usda-vision/camera-management-api/docs/legacy/TIMEZONE_SETUP_SUMMARY.md

Time Synchronization Setup - Atlanta, Georgia

✅ Time Synchronization Complete!

The USDA Vision Camera System has been configured for proper time synchronization with Atlanta, Georgia (Eastern Time Zone).

🕐 What Was Implemented

System-Level Time Configuration

• Timezone: Set to America/New_York (Eastern Time)
• Current Status: Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4)
• NTP Sync: Configured with multiple reliable time servers
• Hardware Clock: Synchronized with system time

Application-Level Timezone Support

• Timezone-Aware Timestamps: All recordings use Atlanta time
• Automatic DST Handling: Switches between EST/EDT automatically
• Time Sync Monitoring: Built-in time synchronization checking
• Consistent Formatting: Standardized timestamp formats throughout

🔧 Key Features

1. Automatic Time Synchronization

# NTP servers configured:
- time.nist.gov (NIST atomic clock)
- pool.ntp.org (NTP pool)
- time.google.com (Google time)
- time.cloudflare.com (Cloudflare time)

2. Timezone-Aware Recording Filenames

Example: camera1_recording_20250725_213241.avi
Format: {camera}_{type}_{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.avi
Time: Atlanta local time (EDT/EST)

3. Time Verification Tools

• Startup Check: Automatic time sync verification on system start
• Manual Check: python check_time.py for on-demand verification
• API Integration: Time sync status available via REST API

4. Comprehensive Logging

=== TIME SYNCHRONIZATION STATUS ===
System time: 2025-07-25 21:32:41 EDT
Timezone: EDT (-0400)
Daylight Saving: Yes
Sync status: synchronized
Time difference: 0.10 seconds
=====================================

🚀 Usage

Automatic Operation

The system automatically:

• Uses Atlanta time for all timestamps
• Handles daylight saving time transitions
• Monitors time synchronization status
• Logs time-related events

Manual Verification

# Check time synchronization
python check_time.py

# Test timezone functions
python test_timezone.py

# View system time status
timedatectl status

API Endpoints

# System status includes time info
curl http://localhost:8000/system/status

# Example response includes:
{
  "system_started": true,
  "uptime_seconds": 3600,
  "timestamp": "2025-07-25T21:32:41-04:00"
}

📊 Current Status

Time Synchronization

• ✅ System Timezone: America/New_York (EDT)
• ✅ NTP Sync: Active and synchronized
• ✅ Time Accuracy: Within 0.1 seconds of atomic time
• ✅ DST Support: Automatic EST/EDT switching

Application Integration

• ✅ Recording Timestamps: Atlanta time zone
• ✅ Log Timestamps: Timezone-aware logging
• ✅ API Responses: ISO format with timezone
• ✅ File Naming: Consistent Atlanta time format

Monitoring

• ✅ Startup Verification: Time sync checked on boot
• ✅ Continuous Monitoring: Built-in sync status tracking
• ✅ Error Detection: Alerts for time drift issues
• ✅ Manual Tools: On-demand verification scripts

🔍 Technical Details

Timezone Configuration

{
  "system": {
    "timezone": "America/New_York"
  }
}

Time Sources

1. Primary: NIST atomic clock (time.nist.gov)
2. Secondary: NTP pool servers (pool.ntp.org)
3. Backup: Google/Cloudflare time servers
4. Fallback: Local system clock

File Naming Convention

Pattern: {camera_name}_recording_{YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS}.avi
Example: camera1_recording_20250725_213241.avi
Timezone: Always Atlanta local time (EST/EDT)

🎯 Benefits

For Operations

• Consistent Timestamps: All recordings use Atlanta time
• Easy Correlation: Timestamps match local business hours
• Automatic DST: No manual timezone adjustments needed
• Reliable Sync: Multiple time sources ensure accuracy

For Analysis

• Local Time Context: Recordings timestamped in business timezone
• Accurate Sequencing: Precise timing for event correlation
• Standard Format: Consistent naming across all recordings
• Audit Trail: Complete time synchronization logging

For Integration

• Dashboard Ready: Timezone-aware API responses
• Database Compatible: ISO format timestamps with timezone
• Log Analysis: Structured time information in logs
• Monitoring: Built-in time sync health checks

🔧 Maintenance

Regular Checks

The system automatically:

• Verifies time sync on startup
• Logs time synchronization status
• Monitors for time drift
• Alerts on sync failures

Manual Maintenance

# Force time sync
sudo systemctl restart systemd-timesyncd

# Check NTP status
timedatectl show-timesync --all

# Verify timezone
timedatectl status

📈 Next Steps

The time synchronization is now fully operational. The system will:

1. Automatically maintain accurate Atlanta time
2. Generate timestamped recordings with local time
3. Monitor sync status and alert on issues
4. Provide timezone-aware API responses for dashboard integration

All recording files will now have accurate Atlanta timestamps, making it easy to correlate with local business operations and machine schedules.

---

Time Sync Status: ✅ SYNCHRONIZED
Timezone: ✅ America/New_York (EDT)
Accuracy: ✅ ±0.1 seconds
Ready for Production: ✅ YES