Plesk upgrade fails: There is no /etc/localtime file in system

Symptoms

Plesk upgrade fails with the below error:

There is no /etc/localtime file in system.
 Run tzsetup as root to set up your timezone

OR:

***** problem report *****
 There is no /etc/localtime file in system. 
 Run tzsetup as root to set up your timezone

Cause

Absent or broken /etc/localtime file or tzdata package.

Resolution

1. Connect to the server via SSH;

   Note: if direct SSH access to the server is not possible, contact server administrator for further assistance.

2. Make sure that tzdata package is installed.

   # rpm -qi tzdata #for CentOS/RedHat
   OR
   # dpkg -l tzdata #for Debian/Ubuntu

   If not, then install the package:

   # apt install tzdata #for Debian/Ubuntu
   # yum install tzdata #for CentOS/RedHat

3. Make sure that the /etc/localtime file exists:

   # ls -la /etc/localtime
   -rw-r–r– 1 root root 1180 Jul 9 2013 /etc/localtime

4. If it is absent, create symlink corresponding to your timezone, as below:

   # ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT /etc/localtime

   # ll /etc/localtime
   lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 23 Dec 11 21:22 /etc/localtime -> /usr/share/zoneinfo/GMT

For CentOS operating systems the following solution is applicable:

1. Find required timezone:

   # timedatectl list-timezones | grep Melb
   Australia/Melbourne

2. Set the required timezone:

   # timedatectl set-timezone `timedatectl list-timezones | grep Melb`

3. Ensure that the changes are applied:

   # ls -l /etc/localtime
   lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 41 Nov 3 06:22 /etc/localtime -> ../usr/share/zoneinfo/Australia/Melbourne

   # date
   Tue Nov 3 06:22:55 EST 2015