Just a follow on from my last blog. It looks like a potential issue with this tool
Currently, MSEXTMZ.exe and MSEXTMZCFG.exe will NOT run correctly if they are installed in the default installation directory (i.e. c:program filesmsextmz). To workaround this problem, please install the two applications into the following directory: C:msextmz.
At last we have the Exchange DST tool and it comes with a nice new KB http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=930879. I was wrong! I originally thought it might just use the outlook tool, but this is a totally standalone tool. Also it needs to be installed on a desktop and NOT the exchange server. It looks like a well planned tool. I will test it later and let you know how I get on.
Also “both the Outlook tool and the Exchange tool can be run in the same environment. If you run the Exchange tool on a mailbox that has already been updated by the Outlook tool, or viceversa, you will experience no side effects.” which is good!
The Exchange Calendar Update Tool enables administrators to update, using the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft® Office Outlook®, multiple user mailboxes, thereby avoiding the challenges involved with broadly deploying the Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool to all end-users.
IMPORTANT: Before you run the Exchange Calendar Update tool, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article 930879, “How to address daylight saving time by using the Exchange Calendar Update Tool,” for complete information about potential effects on your IT environment and user base.
After installing the Windows and Exchange daylight saving time (DST) updates, all old appointments (both recurring and single instance) that occur during the extended DST period will be incorrectly displayed as having moved back one hour. These appointments will need to be updated so that they display correctly in Outlook, Outlook Web Access, and CDO-based applications. The Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool enables end-users to update their own calendars. (For Outlook 2007 the time zone update feature is built into the application.)
The Exchange Calendar Update Tool enables administrators to avoid the challenges involved with broadly deploying the Outlook tool to all users and ensuring that each user runs the tool correctly
I knew about this, but didn’t know it was public!
Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb//931975
… In SQL Server 2005 and in SQL Server 2000, the SQL Server database engine uses the following two forms of timer to generate time information:
In the high-resolution timer, the timer resolution is based on the Read Time-Stamp Counter (RDTSC) instruction of the CPU. In the low-resolution timer, the timer resolution is based on the GetTickCount function in the Microsoft Windows API.
… When you use Transact-SQL statements to perform time calculations that are based on system-provided date and time functions, you must carefully investigate the statements. Specifically, if you have written DST times in hard code in the application logic, the DateDiff and DateAdd system functions are not DST aware.
So this came out on the 16th Jan 2007, but I have just noticed the important bit in bold in it.
IMPORTANT
If you are using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and you install this update, third-party services such as BlackBerry or GoodLink may be affected. Shared mailboxes and Microsoft Entourage delegation scenarios may also be affected.
Click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base before you install this update.
912918 Users cannot send e-mail messages from a mobile device or from a shared mailbox in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003
So SQL doesn’t escape the dreaded DST2007!!!
Source: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=931815
Starting in the spring of 2007, daylight saving time (DST) start dates and end dates for the United States will change to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DST dates in the United States will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November).
The update that this article describes modifies the time zone data for SQL Server Notification Services to account for the United States DST change. This article applies to the following versions of Microsoft SQL Server Notification Services:
Okay so I have an Exchange 2003 Virtual Server image and I thought I would see what the deal was.
So I created a reoccuring meeting request over the time change period. Then Installed the Windows 2003 Patch with no problem. Next was the Exchange 2003 Patch. That wanted me to close down w3wp.exe, MMC and MOMHost. Interesting as the MMC wasn’t running :-| I chose continue and the patch installed and wanted a reboot!
So next was the outlook tool. It’s a mere 8.27mb in size, and you see how large the installed files are below. It looks like a universal binary file that contains both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the tool in one package. Once you install the exe it drops two files into the folder below:
It will then run tzmove.exe and you get this:
If you click on the Icon in the bar on the top left you can select the about screen:
Choose the options you want and then click OK. You will see the progress screen:
In my case it didn’t make any changes. Don’t know why? and you get this dialog
It does have a command line too, KB 931667 was updated on the 28th Jan 2007. About 3/4 of the way down you see: Command-line parameter options.
On the downloadable package you have 3 switches
/extract, /quite and /?. I suspect /quite will be the most used one. It will do a silent install and run, and drops a log file in to %temp%. It actually looks like it always generates a log file, even if you use the GUI! The /extract switch extract the file to an MSI
Once you have installed the update, you have two switches to use. /ONLYRECURRING and /MAXAPPTS. Check KB 931667 for what they do, but it seems that the initiate the GUI.
Have a play and let me know how you get on
At last! This slipped out over night. All we need now is the Exchange version. Source: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e343a233-b9c8-4652-9dd8-ae0f1af62568&DisplayLang=en
Specifics:
If you use Exchange and Outlook, then YOU NEED TO watch this WebCast! Why oh Why do the damm times for these WebCast SUCK of everyone outside of the US? This one is at 2100-2200 on Friday 2nd Feb 2007
This Support WebCast will help you understand how Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft Office Outlook are approaching this transition. It will provide more details about which versions of Exchange and Outlook versions are affected. The WebCast also talks about the requirements and considerations you should be aware of when installing the fixes. It will also discuss the most common scenarios that Exchange Administrators could face in getting ready for the change.
Okay some more information for you. Interesting how this coule be a one off as “Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete”
UPDATE #1: Just found this too. it would seem that TWO calendar update tool are going to be avaialble. It looks like the Outlook Tool will run against a user, so I suspect the Exchange Tool will just do a batch conversion for ALL the users on a server. One for users and one for administrators to run. To modify a users mailbox, the Exchange Tool is going to need “god” access to all the mailboxes, so you will need an account setup with the right permissions. What will be interesting is how the tool works? Will it just update the meeting request or will it update and then send out a change to all the attendees? If it does the later and you batch the messages on the server, make sure you have enough log disk space and you do it out of hours. We will have to wait and see what the tool does. Check out: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931667. Right down the bottom. Q: How does the Exchange tool compare to the Time Zone Data Update Tool?
A: The Exchange tool will allow you to apply the time zone update in ‘silent mode’ to a set of chosen mailboxes on the Exchange server. This will mean the user will not have a chance to uncheck appointments that do not need updating.
The Exchange tool only works on server-side calendars. This means that any local Calendars that a user might have, such as in PST stores, can only be updated by the client-side Time Zone Data Update Tool.
and in http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102086071033.aspx under “Steps you need to take” #4 Run the Time Zone Data Update Tool to update Outlook calendars that are saved on servers running Exchange and on individual computers. End users use the Time Zone Data Update Tool. IT administrators use the Exchange version of the update tool.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dst
Rationales for DST: One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. A 1975 United States Department of Transportation study showed that DST would theoretically reduce the country’s electricity usage by 1% from March to April, if implemented during these months. These numbers have been supported in Mexico, which began implementing daylight saving time in 1996. Evaluations show national savings of 0.7% of national electric consumption (1.3 billion kWh (TWh)) and reduction of peak load by 500 MW.
Part of the reason that it is normally observed only in the early spring, summer, and early autumn instead of the winter months is that the amount of energy saved by experiencing sunset one hour later would be negated by the increased need for artificial morning lighting due to a later sunrise. During the summer most people would wake up after the sun rises, regardless of whether daylight saving time is in effect or not, so there is no increased need for morning lighting to offset the afternoon drop in energy usage. Another reason for not observing daylight saving time in the winter is concern about children walking to school in the dark.
Another argued benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities. Most people plan outdoor activities during sunlight hours. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people’s risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas).
When the U.S. went on extended DST in 1974 and 1975 in response to the 1973 energy crisis, Department of Transportation studies found that observing DST in March and April saved 10,000 barrels of oil a day, and prevented about 2,000 traffic injuries and 50 fatalities saving about U.S. $28 million in traffic costs.
Source: http://www.worldtimezone.com/daylight.html
| Date | Country changing DST time | Description |
| Mar 2007 | USA | All States except: i) Hawaii ii) Arizona (the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona observes DST). iii) American Samoa, Guam, Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands Dates: 11-Mar 2007 to 04-Nov 2007 |
| Mar 2007 | Canada | All States except Saskatchewan and parts of Quebec, B.C., and Ontario Dates: 11-Mar 2007 to 04-Nov 2007 |
| Mar 2007 | Bermuda | All of Bermuda Dates: 11-Mar 2007 to 04-Nov 2007 |
DST 2007 changes for US, Canada and Bermuda
This information applies to users in the areas of the United States and Canada that observe daylight saving time.
For the latest information on DST 2007 check out: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx
On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress.
Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.
Canada and Bermuda made similar changes to their DST rules to be consistent with the U.S. time changes.
The 2007 daylight saving time implementation is as follows:
Clocks change at 02:00 A.M. local time.
On March 11, 2007, clocks will move forward one hour from 01:59 A.M. to 03:00 A.M. On November 4, 2007, clocks will move back one hour from 01:59 A.M. to 01:00 A.M.
This change affects the following time zones:
GMT-3:30 Newfoundland
GMT-4 Atlantic
GMT-5 Eastern US
GMT-6 Central US
GMT-7 Mountain US
GMT-8 Pacific US
GMT-9 Alaska
How do DST changes affect I
T systems worldwide?
Source: http://www.ibm.com/support/alerts/daylightsavingstimealert.html
Date and time processing functions in systems and applications in countries implementing the new DST rules (U.S., Canada, Bermuda) are affected. Systems and applications in countries not implementing the DST changes could be affected if they support users, transactions, or applications involving countries that are implementing the new DST rules. For example, scheduling or synchronizing problems may arise where systems make or check date or time stamps relating to transactions in other countries, or there may be difficulty in applications that perform scheduling calculations. Any time-sensitive functions could be impacted by this change.
DST rules affect date and time processing functions in computers and applications. If not set properly, depending upon how uniformly updates are applied, the time could be incorrect by one hour for four weeks each year.
Areas Impacted by this change in daylight saving time:
Preparing for daylight saving time changes in 2007 (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx)
| Windows Vista | No update needed |
| Windows XP (SP2), Windows Server 2003, Windows Server SP1 |
Update available 2007 time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388) |
| Windows 2000 | Update available – (under Extended Hotfix Support) |
| Windows XP SP1 | Not Supported |
| Windows NT 4 | Not Supported |
| Outlook |
Outlook 2007: No update needed. Addressing daylight saving time using the Outlook Time Zone Data Update Tool (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/931667) Prepare Outlook calendar items for daylight saving time changes in 2007 (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102086071033.aspx) |
| Exchange Server | Exchange Server 2007: No update needed. Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2: Exchange update (addressing changes in the United States and Canada, excluding Newfoundland) is available through CSS, Microsoft Update (currently as an optional update), and the Microsoft Download Center. For more information, refer to KB article 926666. Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1: SP Service Support will be retired January 9, 2007 so Exchange 2003 SP1 is not eligible to receive this update. Exchange Server 2000/Exchange Conferencing Server 2000: Updates are available now. Exchange 2000 is under Extended Support. Customers with Extended Hotfix Support Agreements (EHSAs) can request hotfix through their Technical Account Managers. Exchange Server 5.5: The update is available now. Exchange 5.5 is under Custom Support phase until January 2008. Customers with Customer Support Agreements (CSAs) can request a hotfix through their Technical Account Managers. Exchange Server 2003 Lotus Notes Connector: Download available at Microsoft Download Center (search for “Exchange Server 2003 Connector for Lotus Notes”). Exchange versions out of mainstream support without EHSA or CSA: No workaround or update available. |
| Windows SharePoint Services | Windows SharePoint Services 3.0: No update needed. Windows SharePoint Services 2.0: A single global time zone update including changes for the United States and Canada DST change will be made available on January 9 via Microsoft Download Center and on January 29 through Microsoft Update as a critical update. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924881) |
| Microsoft Dynamics CRM | Microsoft CRM 3.0: Update delivered via Hotfix available in March 2007. See KB article 925874. |
| Windows Mobile | Windows Mobile: See KB article 923953. |
| Windows CE based devices | Windows CE: See KB article 923027. |
| RIM Blackberry | Impact of North American Daylight Saving Time changes in 2007 on BlackBerry device users. |
This is turning into a REALLY REALLY BIG issue.
To be clear the new DST change periods are: March 11, 2007 to April 1, 2007 and from October 28, 2007 to November 4, 2007.
| New DST Start
March 11, 2007 |
Previous DST Start
April 1, 2007 |
Previous DST End
October 28, 2007 |
New DST End
November 4, 2007 |
So Microsoft Articles to date are:
Blackberry Articles: US Daylight Saving Time Changes and Blackberry
IBM Articles: Lotus software- Daylight Saving Time (DST) changes for 2007 will affect Lotus software products
Also remember that any other Application that uses CDO will need to be updated. Check with your Application vendor first.
Outlook is looking like it’s going to be a pain in the butt. The problem is that when you apply the Windows Operating System Update for DST 2007 you will have Outlook calendar appointments off by 1 hour during the DST Change periods.
The solution requires three things to be in place for Outlook calendar items to be updated properly.
If all of these patches and tools are not used together, then there will be calendar inconsistencies. If you install update 928388 or 914387 for the operating system without doing anything else, users are notice that the meetings during the DST change periods are ahead by 1 hour. This is expected behavior without installing the Exchange server hotfix 926666 patch and using the Outlook or Exchange tool to rebase the appointments that are in the DST change period.
The Outlook tool is due to be released in January 2007 through the Microsoft Download Center that can update calendar items in Outlook to accommodate the changes in DST during the Extended DST period. This program is called the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft® Office Outlook® (Time Zone Data Update Tool).
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, the newest version of Outlook, has the ability to automatically detect the DST change and prompt the process that updates a person’s calendar to conform to the new daylight saving time rules. However, the Time Zone Data Update Tool contains enhancements that improve upon what is available in Outlook 2007and should be run instead of the out-of-the-box Outlook 2007 experience.
The Time Zone Data Update Tool is necessary to update calendar items that occur during the Extended DST periods for the following earlier versions of Microsoft Outlook:
The following table describes the situations when you should download and run the Time Zone Data Update Tool:
| Outlook 2007 | Outlook 2003, Outlook 2002, Outlook 2000 |
|---|---|
| Not required to use the Time Zone Data Update Tool. But it is highly recommended because it includes numerous improvements. | Run the Time Zone Data Update Tool. |
| In environments running Microsoft Exchange, a special version of the Time Zone Data Update Tool may be used to update multiple Exchange mailboxes on the server. | In environments running Microsoft Exchange, a special version of the Time Zone Data Update Tool may be used to update multiple Exchange mailboxes on the server. |
Check out the scenarios at the bottom of 931667 and MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102086071033.aspx
In the mean I will keep an eye on the Exchange Download Centre (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?freetext=&productID=899CABAF-A55E-402B-AA90-5114BD4C014E&categoryId=&period=120&sortCriteria=date&nr=50&DisplayLang=en)
flaphead.com 