What causes SDMS database time zone discrepancies? - WKB193673
ENVIRONMENT
- NuGenesis 8 SDSM
- NuGenesis 9 SDMS
ANSWER
Print times recorded in SDMS
NuGenesis SDMS was designed to work across multiple time zones and also using Citrix deployment. We have many customers using this today without concerns. Waters acknowledges that there may be a limited number of architecture/configuration combinations where SDMS could display unexpected times. Within this document we provide recommendations to ensure that SDMS is working as designed to meet compliance requirements.
How NuGenesis SDMS records time
Most timestamps in NuGenesis SDMS are recorded based on the time of the database and are thus consistent and entirely compliant to data integrity expectations. However, in order to meet customers' requests, actions such as print will use "local" time (where the UNIFY application is installed). For normal UNIFY clients this could be designated as keyboard time. In the case of a Citrix deployment, this is the time of the Citrix server
A "typical" global deployment has the Citrix server and keyboard in the same time zone, with the database potentially in a central location. In this case the Citrix server and the keyboard time are identical.
Additionally, Citrix-published applications are normally all recorded using Citrix Server time only. This is how Waters designed Empower and how our customers expect Empower to behave.
This diagram shows how SDMS assigns and calculates Print time:
The observed time
Waters made the assumption that true keyboard time was unreachable (where the keyboard was not co-located in the same timezone as the Citrix server) and the Citrix configuration policies would force the first three columns to match the Citrix server timestamp. Applying the correct GMT offset would yield the correct results.
Customers have highlighted that the keyboard time zone is reachable and reported in SDMS when the Citrix configuration is set to "read" it. When Citrix sessions and users' keyboards are in different time zones, the correct keyboard time zone offset is not reachable and SDMS uses the incorrect Server time zone correction.
Ensuring that NuGenesis is configured to work as designed to meet compliance requirements
If Citrix Servers are being accessed from keyboards/Citrix sessions from an alternative time zone, we can recommend two possible approaches:
Recommendation 1
Ensure that all users are directed to a Citrix Server/Farm located in their home time zone
Recommendation 2
Use the Citrix configuration polices to force all times to be synchronized to the time zone of the Citrix Server.
When either of these recommendations is implemented, all time stamps involved with printing data from remote times zones are secure and consistent and meet all regulatory expectations. The explanation that the Citrix server time is used is a very common solution for regulated applications, even if the local session or keyboard time may have been different.
Effects on the other applications using the same Citrix servers
Other applications being published on a Citrix server will be affected by this change if they are programmed to record the session/keyboard time.
However, Empower reports only Citrix server time for all actions, regardless of where the keyboard is located. Empower does not use Citrix-calculated times or time zone offsets at all. At installation, the correct time zone is manually assigned and exists in perpetuity. All times are calculated as database time with the manually set offset. Configuration settings on the Citrix servers have no affect on Empower recorded times.
The Future solution
Although Waters knows that true keyboard time is accessible through SDMS, the application was not designed to take advantage of this. This requirement will be considered for future releases but is currently not supported in NuGenesis SDMS.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
id193673, SDMS, SDMS8, SDMS8NU, SUPISDMS, SUPNG