Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2021 13:36:33 -0700 From: Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> To: Stefan Esser <se@freebsd.org> Cc: FreeBSD Hackers <freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org>, Hal Murray <hmurray@megapathdsl.net> Subject: Re: How does the time zone info get updated? Message-ID: <CANCZdfqv670zxD2gb2q7HU%2B5D2wJeskuTDdmWPf5JyP_ZkLa6w@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <47c37f75-e082-7a34-7eb6-3ee2a4ade395@freebsd.org> References: <20210105075109.A412C40605C@ip-64-139-1-69.sjc.megapath.net> <4e6721bc-e593-76b6-90f8-03d96486dc28@freebsd.org> <CANCZdfrsxY2-h4NmcnaC16Y_tdpQuxEjPCYgeMvdfqoz5AmzRw@mail.gmail.com> <47c37f75-e082-7a34-7eb6-3ee2a4ade395@freebsd.org>
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On Tue, Jan 5, 2021 at 12:51 PM Stefan Esser <se@freebsd.org> wrote: > Am 05.01.21 um 16:49 schrieb Warner Losh: > > > > > > On Tue, Jan 5, 2021, 4:24 AM Stefan Esser <se@freebsd.org > > <mailto:se@freebsd.org>> wrote: > > > > Am 05.01.21 um 08:51 schrieb Hal Murray:> It gets distributed with > the > > base packages, but I haven't figured out how to > > > keep it up to date. > > > > > > The info is distributed via IANA. > > > https://www.iana.org/time-zones <https://www.iana.org/time-zones>; > > > > > > It gets updated several times a year. There were 6 during 2020. > > When is > > > unpredictable, often shortly after some government passes a law > > to change > > > something with short notice. > > > > > > I'd expect there to be some mechanism to track the updates but I > > haven't found > > > it. > > > > > > The tz database includes the leap-seconds.list file. That gets > > updated every > > > 6 months. I'd like to get whatever FreeBSD does for time zones > > to include > > > that file so ntpd can use it without having to be concerned with > > keeping it up > > > to date. That only works if the zone info is kept up to date. > > > > We have recently moved the calendar files out of -CURRENT and into a > > port, and I could imagine providing the timezone files in the same > > way (without removal from base, but from there only used as a > fall-back > > if the port supplied files are not available). > > > > That way -STABLE users could update the definitions with base, but if > > you strictly follow a release, you could install the port and > decouple > > timezone file updates from base updates ... > > > > I'd be willing to support this change and maintain the data files, > but > > I can imagine that the current maintainer of those files in base > might > > want to do it himself. > > > > > > The calendar files aren't what he's talking about. > > Yes, I'm very well aware of that fact. > > > These are the timezone files he's asking about. Those get updated very > > shortly after upstream releases. > > Yes, and they are not considered critical security fixes and thus > are not available as patches for those that install binary releases. > > By providing the timezone files by a port/package in the same way > as the calendar data files (and preferring them if present), they > could be kept up-to-date with other packages on system that run > only release versions of FreeBSD. (And as written before, I do not > suggest to remove the timezone files from base at all.) > > > But, three things. First, we update leapseconds.list as soon as it is > > announce. Second, there is no way to get just these files updated: they > > come for free with a rebuild or and update using the beta pkgbase, but > > there is no automatic way to just get these. Third, there is an daily > > cron job that fetches leap-seconds.list if you have ntpd enabled and you > > are on the internet. > > Yes, if only the leap-seconds are required, this helps get the time > synchronized - but is quite different from timezone file updates. > > > So no TZ update outside an os upgrade, but the leap seconds file updates > > at the speed of NIST... > > The OP did not ask for leap-second updates but for timezone files, > if I understand his mail correctly. > Yes. But I know him from another list I'm on and knew the back story. How does FreeBSD know about leap seconds and what mechanism does it use to keep up to date was the topic there. Warner
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