Setting the time zone before upgrading to IBM i V5R3, or later

If you have a previous release of the IBM® i operating system installed and are upgrading to IBM i V5R3, or later, you need to set the time zone before your system is upgraded to the new release. This is the preferred method because your time zone can be set correctly as soon as the upgrade is complete.

To set the time zone before upgrading, you must have a supported release for the IBM i software upgrade.

To define the time zone object for the system before an IBM i software upgrade, create a data area named QWCTIMZON in the system (QSYS) library. When you perform an initial program load (IPL), the system uses this object when it attempts to determine the default value for the Time zone (QTIMZON) system value.

To create the data area for the time zone, complete the following steps:

Sign on to your system using a 5250 emulator session.
Type the following command and press F4:
```
CRTDTAARA
```
Specify QWCTIMZON for the name of the Data Area (DTAARA).
Specify QSYS for the library of the Data Area (DTAARA).
Specify *CHAR for the Type parameter.
Press Enter.
Specify 16 for the Length parameter.

For the Initial Value, use the following format:

Byte 1:	Sign for current Offset from UTC (either '+' or '-')
Byte 2-3:	Hours for current Offset from UTC (00 to 12)
Byte 4:	Time separator
Byte 5-6:	Minutes for current Offset from UTC (00 to 59)
Byte 7-16:	Time zone description name, left-aligned and padded on the right with blanks.

Table 1. Example
Byte	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	-	0	6	:	0	0	Q	N	0	6	0	0	C	S	T

Press Enter to create the data area.

During the upgrade of the operating system, the system uses this data area to set the Time zone (QTIMZON) system value.