilitate and automate this change on NetWare servers in the affected time zones called DSTSHIFT. This tool is a standard NLM and can be used on any server running NetWare 4.x, 5.x, or 6.x, including OES/NetWare 6.5. (See note below about iChain and NBO servers)

Note: Does NOT apply to Novell Access Manager (iChain) or Novell/Enterprise Branch Office (NBO/BOMA) server.

The module DSTSHIFT.NLM uses a config file (DSTCFG.TXT) to make the necessary changes on the NetWare server. The configuration file contains the exact text of the two SET parameters needed to adjust the Start and End dates for Daylight Saving Time to the new values, replacing the lines near the top of the server's AUTOEXEC.NCF. The values in the config file delivered with this tool are correct for the current planned adjustment, which specifies that DST will start on the second Sunday in March (MARCH SUNDAY SECOND) and end on the first Sunday in November (NOVEMBER SUNDAY FIRST), affecting most times zones covering the US and Canada.

Since the new settings will take effect immediately when the utility is run, you should not use DSTSHIFT on any server before Monday November 6, 2006. The settings should be changed BEFORE MARCH 11, 2007 which is the new DST Start date for the affected time zones.

If you need to make adjustments to the DSTCFG.TXT file, be aware that the syntax for these SET parameters must closely match the format of the default values provided, including the open and close parentheses.

If the server's time zone does not require adjustments for Daylight Saving Time (that is, if there are no Start and End dates for DST currently in the server's AUTOEXEC.NCF, or if the server's Time Zone setting is not one of the ones that require the 2007 adjustment), there is no need to use the DSTSHIFT tool. (Most of Arizona, for example, does not observe DST, so no adjustment is required for the 2007 change.) The utility will only make changes to servers whose time zone string exactly matches the list of time zones affected by this US-based change (listed below)*. If no matching values are found in the server's current autoexec, or the Time Zone string does not match, no changes will be made by the DSTSHIFT utility.

Important note for iChain (Novell Access Manager) and NBO (Novell Branch Office) servers: The DSTSHIFT utility makes all necessary changes on standard NetWare servers, takes effect immediately and does not require a server re-boot. (Check your server's autoexec.ncf for references to files called DSSTART.NCF and DSEND.NCF. If none are present, the DSTSHIFT utility should work correctly on that server.) NBO and iChain servers store and use DST settings in different locations, and will require additional steps or an alternate method to adjust the start and end dates to the new values. The DSTSHIFT utility alone will not make all the necessary changes for NBO or iChain NetWare servers.

HOW THE DSTSHIFT UTILITY WORKS:

When DSTSHIFT.NLM is loaded, it will look for the file DSTCFG.TXT in the same directory the NLM was loaded from. If no config file is found, the NLM will not load. The server's Time Zone string is compared to the list of time zones affected by the US-based change. If the Time Zone string is not an exact match, a message is added to the log file and no changes are made to the server's settings.

Otherwise, the config file is read and the parameters "SET Start Of Daylight Savings Time" and "SET End Of Daylight Savings Time" are identified, and the server's AUTOEXEC.NCF is examined to make sure the parameters exist there as well. The "old" SET parameter lines are commented out, in the AUTOEXEC.NCF, with an additional line identifying DSTSHIFT as the source of the change, and the new values from DSTCFG.TXT are placed in the file. (If the alternate files DSSTART.NCF and DSEND.NCF are referenced from the autoexec, the changes will be made and comment text added to those files instead.)

Next, the SET parameters from DSTCFG.TXT are set on the server so that the change takes place immediately, and the new values are written to the NetWare Registry.

All of these steps are logged in the file DSTLOG.TXT, which will show up in the same directory (containing DSTSHIFT.NLM and DSTCFG.TXT). If failures occur, that information will be in the log file.

To specify a different location for the CFG and LOG files, you can load the utility DSTSHIFT with an additional path specified on the command line, like this:

       LOAD DSTSHIFT C:\DOS

The NLM unloads itself when the changes are complete. If the changes are not completed, the NLM load will fail and error information will be written to DSTLOG.TXT (in the same directory as DSTCFG.TXT).

Attached: DSTSHIFT.NLM, DSTCFG.TXT

*Time Zones (and NetWare Time Zone string values) affected by the DST Start/End date change:
  US Alaska Time (AKST9AKDT)
  US & Canada Pacific Time (PST8PDT)
  US & Canada Mountain Time (MST7MDT)
  US & Canada Central Time (CST6CDT)
  US & Canada Eastern Time (EST5EDT)
  Atlantic Time (Canada) (AST4ADT) (includes Bermuda)
  Newfoundland Time (CNT3:30NDT)

Note: Type TIME at the NetWare server console to view current values for DST Start and End dates, and the Time Zone string.

Self-Extracting File Name:  dstshift_1.zip

Files Included       Size   Date         Time    Version   Checksum

\
DSTSHIFT_1.ZIP      10456   11-09-2006   02:59PM
\dstshift_1
    DSTCFG.TXT        136   03-27-2006   09:46AM
  DSTSHIFT.NLM      19874   11-09-2006   11:12AM
    README.TXT       5506   11-09-2006   01:35PM