A few days ago I got reports that a server is running its cron jobs at strange times. Logged in, and indeed it was. A huge backup was running during peak hours. Saying that it disrupt people’s work is an understatement.

To my surprise, the explanation for this issue can not be found straightaway. Took some googling to find the cause. And even more time to find the correct solution.

So to cut the chase – /etc/localtime was a link to /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/NewYork

Changed it to /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Jakarta – and voila, now the cronjobs are running at the correct times.

Hope it helps