ITMS - How to Determine the Difference Between Local Client Time and UTC

Products

• Server Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

How to determine the time difference between a local client machine and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) using data reported by the Symantec Management Agent.

Environment

Applies To

• Symantec Management Platform

• Symantec Management Agent

Cause

n/a

Resolution

When the Symantec Management Agent reports basic inventory data from a client machine, it includes timezone information, specifically the timezone bias in minutes. This bias accounts for both the standard time zone offset and any active Daylight Saving Time (DST).

The data can be retrieved from the Aex AC Identification data class table in the Symantec database.

Timezone Bias

The timezone bias value represents the total number of minutes the client time is offset from UTC. This includes:

• Standard timezone offset (e.g., UTC-5 for EST)

• Daylight Saving Time adjustment (typically +60 minutes when active)

Example:
A client in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4 during DST) will report a timezone bias of -240 minutes.

Location in the Database

The relevant data can be found in the following table:

• Table: Inv_AeX_AC_Identification

• Field: [Timezone Bias]

This field reflects the current effective offset from UTC in minutes, including DST if it is currently observed on the client.