diff --git a/engine/engine-core/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/engine/command/mgmt/YarnJobsMonitor.scala b/engine/engine-core/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/engine/command/mgmt/YarnJobsMonitor.scala
index 430f37b9c3..109fa875fe 100644
--- a/engine/engine-core/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/engine/command/mgmt/YarnJobsMonitor.scala
+++ b/engine/engine-core/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/engine/command/mgmt/YarnJobsMonitor.scala
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@
 package org.trustedanalytics.atk.engine.command.mgmt
 
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
+import java.net._
 
+import org.joda.time.{ DateTimeZone, LocalDateTime }
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.domain.jobcontext.JobContext
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.engine.{ EngineConfig, Engine }
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.engine.plugin.Invocation
@@ -28,15 +30,20 @@ import org.trustedanalytics.atk.event.EventLogging
 class YarnJobsMonitor(engine: Engine)(implicit invocation: Invocation) extends Runnable with EventLogging {
 
   lazy val timeoutMinutes: Long = EngineConfig.yarnMonitorTaskTimeout
+  lazy val timeoutMillis: Long = timeoutMinutes * 60 * 1000
 
   def run(): Unit = {
-    info(s"YarnJobsMonitor started.  Task timeout is $timeoutMinutes minutes.")
+    val localHost = InetAddress.getLocalHost
+    val nowMillis = System.currentTimeMillis()
+    info(s"YarnJobsMonitor started on $localHost at $nowMillis total ms.  Task timeout is $timeoutMinutes minutes (or $timeoutMillis ms).")
     while (true) {
       engine.getCommandsNotComplete().foreach { command =>
         engine.getCommandJobContext(command) match {
-          case Some(context) => if (hasStaleContext(context)) {
-            engine.cancelCommand(command.id, Some(s" by ATK context monitor due to timeout.  The job context ${context.clientId} has not provided an update for more than $timeoutMinutes minutes.  This may indicate that a task is running for a very long time.  Try increasing the 'trustedanalytics.atk.engine.yarn-monitor-task-timeout' config setting."))
-          }
+          case Some(context) =>
+            val (answer, msg) = hasStaleContext(context)
+            if (answer) {
+              engine.cancelCommand(command.id, Some(s" by ATK context monitor due to timeout.  The job context ${context.clientId} has not provided an update for more than $timeoutMinutes minutes.  This may indicate that a task is running for a very long time.  Try increasing the 'trustedanalytics.atk.engine.yarn-monitor-task-timeout' config setting.  Details: $msg"))
+            }
           case None => ; // there is no know YARN job to shutdown (command remains not complete, but this is not the responsibility of a YARN jobs monitor
         }
       }
@@ -44,6 +51,16 @@ class YarnJobsMonitor(engine: Engine)(implicit invocation: Invocation) extends R
     }
   }
 
-  def hasStaleContext(context: JobContext): Boolean =
-    System.currentTimeMillis() - context.modifiedOn.getMillis > timeoutMinutes * 60 * 1000
+  def hasStaleContext(context: JobContext): (Boolean, String) = {
+    val localHost = InetAddress.getLocalHost
+    //val nowMillis = System.currentTimeMillis()
+    val now = new LocalDateTime().toDateTime(DateTimeZone.UTC)
+    val nowMillis = now.getMillis
+    val lastModMillis = context.modifiedOn.getMillis
+    val msg = s"YarnJobsMonitor hasStaleContext check called by $localHost: $nowMillis - $lastModMillis > $timeoutMillis"
+    info(msg)
+    //System.currentTimeMillis() - context.modifiedOn.getMillis > timeoutMinutes * 60 * 1000
+    val answer = nowMillis - lastModMillis > timeoutMillis
+    (answer, msg)
+  }
 }
diff --git a/engine/interfaces/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/engine/interfaces/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index b809d1429c..134fa1e509 100644
--- a/engine/interfaces/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/engine/interfaces/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ trustedanalytics.atk {
     fs {
       # the system will create an "intelanalaytics" folder at this location.
       # All Trusted Analytics Toolkit files will be stored somewhere under that base location.
-      root = "hdfs://invalid-fsroot-host/user/atkuser"
+      //root = "hdfs://invalid-fsroot-host/user/atkuser"
+      root = "hdfs://paulsimon.hf.intel.com:8020/user/iauser"
 
       # Directory to load checkpoints into
       checkpoint-directory = ${trustedanalytics.atk.engine.fs.root}"/checkpoints"
diff --git a/engine/meta-store/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/repository/SlickMetaStoreComponent.scala b/engine/meta-store/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/repository/SlickMetaStoreComponent.scala
index 49e6249635..e935d5dad3 100644
--- a/engine/meta-store/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/repository/SlickMetaStoreComponent.scala
+++ b/engine/meta-store/src/main/scala/org/trustedanalytics/atk/repository/SlickMetaStoreComponent.scala
@@ -17,12 +17,13 @@
 package org.trustedanalytics.atk.repository
 
 import org.apache.commons.dbcp.BasicDataSource
+import java.net._
 import com.github.tototoshi.slick.GenericJodaSupport
 
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.domain.gc.{ GarbageCollectionEntryTemplate, GarbageCollectionEntry, GarbageCollection, GarbageCollectionTemplate }
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.domain.jobcontext.{ JobContext, JobContextTemplate }
 import org.trustedanalytics.atk.domain.schema.Schema
-import org.joda.time.DateTime
+import org.joda.time.{ LocalDateTime, DateTimeZone, DateTime }
 import scala.slick.driver.JdbcDriver
 import org.flywaydb.core.Flyway
 import spray.json._
@@ -58,6 +59,8 @@ trait SlickMetaStoreComponent extends MetaStoreComponent with EventLogging {
   // Different versions of implicits are imported here based on the driver
   import genericJodaSupport._
 
+  def getNowTime(): DateTime = new LocalDateTime().toDateTime(DateTimeZone.UTC)
+
   // Defining mappings for custom column types
   implicit val schemaColumnType = MappedColumnType.base[Schema, String](
     { schema => schema.toJson.prettyPrint }, // Schema to String
@@ -1230,7 +1233,7 @@ trait SlickMetaStoreComponent extends MetaStoreComponent with EventLogging {
     }
 
     override def insert(jobContext: JobContextTemplate)(implicit session: Session): Try[JobContext] = Try {
-      val m = JobContext(1, jobContext.userId, None, None, jobContext.clientId, new DateTime(), new DateTime(), None, None)
+      val m = JobContext(1, jobContext.userId, None, None, jobContext.clientId, getNowTime(), getNowTime(), None, None)
       jobContextAutoInc.insert(m)
     }
 
@@ -1244,18 +1247,24 @@ trait SlickMetaStoreComponent extends MetaStoreComponent with EventLogging {
 
     override def updateJobServerUri(id: Long, uri: String)(implicit session: Session): Unit = {
       val columns = for (c <- jobContextTable if c.id === id) yield (c.jobServerUri, c.modifiedOn)
-      columns.update(Some(uri), new DateTime)
+      columns.update(Some(uri), getNowTime())
     }
 
     override def updateProgress(id: Long, progress: String)(implicit session: Session): Unit = {
       val columns = for (c <- jobContextTable if c.id === id) yield (c.progress, c.modifiedOn)
-      columns.update(Some(progress), new DateTime)
+      val localHost = InetAddress.getLocalHost
+      //val now = new DateTime
+      val now = getNowTime()
+      val nowMillis = now.getMillis
+      info(s"JobContextTable.updateProgress from host $localHost at $now ($nowMillis)")
+      columns.update(Some(progress), now)
+      //columns.update(Some(progress), new DateTime)
 
     }
 
     override def updateYarnAppName(id: Long, yarnAppName: String)(implicit session: Session): Unit = {
       val columns = for (c <- jobContextTable if c.id === id) yield (c.yarnAppName, c.modifiedOn)
-      columns.update(Some(yarnAppName), new DateTime)
+      columns.update(Some(yarnAppName), getNowTime)
     }
 
     override def scan(offset: Int = 0, count: Int = defaultScanCount)(implicit session: Session): Seq[JobContext] = {
@@ -1278,7 +1287,7 @@ trait SlickMetaStoreComponent extends MetaStoreComponent with EventLogging {
     }
 
     override def lookupRecentlyActive(seconds: Int)(implicit session: Session): Seq[JobContext] = {
-      val recentTime = (new DateTime).minusSeconds(seconds)
+      val recentTime = (getNowTime()).minusSeconds(seconds)
       jobContextTable.where(_.modifiedOn >= recentTime).list
     }