Bug#755722: systemd must sync systemclock to RTC on shutdown

[Stefan Fritsch]

On Wednesday 04 February 2015 01:41:14, Michael Biebl wrote:
> Am 31.01.2015 um 10:19 schrieb Stefan Fritsch:
> > severity 755722 serious
> > retitle 755722 systemd must sync systemclock to RTC on shutdown
> > thanks
> > 
> > 
> > Systemd must make sure that the system clock does not go
> > backwards,
> > which causes all kinds of problems, with file systems and with
> > other software. To achieve that, systemd has to sync the system
> > time to RTC on shutdown. Upstream's argument that the system time
> > may not be more accurate is completely unrelated to this issue.
> 
> Upstream argues, that whoever changes the clock, should also make
> sure to sync that to the RTC if so desired. E.g. if you change the
> time using the builtin timedatectl command, it will make sure the
> RTC is synced.

There is also natural drift between the system clock and the RTC. Who 
is supposed to account for that? On a system with an uptime of several 
months, the drift may be large enough to cause the time to go 
backwards at a reboot.

NB: Upstream should try not to break existing software. The sysv init 
script compatibility is mostly moot if the init scripts need to be 
adjusted because of semantic changes.