How to update Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 for daylight saving time in 2007

This article describes how to update Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 to meet the new daylight saving time (DST) requirements that were introduced in 2007. This article also describes how the new DST requirements affect Microsoft CRM 1.2.

Background information about time zones, dates, and times in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

The definition of a time zone in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

The definition of a time zone in Microsoft Dynamics CRM contains the following attributes:

• Offset
  
  The Offset attribute represents the subtraction from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). For example, if the offset value is 8:00, the time zone is "(GMT -8:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)."
  
  Note Coordinated Universal Time is the same as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
• Standard bias
  
  The Standard bias attribute represents an adjustment to the offset attribute in the standard time. Typically, the adjustment is zero.
• Daylight bias
  
  The Daylight bias attribute represents an adjustment to the offset attribute in daylight saving time. Typically, the adjustment is -1:00. For example, the daylight offset for the "(GMT -8:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)" time zone is 7:00.
• DST start rule
  
  The DST start rule attribute contains the day on which DST starts and the time at which DST starts. For example, DST in the United States will start at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March 2007.
• DST end rule
  
  The DST end rule attribute contains the day on which DST ends and the time at which DST ends. For example, DST in the United States will end at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November 2007.

The date and the time in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

The date and the time are stored in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database in UTC. However, the date and the time are displayed in the local time. For example, suppose that Microsoft Dynamics CRM is configured to use "(GMT -8:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)" on your computer. Also, suppose that you schedule a task at 8:00 A.M. on February 2, 2007. In the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database, the time that is stored in the database is 4:00 P.M. The date that is stored in the database is February 2, 2007. The date and the time are stored in this manner because February 2, 2007 is in standard time in the local time zone.

Suppose that you schedule a task at 8:00 A.M. on September 1, 2007. In this case, the time that is stored in the database is 3:00 P.M. The date that is stored in the database is September 1, 2007. The date and the time are stored in this manner because September 1, 2007 is in daylight saving time in the local time zone.

Update information for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

A supported update that updates Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 for the 2007 DST changes is available. This update changes several time zone definitions. Additionally, the update adds several time zone definitions. For example, all U.S. time zones are changed to reflect the new DST start dates and the new DST end dates. The update is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. The update is available for computers that are running Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 or the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 client for Microsoft Office Outlook. For more information about this update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you are running multiple Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 servers, you should apply the update on all the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 servers. However, you should apply the update at different times on each Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server to prevent deadlocks in instances of Microsoft SQL Server.

The update creates a candidate table in the OrganizationName_MSCRM database. The candidate table lists the users, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM entities, and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM records that have to be changed to comply with the DST changes.

You cannot remove this update after you apply the update.

Update Time Zones Wizard for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

The Update Time Zones Wizard for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the CRM3.0-KB932984-Server-ENU.exe package now.

Release Date: March 2, 2007

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

For more information about this wizard, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you are an administrator in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, you can use this wizard to correct records that contain incorrect DST settings. The Update Time Zones Wizard corrects the dates and the times for entities if the following conditions are true:

• The entities were created by using the old time zone definitions before you applied update 925874.
• The entities were created between the old DST start time and the new DST start time. Or, the entities were created between the old DST end time and the new DST end time.

Note You do not have to correct the entities that are created after you apply update 925874.

Update Time Zones Wizard example for entities

For example, suppose that you scheduled a task for 8:00 A.M. on March 30, 2007 before you applied update 925874. The time that is stored in the database is 4:00 P.M. The date that is stored in the database is March 30, 2007. The date and the time are stored in this manner because March 30, 2007 is in standard time before you apply update 925874. Then, you apply update 925874. The time that is displayed for this task is 9:00 A.M. instead of 8:00 A.M. because March 30, 2007 is in daylight saving time after you apply update 925874.

If you use the Update Time Zones Wizard, the wizard will find all the entities that were created between the new DST start time and the old DST start time. The wizard will then adjust the dates and the times by one hour. In the example, the time that is displayed for this task will be 8:00 A.M. after you use the Update Time Zones Wizard.

Note In the "(GMT -8:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)" time zone, the new DST start time is 2:00 A.M. on March 11, 2007. The old DST start time is 2:00 A.M. on April 1, 2007.

Additionally, you can use this wizard to update records and entities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 that are affected by the DST changes. After you run the wizard, the result is logged in a log file. You can run the Update Time Zones Wizard multiple times. The wizard updates the candidate table by using information about the records that have been updated. Therefore, if you run the wizard after you update the records, the wizard will not update these records again.

You can uninstall the Update Time Zones Wizard by using the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel. However, any records that you update cannot be reversed.

The time that is required to complete the Update Time Zones Wizard depends on the following:

• The number of users who are affected by the DST changes
• The number of records that each user owns

Before you run the Update Time Zones Wizard

Update 932984 contains an SQL script. You can run the script before you run the Update Time Zones Wizard to determine the number of records that may be affected by the DST changes.

Note The results from the script are only informational.

Problems you may experience if you do not apply the update or run the Update Time Zones Wizard

After daylight saving time goes into effect on March 11, 2007, you may experience the following problems in Microsoft Dynamics CRM:

• When you view appointments or tasks in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web client or in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM client for Microsoft Office Outlook, the appointments and the tasks may be scheduled one hour ahead of or one hour behind the actual scheduled time.
• Some activities and some resources in the service calendar in Microsoft Dynamics CRM may be may be scheduled one hour ahead of or one hour behind the actual scheduled time.
• You may experience an issue when you schedule resources by using the service calendar. For example, a resource that is listed in the calendar may be scheduled one hour ahead of or one hour behind the actual scheduled time.

Update other applications that are used by Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

You should follow a specific sequence of update actions when you update Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 for the DST changes. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 uses other applications. You should update these applications before you apply update 925874 and before you run the Update Time Zones Wizard. For more information, see the "Recommended sequence of update actions for the Microsoft CRM 3.0 system" section in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Remediation Instructions for 2007 Daylight Saving Time Changes document.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the CRM_DST_Remediation_details_Rev1.0.exe package now.

Release Date: March 2, 2007

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Offline data in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 laptop client for Outlook

You should synchronize all offline data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 laptop client for Microsoft Office Outlook to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server before you apply the server-side version of update 925874. The list of candidates that are eligible for DST changes is created when you apply the server-side version of update 925874. This list cannot be re-created. The Update Time Zones Wizard updates the candidate table by using information about the records that have been updated. If you synchronize all the offline data from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 laptop client for Outlook to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server after you apply update 925874, the data in the offline client is still synchronized to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 server. However, the data is not added to the candidate table. Therefore, the data may be incorrect on the Microsoft Dynamics 3.0 server.

Third-party independent software vendor (ISV) applications

Dates and times in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 are stored in UTC. After you apply update 925874 or use the Update Time Zones Wizard, the dates and the times in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 may be changed to reflect the new DST time. Therefore, contact the ISV for each third-party application to determine the effect on the application.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 reports and workflows

After you run the Update Time Zones Wizard, the ModifiedOn field for the date will be updated for changed records. This update may affect some reports and workflows in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. For example, the Neglected Accounts report and the Neglected Cases report use the ModifiedOn field for the date.

When the wizard updates the ModifiedOn field for the date, post-callouts and workflow rules may run. The Update Time Zones Wizard may intensively consume resources. Therefore, we recommend that you run the Update Time Zones Wizard during a non-peak time.

Other Microsoft products that use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

The following products that use Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 are affected by the DST changes:

• The Microsoft CRM List Web Part
• The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft Dynamics GP
  
  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft GP is compatible only with Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 Service Pack 1. Update 931960 is related to changes for DST for BizTalk Server 2004. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  931960 Changes to daylight saving time for BizTalk Server 2004
  The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Connector for Microsoft Dynamics GP is compatible with update 925874 for Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Mobile
  
  The changes for DST may affect Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Mobile. You should contact the mobile device manufacturer for specific information about how to update the operating system on the Mobile device. For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  923953 How to configure daylight saving time for the United States and Canada in 2007 and in subsequent years on Windows Mobile-based devices
  923027 How to update daylight saving time for the United States, Canada, and Mexico in 2007 on Windows CE-based devices

Queue mailboxes and forwarding e-mail mailboxes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0

You do not have to run the Microsoft Exchange Calendar Update Tool or the Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook for queue mailboxes or for forwarding mailboxes for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 e-mail functionality.

Microsoft CRM 1.2

The DST changes and Microsoft CRM 1.2

No update is available for Microsoft CRM 1.2 for the 2007 DST changes. For more information about the Microsoft CRM 1.2 support life cycle, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:The 2007 DST changes affect only the UTC data in Microsoft CRM 1.2 in the following scenarios.

Scenario 1

Consider the following scenario. An integration component reads the date from Microsoft CRM 1.2 and then applies the date to a third-party system. If the existing UTC dates that are used by a Microsoft CRM 1.2 application are incorrect, the integration modules may retrieve these incorrect UTC dates. The integration modules may then insert the dates into the third-party system. However, if the Windows time zone update has been applied to the computer that is running the integration modules, Microsoft CRM 1.2 will display incorrect dates because Microsoft CRM 1.2 does not apply the correct conversion to the local time.

Scenario 2

Consider the following scenario. Workflow rules contain date criteria or workflow rules that specify a "wait for" clause. In this scenario, if the Windows time zone update is applied to an instance of Microsoft SQL Server that is used by Microsoft CRM 1.2, the workflow monitor and the workflow engine will use the correct UTC dates when you define the workflow rules. Therefore, the correct UTC dates will not match the incorrect UTC dates that are stored in the database. This means that the workflow rules may not work as expected. Additionally, the workflow rules may incorrectly evaluate the date criteria.

Therefore, you should test the Microsoft CRM 1.2 environment, any customizations, and any third-party integrations that may be affected by the DST changes. For more information about support for DST changes in Microsoft Windows operating systems, visit the following Microsoft Web site: