conf/162187: /etc/localtime is never updated

[Gleb Smirnoff]

>Number:         162187
>Category:       conf
>Synopsis:       /etc/localtime is never updated
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       serious
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    freebsd-bugs
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Mon Oct 31 09:30:15 UTC 2011
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Gleb Smirnoff
>Release:        FreeBSD 10.0-CURRENT i386
>Organization:
>Environment:
System:
FreeBSD think 10.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 10.0-CURRENT #12 r226163M: Sun Oct  9 16:17:18 MSD 2011     glebius at think:/usr/obj/usr/src/head/sys/THINKPAD_T60  i386
>Description:
	By default, the /etc/localtime file isn't a symlink but a copy of
	timezone selected upon installation with tzsetup.

	As the system undergoes upgrades, runs installworld, mergemaster,
	etc, the file /etc/localtime is never touched. For example in my
	system it is dated year 2004.

	The problem pops up when the system doesn't change its timezone, but
	the timezone the system resides in is changed itself. For example
	new daylight saving policies are published by state.

	Administator expects that keeping system up to date, or installing a
	package upon /usr/share/zoneinfo would make his system configured to
	an updated timezone.

>How-To-Repeat:
	1) Update your system.
	2) ls -l /etc/localtime.
>Fix:
	1) At job, our network installation process makes /etc/localtime a
	   symlink. All these systems underwent the transition process to
	   new 2011 daylight saving timezone in Russia correctly, unlike
	   the systems installed by sysinstall.
	   We have been running hundreds of installations with symlink for
	   years, and we didn't notice any problems with this approach.

	2) If having symlink to /usr/share/zoneinfo in /etc is not feasible
	   for some reason, then some updating tool should check whether
	   the /etc/localtime copy needs to be updated. Probably mergemaster?
>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: