Convert unix time to UTC datetime

Question

I'm trying to insert a timestamp into the database, I need the timestamp to be in UTC time, not the server's time zone.

INSERT INTO my_table SET time = FROM_UNIXTIME(:epochTime)

But the newly inserted datetime value is not in UTC time, how can I do this?

Perhaps I should also use CONVERT_TZ, but I don't know the timezone from which I convert.

Answer 1

Yup I would look at CONVERT_TZ:

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/date-and-time-functions.html#function_convert-tz

To grab the timezone from mysql:

mysql> SELECT @@global.time_zone, @@session.time_zone;

Edit: The query below returns the timezone of the current session.

select timediff(now(),convert_tz(now(),@@session.time_zone,'+00:00'));

URL for some info: How do I get the current time zone of MySQL?

If the server has a different timezone, tell us your Operating system or location.