2.4.1 Date, Time and Time Zone

To adjusts system date and time.

Time zone information is stored in the configuration file /etc/timezone an can be checked using the cat command:

root@server:~# cat /etc/timezone
Europe/Lisbon

To adjust the system timezone, use the dpkg-reconfigure tzdata:

root@server:~# dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

Choose the geographical area:

Then the region or city where the system is physically located:

The current default time zone is now:

Current default time zone: 'Europe/Lisbon'
Local time is now:      Wed Oct 27 11:54:26 WEST 2010.
Universal Time is now:  Wed Oct 27 10:54:26 UTC 2010.

date can be used to show the actual system date and time:

root@server:~# date
Wed Oct 27 12:00:57 WEST 2010

date can also be used to quickly adjust system date and time. The syntax is “date MMDDhhmm”:

root@server:~# date 10271201
Wed Oct 27 12:01:00 WEST 2010