This article explores the Time Management component of IBM Systems Director Navigator for i5/OS and how you can use it to manage time. IBM Systems Director Navigator for i5/OS is the new robust web console available in V6R1 to help you manage your System i. If you prefer the Windows-based client, System i Navigator, rest assured that the following Time Management features are available for that as well. You can find the Time Management function on the Configuration and Service tab, as Figure 1 shows. Within Time Management are two powerful functions: Time Adjustment and Time Zones (Figure 2).

Time Zones

The Time Zones function contains a list of all available time zone descriptions on your system, both IBM-supplied and any you have created on your own. From this interface, which Figure 3 shows, you can specify a time zone for your system to use. You are effectively setting the time zone (QTIMZON) system value.

A time zone description contains several important pieces of information that provide the correct time in your business environment. A few examples include

• the offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
• Daylight Saving Time and the ability to configure start/end dates and time
• year offset (the difference in years between the current Gregorian year and the current year in the calendar used with the time zone for the system — new in V6R1)
• Daylight Saving Time shift (the number of minutes that local time moves forward or backward when DST begins or ends, respectively — new in V6R1)
• alternate name (the corresponding Olson database entry that Java uses — new in V6R1)

You can use an IBM-supplied time zone to run your environment, or you can create your own unique time zone. All time zone identifiers that begin with the character Q are reserved for IBM. The New, New Based On, Edit, and Delete buttons help you create and manage time zones on your system.

The time zone information at the top of your screen indicates your system's current time zone (QTIMZON system value). This system value specifies the name of the time zone description used to calculate local system time. To change this value, select a time zone in your list and click the Change System Value button. This change takes effect immediately. You must have All Object (*ALLOBJ) special authority to change this value.

Because of the close relationship between time zones and time-related system values, the Time Zones function (as well as Time Adjustment) is also accessible from the Date and Time category of System Values (also found under Configuration and Service), as Figure 4 shows.

Time Adjustment

The Time Adjustment function in Figure 5 provides a powerful interface that lets you make a time adjustment on your system while avoiding skipping or repeating time. This adjustment feature incrementally speeds up or slows down the clock so that time is gradually adjusted to the desired value. A two-hour time adjustment (negative or positive), as Figure 6 indicates, is the maximum adjustment allowed. Manually changing the time of day system value results in a single instantaneous time change, which can sometimes cause application problems because time can be skipped or repeated. Using the Time Adjustment function helps avoid some of these problems. However, keep in mind that using the Time Adjustment function takes a certain amount of real time to complete. For example, adjusting time by one second could actually take 10 seconds of real time to complete. The Time Adjustment function dialog box tells you the approximate amount of time it takes to complete the alteration (see Estimated time until completion in Figure 7). At any time during an adjustment, you can use the Stop button to end the modification. Only one time change can run at once.

I hope that you find the Time Management functions easy to use and consider them useful tools for managing time on your System i. For further information, please see the corresponding topics in the IBM System i and i5/OS Information Center.

Stacy L. Benfield is a staff software engineer for IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. She is currently working in i5/OS development, with primary focus on work management. Previously, she worked with customers in the System i Benchmark Center and spent time in the performance area.

A New Twist to SBMJOB

A new parameter, accounting code (ACGCDE), has been added to the widely used Submit Job (SBMJOB) command in V6R1. An accounting code is an identifier used in the job accounting function for gathering information about system resources that a job uses. The job accounting function is optional. The accounting code can be specified either on a user profile or in a job description. A specific job's accounting code can be changed with the Change Accounting Code (CHGACGCDE) command.

Before V6R1, a job that was started with the SBMJOB command would run under the accounting code of the user who submitted the job, not the user the job actually runs under. For example, if user QSYSOPR submitted a job to run under USER123, the job would run with QSYSOPR's accounting code, not USER123's.

The updated SBMJOB implementation in V6R1 provides a way for a user to specify a different accounting code on the command, rather than using the accounting code from the job issuing the SBMJOB command.

The ACGCDE parameter lets the user specify one of the following options:

• *CURRENT — uses the accounting code from the job issuing the SBMJOB command (this is the default SBMJOB behavior)
• *USRPRF — uses the accounting code specified on the user profile under which the submitted job initially runs
• *JOBD — uses the accounting code specified in the job description used with the submitted job
• A 15-character accounting code

— S.B.