SQL Server 2005, Replicating between timezones

Question

How does SQL Server handle the transfer of the datetime columns when replicating between timezones?

Answer 1

SQL Server isn't really timezone aware. If you store 2:36 PM in your east coast data ceneter, then replicate the data to your west coast data center, it will still say 2:36 PM.

To get around this type of problem, all of our servers are set to UTC time. This way we always know the date/time in the database is correct to UTC, and if we need to adjust for client display or reporting, we can add/subtract the offset for all date/time values regardless of which server(s) the data came from.