Brickyard (Oracle) Calendar page: http://brickyard.ncsu.edu
ITD applied Daylight Saving Time (DST) patches to the Oracle Calendar server on February 2, 2007 and patched the Web Calendar Service on February 8, 2007. We have tested the calendar service with a variety of clients and are pleased to report that most users will not experience problems with meeting times during the extended DST period (3/11-4/1/07). However, meetings created using the Oracle Connector for Outlook or with the Web Calendar may appear at the wrong time under certain circumstances; see below for more information and recommendations.
Oracle Calendar Windows and Mac Clients
We have observed no issues with incorrect times for meetings created with the Oracle Calendar software for Windows or the Mac, regardless of whether the computer operating system was patched for the DST changes or not. While all Windows and Macintosh computer operating systems should be updated for the DST changes, these Oracle Calendar clients themselves do not require updates.
Web Calendar
On February 8, 2007, ITD patched the Oracle Web Calendar service for the new Daylight Savings Time rules. Meetings that were created prior to February 8, 2007 *using the web calendar and occurring 3/11-4/1/07* will display at the wrong time and must be adjusted manually. Meetings created after February 8, 2007 will be displayed at the correct time.
Oracle Connector for Outlook (OCFO)
Outlook uses the Windows operating system for its time zone information and therefore any meetings occurring during four weeks of extended DST and created prior to applying the Windows DST patch will be created with the wrong time. These errors may not be evident until the meetings are viewed with a patched computer running OCFO, with the native Oracle Calendar software or with the Oracle Web Calendar service. Microsoft has released the Outlook Time Zone Update Tool, but it may return errors to OCFO users. Therefore we recommend using the Oracle Web Calendar to review and modify meetings during the effected four weeks as necessary rather than run the tool.
Recommendations
RECOMMENDED ACTION
To help resolve and avoid problems with meetings displaying at incorrect times, we strongly recommend that our Oracle calendar users take the following steps:
- Put the scheduled meeting time in the titles of meetings occurring during the extended DST period (3/11-4/1/07). That way if the time shows incorrectly on your or others' calendars, your attendees will know the actual time of your meeting.
- If you use Outlook and the Oracle Connector for Outlook, it is especially important that you put meeting times in the meeting titles for these 3 weeks. If in doubt, use the Web Calendar at http://webcal.ncsu.edu to view or edit meetings.
- If you use a PDA or Smartphone to synchronize with Oracle Calendar, be especially cautious of potential errors in meeting times. We recommend that you consult our "PDA & Mobile Device" page for guidance on DST solutions or check with your device vendor.