This short article shows how to change the timezone of the Linux distribution as well as forcing the synchronisation of date/time with the ntpd servers
This applies specifically applies to CentOS so some changes might be possible depending on the distribution
1.Change timezone
cp /etc/localtime /root/old.timezone rm /etc/localtime ln –s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich /etc/localtime
2.Add ntpd servers to you configuration file (optional)
Edit (or create) the /etc/ntpd.conf and add the appropriate ntpd servers :
server xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx server xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
note: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the ip or domain name of the server
3.Stop the ntpd daemon
/etc/init.d/ntpd stop
4.Force the date update
Force the update of the date with the new timezone and eventually the ntpd servers
ntpdate xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
5.Stop the ntpd daemon
/etc/init.d/ntpd start
6.Stop the ntpd daemon
date
