There are several different ways to manage time in Linux. This quick tip will show you how to quickly change the local time to the correct time zone for the server. In this Linux tip I’ll show you how to change the localtime to your (or a) current time zone.
Location of the local time file
Linux looks at /etc/localtime to determine the current time of your machine. This can either be a symbolic link to the correct time zone or a direct copy of the time zone file.
Linux looks at /etc/localtime to determine the current time of your machine. This can either be a symbolic link to the correct time zone or a direct copy of the time zone file.
Timezone files are located in /usr/share/zoninfo/
For this tip we will assume your server is located in America and will be under the Chicago CST zone.
For this tip we will assume your server is located in America and will be under the Chicago CST zone.
I change the Linux time zone by copying or making a symbolic link to from /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Chicago to /etc/localtime
Two methods to do this
cp /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Chicago /etc/localtime
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Chicago /etc/localtime
Type w to change the new time and you’re done!
