ZDATE_ILLEGAL_LOCTIME

System Time

Reason and Prerequisites

The system time of the server was reset to the past, while the SAP application server was running.
In this case, it does not matter whether this was done manually (with operating system commands) or automatically (with a "time service", for example).
If the runtime error ZDATE_ILLEGAL_LOCTIME has occurred, the most important information is contained in the dump.

For example, in the section "Troubleshooting" in the dump the system specifies the former and later time stamp between which the inconsistency was detected, e.g.:
Earlier time stamp: "Thu Apr 25 18:04:35 2002
Later time stamp: "Thu Apr 25 18:00:00 2002

What needs to be done is :
When the runtime error ZDATE_ILLEGAL_LOCTIME occurs, the relevant application server should be shut down immediately. You must then check at operating system level why the operating system time showed an inconsistency. The server should then be returned to an ordered state. You must primarily ensure that all processes involved in the R/3 System (all application servers with their processes and the database processes) have the same UTC time (formerly Greenwich Mean Time) and are running in the same local time zone.

Inconsistent application data:
Since the runtime error occurs again and again in short intervals, it is unlikely that inconsistent application data will be created, because when a runtime error is triggered, this causes an ordered rollback.

More information
Resetting the operating system time when the application server is running can increase the risk of errors, since this time inconsistency can directly affect the system time of the SAP application server.
Many applications are based on the assumption that the time is continuously increasing. If this is not the case, inconsistent data of all types can occur. For example, there is no longer a guarantee
that a revised ABAP source will also be generated automatically because a time stamp comparison source load returns an incorrect result. Similarly, posting inconsistencies can also occur.

An automatic "time service" which automatically synchronizes the operating system time of the server with a master time, should execute #soft" adjustment of the server time. This means that the time is not reset suddenly (e.g. 9:00:10 -> 9:00:05) but gradually (for a certain period, the seconds are extended until the correct time is reached).
"time services" that adjust the time suddenly as described above are not suitable for servers where SAP application servers are running.
Windows customers report problems with "Win32Time" in this context. The problems were eliminated by increasing the synchronization frequency.

Often administrators cannot tell straight away where the operating system time was changed or who changed it. In order to narrow down the times, the tool "SapTimeTrace" is added to this note. This is a small executable which you can simply execute in a command line as follows:
   SapTimeTrace 5
Now the operating system time is analyzed every five seconds and a trace file (SAPTTrc.trc) is written into the current directory that contains information about the time changes. For more information, call the "SapTimeTrace" without parameters.

Behavior of the SAP application server with time inconsistencies
(reset time):
- up to and including Release 45B:
  the SAP application server does not recognize any time inconsistencies.
- Release 46:
  the SAP application server recognizes a time inconsistency in some cases  (not all!).
    This then triggers the runtime error
  ZDATE_ILLEGAL_LOCTIME. The work process that emitted the
  runtime error repeats this runtime error
  periodically, since under these conditions, the SAP system is not
  executable. The system must be restarted.
- As of release 610:
  the SAP application server recognizes time inconsistencies
  in all relevant cases. This then triggers the runtime error
  ZDATE_ILLEGAL_LOCTIME. The work process that emitted the
  runtime error repeats this runtime error
  periodically, since under these conditions, the SAP system is not
  executable. When the time space of the time inconsistency is over,
  no periodic runtime error of this type is triggered anymore.
  As a default, the SAP application server permits time inconsistencies
  of up to 2 seconds. In such a case, the process in question is
  halted for the relevant time.

Solution

Under no circumstances should you reset the operating system time of the server where the SAP application server is running