Global Deployment Guide > Configuring Global Applications > Converting Data to UTC >

Enabling UTC

Although optional, it is recommended that you enable UTC. Complete the following steps to enable UTC:

1. Configure the database server to UTC. See Setting the Database to UTC.
2. Set the UTC system preference to True.

   For more information, see Setting UTC System Preferences.

NOTE:  You need to perform additional conversion steps if you are upgrading your Siebel application. For more information, see Enabling the Global Time Zone Feature in an Upgraded Environment.

Setting the Database to UTC

To enable UTC you need to set the operating system time of your database server. The method of setting the system time to UTC on your database server depends on the operating system being used. Many operating systems have a time zone setting called UTC or something similar. Others have time zone options described as Greenwich Mean Time without daylight savings time—this is the equivalent of UTC. It is recommended that you use the system-level time zone unless you need to have a different time zone. In this case, you can set the time zone at the application-level by following the documentation provided by the vendor of your operating system.

NOTE:  You should disable Global Time in Siebel eBusiness Applications, Release 7 if you are unable to reset the system clock to UTC on the server running the Siebel database; or if you are planning to migrate to a system environment in which you will be unable to reset the system clock to UTC on the server running the Siebel database, such as on IBM zSeries (OS/390) or IBM iSeries (AS/400).

For more information, see the Siebel Server Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

Setting UTC System Preferences

To enable UTC you must set the UTC system preference to TRUE and define the Default Time Zone.

• Coordinated Universal Time. Turns on UTC for the entire system. The UTC system preference should be set to the following:
  • For new installations, set the UTC system preference to TRUE.
  • For upgrades, set the UTC system preference to FALSE. For more information on upgrades and UTC, see Enabling the Global Time Zone Feature in an Upgraded Environment.

    NOTE:  The UTC system preference is shipped with a default value of TRUE. The Siebel upgrade utility sets the UTC system preference to FALSE when it completes the standard Siebel upgrade process.

• Default Time Zone. Defines the default time zone. The default time zone is used when the Default Time Zone Field in the current user's profile is NULL.

You can access the System Preference from the application-level menu, by choosing View >Site Map > Application Administration > System Preferences.

See Applications Administration Guide for more information about setting system preferences.

For more information about upgrading historical data to UTC, see Enabling the Global Time Zone Feature in an Upgraded Environment.

Configuring Fields for UTC

Date and time fields in Siebel eBusiness Applications are enabled for UTC. This includes fields that users manually populate by entering date and time data and fields that the system populates by generating a date and time stamp. However, if you create custom date and time fields, it is important to enable them for UTC so that data entered in these fields is consistent with data entered in other date and time fields.

You enable fields for UTC by setting the Physical Type property for the column and the Type property of the field to which the column is mapped.

• Set the Physical Type property of the column to UTC Date Time.
• Set the Type property of the Field object to DTYPE_UTCDATETIME.

After you compile your changes and if the UTC system preference is set to True, the fields will be enabled for UTC.

NOTE:  There are some exceptions where date and time fields are not enabled for UTC.

For more information about configuring fields, see Siebel Tools Reference.