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Data Solutions™ SIF™ Agent for Follett® Destiny™ 9.9

User’s Guide 2.2

Pearson Data Solutions

9815 S. Monroe St., Ste. 400

Sandy, UT 84070 1.877.790.1261

www.pearsondatasolutions.com

SIF Agent for Folett Destiny – User’s Guide 2

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliate(s). All Rights Reserved.

Follett® is a registered trademark and Destiny™ is a trademark of Follett Software Company. SIF™ and Schools Interoperability Framework™ are trademarks of the Schools Interoperability Framework Association. Data Solutions™ is a trademark and SIFWorks® is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson.

Copyright © 2002-2011 Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved.


Contents Part I 5

1. Overview 5

Features ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................5 Requirements.............................................................................................................................................................................................................6 How It Works............................................................................................................................................................................................................6 New Year Rollover Procedure..........................................................................................................................................................................8

2. Installation 8

Java ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8 Installing the Destiny Agent..................................................................................................................................................................................8 Running the Agent ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12 The Taskbar Icon ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

3. Basic Configuration 18

Before You Begin .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Overview of Basic Configuration Steps ...................................................................................................................................................... 20 Starting the Agent ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Configuring Database Settings......................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Configuring SIF Registration Settings ............................................................................................................................................................ 23 Verifying Barcode Options................................................................................................................................................................................ 24 Configuring Zones ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 25 Synchronizing Zones ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Performing Multiple Synchronizations ......................................................................................................................................................... 34

4. Advanced Configuration for StudentPicture Data Flow 36

Part II 41

5. The Console 41

Zone Status .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 41 The Menu Bar ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43

6. Basic Operations from the File Menu (Non-Consortium-based and Consortium-based) 48

Setting Up a New Zone (Non-Consortium-based) .............................................................................................................................. 48 Setting Up a New Consortium ....................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Setting Up a New Zone (Consortium-based) ......................................................................................................................................... 53 Importing Zone(s)................................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Exporting Zones .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Deleting Zones ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Viewing Agent Settings ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Synchronizing Destiny Patrons with SIF StudentPersonal and StaffPersonal Data Objects................................................. 57 Enabling and Defining Consortiums.............................................................................................................................................................. 58 Verifying Destiny SIF Agent Registration with the Zone Integration Server(s) ........................................................................ 59 Enabling Event Reporting................................................................................................................................................................................... 61 Setting SIF Request and Response Data Packet Volume..................................................................................................................... 63 Setting Transports Protocols............................................................................................................................................................................ 64 Choosing Logging Settings ................................................................................................................................................................................. 67 Choosing Default Zone Settings..................................................................................................................................................................... 68 Shutting Down the Agent.................................................................................................................................................................................. 74 Closing the Console ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 75

7. Basic Operations from the Zone Menu 76

Checking and Managing Zone Status and Connections ....................................................................................................................... 76 Verifying or Changing Zone URL................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Verifying or Modifying Zone Settings........................................................................................................................................................... 78


8. Basic Operations from the Tools Menu 80

Synchronizing the Destiny Database with SIF Data Objects .............................................................................................................. 80 Unsynchronizing the Destiny Database with SIF Data Objects ........................................................................................................ 81 Viewing Event Queue.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 Viewing Database Status .................................................................................................................................................................................... 81

Part III 82

9. Security 82

Authentication ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 82 Preparing for HTTPS........................................................................................................................................................................................... 82 Importing Certificates for HTTPS ................................................................................................................................................................. 83 Configuring the Agent & Zones for HTTPS ............................................................................................................................................. 85

Part IV 88

10. Follett Destiny SIF Agent FAQ 88

Will the agent delete patrons from Destiny?............................................................................................................................................ 88 What about student transfers?........................................................................................................................................................................ 88 How can I tell if the Destiny SIF Agent is running? ................................................................................................................................. 88 What is synchronization?.................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 What is matching? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 88

11. Destiny Fields 90


Part I O V E R V I E W , I N S T A L L A T I O N , C O N F I G U R A T I O N

1. Overview The SIF Agent for Follett Destiny is a full-featured agent for Follett Software Company's next-generation resource management system. It's the perfect way to synchronize Destiny's patron database with any student information system that supports the industry-standard Schools Interoperability Framework.

Using SIF's publish and subscribe infrastructure, the Destiny SIF Agent imports student, staff, enrollment, and picture data into the Destiny database and works behind the scenes to keep it up-to-date in real time. For districts that want to exchange circulation status with other applications like data warehouses and telephony systems, the Agent can publish checkout, fine, and overdue information for students and staff, all over the secure and reliable SIF infrastructure. Simply put, the Destiny SIF Agent enables the rapid exchange of current library patron information between relevant databases. This exchange is accomplished through the Destiny SIF Agent Console, which serves as the agent’s administrator, and the Agent itself, which does the actual work of synchronizing and importing data.

Features

Works with any SIF-enabled student information system by exchanging data over the SIF infrastructure.

A graphical Synchronization Wizard handles importing student, staff, enrollment, and picture records into the Destiny database in 6 easy steps.

Subscribes to changes in student, staff, enrollment, and picture data to keep those records up-to-date in Destiny whenever they're added, changed, or deleted in the student information system.

Automatically transfers patrons in Destiny when students and staff are transferred to a new home school in the student information system.

Publishes circulation data over the SIF infrastructure, including fine, checkout, and overdue status for each patron.

Cost-effective per-school licensing. SIF 2.0r1 Compliant. Supports all versions of SIF 1.0r1 and later. Works in SIF environments where multiple versions of the Schools

Interoperability Framework are in use. The Agent automatically adjusts


the way it performs depending on the version of messages received from the Zone Integration Server.

Requirements Minimum software requirements:

Java J2SE 5 or later. Java can be obtained free of charge from http://java.sun.com. To test

whether Java is installed on your server, open a command prompt and type “java –version.” If you receive an error message saying that Java is not a recognized program, download and install JRE 1.6 or later from the Sun website.).

Follett Destiny 7.5 is required; 9.5 or later is recommended. For optimum integration with SIF, upgrade to Destiny 9.5. If your district

has not yet upgraded to Destiny 7.5 or greater, please contact your Follett Software Company support representative and Data Solutions to arrange an update. The SIF Agent now requires version 7.5 or later.

A SIF Zone Integration Server that supports SIF 1.5r1 or later. A SIF-enabled student information system or other provider of SchoolInfo,

StudentPersonal, StudentSchoolEnrollment and optionally StaffPersonal objects.

How It Works

The Destiny SIF Agent is an add-on service that enhances Destiny with the full suite of data integration capabilities made possible by the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF). The Agent synchronizes with one or more SIF Zones to exchange student, staff, and picture data from the student information system. All common Zone topologies are supported, including district Zones, school Zones, and aggregate Zones. As records are added, changed, and deleted in the student information system, the Destiny SIF Agent is notified of each and updates the patron database accordingly in real-time. Administrators can control which types of events are processed by customizing the Access Control permissions of the Zone Integration Server or changing the Publish and Subscription options of the Agent.

In addition to synchronizing with student, staff, and picture records, the Destiny SIF Agent can also publish library patron status information, including fine, checkout, and overdue information for each patron.

The SIF Agent and SIF Agent Console are independent programs. The Agent runs in the background to communicate with the SIF Zone Integration Server, but has no window or other user interface components. The Console is a desktop application that administers the Agent; running the Console is only necessary when you intend to perform administrative tasks. By default, the installer adds the Console to the Startup Programs folder so it will be loaded when you login.

When the Console is running, it displays an icon in the Windows system tray near the


clock. Click the icon to open the Connect dialog box on your desktop.

Where Is the Agent Installed? The Agent can be centrally installed on a server at the district office, on the same computer that houses the Destiny application or the SIF Zone Integration Server; or, the Agent, the Destiny application, and the Zone Integration Server can be installed on separate servers so dedicated.

IMPORTANT: Advanced configuration steps should be followed to install the Agent for use in a multiple system environment. Specifically, See the “Advanced Configuration” section of this guide for steps on configuring the Agent for StudentPicture data flow.

The SIF Agent is fully cross-platform, and supports the Windows XP, 2000, and 2003 operating systems as well as Linux, NetWare, Solaris, and Mac OS X.

SIF Request & Response When applications request data from Destiny through the SIF infrastructure, the Agent queries the Destiny database for records, converts the results to one or more SIF Data Objects, and then returns the results to the Zone Integration Server. The server forwards the responses to each of the requesting applications securely and reliably. You can prevent certain applications from requesting specific types of data by using the Access Control features of the Zone Integration Server.

How Do I Configure and Manage the Agent? The Agent features a graphical console from which configuration and management tasks are performed. To display the console window, click the SIF logo on the taskbar near the system clock.


New Year Rollover Procedure Like Destiny, the SIF Agent requires a New Year Rollover procedure in order to reconcile the student identifiers recorded by the Agent’s Object ID Database with corresponding records in the Destiny database. This procedure must be started at the end of the current school year before performing the Destiny New Year Rollover, and again at the beginning of the new school year (after the New Year Rollover has been completed). For detailed instructions on the New Year Rollover process, please see the SIF™ Agent for Follett® Destiny™: New Year Rollover Guide.

2. Installation Java

The Agent requires Java J2SE 5 or later. To determine if Java is already installed on your system, open a command prompt and issue this command:

java –version

If you receive a message that “java” is not recognized as an internal or external command, the Java 2 Runtime Environment is not installed. Visit the Sun website at http://java.sun.com to download the latest version.

You can also download a version of the Data Solutions SIF Agent for Destiny installation program that includes a Java virtual machine. Note that this Java virtual machine is only temporary. It does not last beyond the Agent installation.

Installing the Destiny Agent To install the Follett Destiny SIF Agent:

1. Download the file DestinySIF_Install.exe. The following icon will appear on your desktop.

2. Double-click on the icon to run the file.

3. The Destiny SIF Agent Installer is opened, and performs these tasks:

Optionally installs the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) virtual machine.

Copies the program files to your computer.


Installs the “Destiny SIF Agent” Windows Service. Creates items on the Windows Start Menu.

4. The Introduction screen of the Destiny SIF Agent Installer is displayed.

5. Click Next.

6. The Choose Java Virtual Machine screen is displayed.


Important : If your Java version is 1.5 or greater (see the Java-version prompt at the beginning of this section), you can just click next, and it will default to the currently installed system version of Java.

7. Browse for the desired Java VM by clicking Search for Others or Choose Another.

8. The selected files are displayed in the Choose a Java VM window.

9. Click Next.


10. Verify the installation location; click Restore Default Folder to use the default location; or click Choose to browse to an alternate installation location. Follow subsequent steps for browsing to the desired installation folder.

11. Click Next.

12. The Pre-Installation Summary is displayed.


13. Verify the product, installation and shortcut folders, and disk space requirements.

14. Click Install.

15. The Install Complete screen reports that the installation is complete.

16. Verify the installation information, and click Done to quit the installer.

Running the Agent The Destiny SIF Agent is installed as a service on supported Windows operating system platforms. When the service is running, the Agent will respond to requests from the SIFWorks® Zone Integration Server and continually monitor the Destiny databases for changes made to records. When the Windows Service is not running—for example, while the computer is starting up or if you have taken the Agent down for maintenance—SIF messages will be safely held in the Agent’s queue on the Zone Integration Server these steps to start and stop the service:

1. Open the Windows Services Manager. There are many ways to open the Services Manager. On Supported Windows operating system platforms, the easiest method is to right-click My Computer on the desktop, and then choose Manage from the pop-up menu. The Computer Management window appears. Expand the “Services and Applications” node in the tree, and then select the Services entry to view all services on your computer.


2. Double-click on “Destiny SIF Agent;” the Destiny SIF Agent Properties window is displayed.

3. In the Startup type field, click on the arrow to view the drop-down list of Automatic, Manual, or Disabled startup type options.


4. Choose the Automatic startup type; go to the Log On tab.

5. In the “Log on as” options, choose This account.


6. Type in or browse for the account name used to log in for the Destiny service. Then type in and confirm the password for the Log On account.

7. Click OK to accept the changes to the agent’s configuration.

Important: You should restart the service whenever you make changes to the Agent configuration.


Running the Agent as a Standalone Program The Destiny Agent and the Agent console are two separate programs. The Agent is intended to be run as a service, but can be run as a standalone.

Important : When the agent is running in standalone mode, the agent is running as the currently logged-in ID.

The installer adds a shortcut to the Start menu for launching the Agent standalone. There is also a Start menu link that launches the Agent console. The Console connects to the running Agent over RMI. You must stop the service before you can run the Agent standalone.

The Agent will run in a Windows command console if you hold the <Ctrl> key down when launching the Agent standalone. To stop the Agent, press Ctrl+C or open the Agent console window and choose Exit & Shutdown from the File menu.


The Taskbar Icon When the Destiny Agent Console is running, a logo appears on the Windows taskbar near the system clock. Click the icon to open the Destiny Agent Console.


3. Basic Configuration Before You Begin

Before you can configure the Agent, you must enable SIF functionality on the Destiny application server, so that the Destiny SIF Agent can connect to the Destiny Database:

1. Open the [install location]\FSC-Destiny\fsc\bin\config.properties file in a text editor.

2. Locate the following lines: # SIF Server Settings SIF_START SERVER=false #SIF_POLLING_RATE=60000 SIF_ALLOW_DELETE_STUDENT=false

3. Change the SIF_START_SERVER to “true” and save the file.

4. Stop the Destiny service.

5. Run the [install location]\FSC-Destiny\fsc\bin\config.bat file to apply the change.

6. Start the Destiny service.


Enable SIF Features Log in to Destiny as a district administrator. From the district settings page, enable the “Use Schools Interoperability Framework” check box:

Map SIF Objects to Patron Types SIF defines two kinds of “people” objects: StudentPersonal and StaffPersonal. In contrast, Destiny lets you define as many Patron Types as needed to organize your patron database. When SIF is enabled, Destiny maps each of these Patron Types to either StudentPersonal or StaffPersonal (by default, “Students” and “Faculty” respectively.)

Login to each site’s administration page and ensure each Patron Type is mapped to either StudentPersonal or StaffPersonal. In addition, you must choose a default patron type to be assigned to new patrons. By default, Destiny will assign the “Student” patron type to StudentPersonal objects and the “Faculty” patron type to StaffPersonal objects.


Overview of Basic Configuration Steps Agent configuration is a necessary step in the deployment and management of SIF Zones. If you are running other SIF-enabled applications, you might need to perform additional customization tasks.

Perform these steps to configure the Agent:

1. Start the Agent.

2. Configure Database Settings.

3. Configure SIF Registration Settings.

4. Verify Barcode Options.

5. Configure Zones.

6. Synchronize Zones.


Starting the Agent 1. Open the Windows Services manager and start the Destiny SIF Agent. Open the

SIF Agent Console by choosing Destiny SIF Agent > SIF Agent Console from the Start menu.

2. Click the Connect button.

3. The main window of the Agent Console is displayed.


Important: Note that the presence of the Console’s icon on the Windows system tray does not necessarily mean the Agent is running. The Agent is independent from the Console, and is started/stopped from the Windows Services manager.

Configuring Database Settings If you disable consortiums and restart the Agent, the “Configure Database” panel will appear in the settings. When consortiums are enabled, a database must be configured for each Zone Group. Note that changing the Consortiums Enabled/Disabled options requires the Agent to be restarted before you can complete Agent configuration.

Consortiums Disabled:

A single Destiny database is used. The Agent Settings “Configure Database” panel is used to establish

connectivity with the Destiny database.

Consortiums Enabled:

Multiple databases are used. Connectivity with the master database is configured through the Agent

Settings “Consortiums” panel.


Connectivity with each member database is established through the Zone Group Settings ‘Database’ panel.

Each Zone Group in the Agent represents a single Destiny consortium.

1. Choose File > Agent Settings.

2. Highlight the Agent Settings > Database node in the tree. Enter your Destiny database connection parameters:

Server Address

The IP address or host name of Destiny’s SQL Server database

Server Port The port should be set to 1433, unless you have configured Microsoft SQL Server to use a different port. Alternatively, you can use a named instance.

User Name The SQL Server login the Agent should use when connecting to the database (e.g. CircCatAdmin)

Password The SQL Server login password

Leave the Minimum Connections and Maximum Connections fields at their default values of 2 and 10, respectively. These values control how many database connections are available to the Agent.

Configuring SIF Registration Settings 1. Highlight the Agent Settings > SIF Registration node in the tree.


2. Verify that the Registration, Messaging Mode, and SIF Version tabs are set correctly for your installation. If you’re unsure of what the values on this page should be set to, leave them as-is and consult your ZIS administrator.

3. Close the dialog box.

4. Restart the Agent if you changed any settings on the Registration or SIF Version page. To do this, choose File > Shutdown Agent, then follow the steps in the previous section to restart the Agent. You do not need to restart the Console; just click it on the Windows system tray icon once the Agent has been restarted.

Verifying Barcode Options The barcode prefix is useful for flagging patrons created through the SIF infrastructure. For example, suppose your district wants to retain all of the barcodes currently assigned to Destiny patrons. For new patrons, you want to assign a barcode that is entered manually by a librarian (either because of existing procedure at the district or because the SIS system does not have the ability to publish barcodes.) Using a prefix such as “SIF” is an easy way to identify new patrons that originated via SIF.

1. Choose File > Agent Settings to open the Global Agent Settings dialog.

2. Navigate to the Default Zone Settings > Barcode Options node.


3. If you want to allow the barcodes of existing patrons to be updated via SIF, mark the checkboxes in the “Barcode Updates” group. By default, existing patron barcodes are not modified via SIF. (This does not apply to new patrons added through SIF; new patrons are always assigned a barcode).

4. If you want to prefix barcodes assigned through SIF, type a prefix in the “Barcode Prefix (Optional)” group of options. You can assign different prefixes to student and teacher objects.

Configuring Zones Follow these steps for each Zone you wish to connect to:

1. Choose File > New Zone.


2. Enter the Zone ID (e.g. “JRHIGHDEMO”).

3. Enter the Zone URL (e.g. “http://localhost:7080/JRHIGHDEMO”).

4. If you are using a zone-only installation (non-consortium), leave the Group: setting as “None.” You may also use consortiums, as shown in the screenshot above. Consortiums, in Destiny, are usually used to service multiple districts. If you are working with consortiums, the Consortium: setting appears instead of the Group: setting. Select the consortium to which the new zone should belong.

IMPORTANT: If you’re using consortiums, you should define a Zone group representing each Destiny Database. When adding Zones, select the consortium to which each school or district zone should belong.

5. Click OK. The Zones you add are listed in the main window.

Synchronizing Zones The Destiny Agent requires each Zone to be “synchronized” with SIF before the Agent can respond to SIF Events. The synchronization process involves collecting school, student, staff, and enrollment data from the various Zones the Agent is connected to, matching those objects with patrons already in the Destiny database, and then committing the changes to Destiny.

The Console features a 6-step “Synchronization Wizard” from which the synchronization process is performed. It’s easy to use and can be repeated whenever the Destiny database has become “out of sync” with your student information system.

1. Choose Tools > Synchronize.


2. The Synchronization Wizard starts; Step 1 of 7 is displayed.

Click Next.

3. Step 2 is displayed.

Select the zone(s) with which you will synchronize, then click Next.



Choose the type of records to include in the synch (Students/Staff, Classes, or both); click Next.


Select the school or schools with which you wish to synchronize, then click Next.

6. A confirmation message appears.


Click Yes to continue.


When the synchronization process is complete, the Progress column will change to “Done”.


If you click on Cancel, at this step or subsequent steps, the following confirmation screen appears.

If you cancel, the changes associated with this synchronization will be lost. Click Next to proceed to the next step.

8. A screen showing the Synchronization Wizard’s progress in analyzing records appears.

9. When the Analyze Records step is complete, Step 6 appears.


10. Select a SIF object, then click on the Reconcile New Records button, to manage any unmatched objects.

11. A screen on which you can reconcile records appears.

Students labeled as Unmatched do not have matching records in both SIF


StudentPersonal Objects and Destiny Student Records. Unless manually reconciled, Unmatched entries will be imported as new records. After selecting an Unmatched entry, you can click the Skip button to exclude that entry from the synchronization. Students labeled as Matched have matching records in both SIF StudentPersonal Objects and Destiny Student Records, but have not been synchronized before. Changes to the StudentPersonal Objects from the SIS will be saved in Destiny Student Records when you click OK in Step 12. Students labeled as Synchronized have matching records in SIF StudentPersonal Objects and Destiny Student Records, and these matching records have been synced before. Changes to the StudentPersonal Objects from the SIS will be saved in Destiny Student Records when you click OK in Step 12. For students labeled as Unreported, the record has been synced before, but in this sync, the record no longer exists in the SIS, or no longer exists in Destiny Student Records. This may indicate that a student has graduated or moved, or that there is an error in the SIS.

12. When you are done reconciling records, click OK to commit the changes to the database.

IMPORTANT: It is critical to manually verify, and if needed manually match, unmatched students; otherwise duplicate accounts may be created.

13. The final step of the synchronization appears.

14. If you are satisfied with the way students, staff, and/or classes are matched on the previous page, click Finish, and the “finish up” screen appears. Once you have clicked the Finish button, the changes you have made cannot be undone.


Note that the progress bar may appear empty for a while. This does not mean the Agent has frozen. It just means that updating records takes time, and that the progress bar is incremented by zone. If you are only synchronizing with one zone, the progress bar will jump from empty to completed in an instant, when the synchronization for that one zone is complete. If you are synchronizing with (for example) five zones, then you will see incremental progress in the progress bar each time a zone completes synchronization. Please do not close the Synchronization Wizard or restart the agent at this point. If you do, all the changes made in the synchronization will be lost.

Now that Zones are synchronized, the Agent will respond to SIF_Events from the student information system. You can run the synchronization Wizard again at any time to resynchronize.

Performing Multiple Synchronizations In version 2.2 of the SIF Agent for Destiny 9.8, you can perform synchronizations for multiple consortiums at the same time, in a timely manner. Note that, while you can perform synchronizations for multiple consortiums at once, only one synchronization per consortium may run at a time.

1. Begin a synchronization. Follow it as far as Step 5 of 7, in which the SIF objects are being requested.


2. To start another synchronization, click the Close button.

3. This returns you to the main console screen, from which you can start a synchronization for another consortium. Select a consortium or zone that does not have a synchronization running. Follow that synchronization as far as Step 5 of 7, then click the Close button to return to the main console screen and start a synchronization for another consortium, and so on.

4. When a synchronization has finished Step 5, a message in the Sync Status column on the main console screen appears, saying that user action is required.

5. Select the zone or consortium with the user action required, and select Tools > Synchronize, to re-open that synchronization and complete the remaining steps of the synchronization.

From the Synchronization Status panel in the Synchronization Wizard, it is possible to stop collection for any zones within a consortium that are not able to complete the synchronization, so that other zones may complete.


4. Advanced Configuration for StudentPicture Data Flow

Configuring the Agent to manage the flow of StudentPicture data—from the StudentPicture Provider, through the Data Solutions ZIS, to the Destiny application—requires some additional steps.

IMPORTANT: Make sure your providing SIF agent supports providing of StudentPicture.

Configuring the Destiny Agent for StudentPicture Data Flow

1. Determine where components are located.

If all components are physically located on the same machine, then the <property

name="sync.StudentPicture.PicturePath" value=""/> in the agent.cfg file does not need to be set. The default function of the Agent will take care of flowing StudentPictures data from the StudentPicture Provider to Destiny application.

If the components are divided among multiple machines (for example, an application machine and an agent machine), you will need to follow these steps.

2. Create a common user ID.

Create (or, if one already exists, use) a Common User Identification (CUID) on both the system running the Agent and the system running the Destiny application. This CUID must be password synchronized on both systems. A Domain User Identification (DUID) will work, as well, provided it has access to both systems and has change & read permissions to the share location.

3. Change the Destiny Agent service to run using this account.

Change the Destiny Agent service so that it runs using the CUID or DUID you just created. Remember that the username and password must be the same on both the agent machine and the application machine for this process to work.

4. Create a UNC Share, Example: \\myserver\edu_pics on the machine where the Destiny application is located, then place it in the agent.cfg file. <property

name="sync.StudentPicture.PicturePath" value="put the UNC path here"/>

Note that you do not use a [Drive Letter:\path] for this process.

5. Grant Change and Read Rights to the Share for the UID running the Destiny Application. This UID is SYSTEM by default. See the example in the image below.


6. Grant Change and Read Rights to the Share for the DUID running the Destiny Agent.

When the Destiny application is running in “Standalone” mode, you also need to alter the permissions for the group Everyone. The group Everyone needs to be granted Change & Read permissions for this shared folder.


IMPORTANT: In all of the cases above, whether the UID is a CUID, DUID, or “standalone” mode, it must have the appropriate rights to the Agent directory to be able to start the Agent. The UID must have both Change and Read rights.


Part II A D M I N I S T R A T I O N A N D B A S I C O P E R A T I O N S

5. The Console The Destiny SIF Agent Console is where configuration and administration tasks are performed. To open the Console, click the Destiny Agent icon on the taskbar.

The Console’s main window displays the list of established Zones.

Zone Status Although the Destiny Agent is designed to run unattended, the Console can provide a good picture of the activity taking place on each Zone and whether any errors have occurred that require attention. The main window summarizes Zone status with an icon and a message in the Status column for each Zone.

One of three status icons may be displayed beside a Zone:


Icon Status Description

OK The Zone is connected to both the Destiny database and the Zone Integration Server and is idle or performing activity; Event Reporting is functioning properly if enabled. No attention is required.

Warning A warning condition has arisen that may or may not require attention:

1. Event Reporting has been suspended because of a database or network connection error. The Agent will automatically retry the operation in 5 minutes. If the warning status persists, open the Zone Status dialog box as described below to investigate.

2. The Zone is disabled—that is, an administrator checked the “Temporarily disable SIF Connectivity to this Zone” option in the Settings dialog box, or the New Year Rollover Wizard has disabled all Zones during a rollover operation

Error An error condition has arisen that requires attention:

1. The Destiny database is not available. 2. The Object IDs Database is not available. 3. The connection to the Zone Integration Server is not

available. 4. Event Reporting has encountered a fatal error. Details

are available from the Activity tab of the Zone Status dialog box. An administrator must manually re-start Event Reporting from this dialog box.


The Menu Bar The Console’s commands are organized under three menus on the menu bar:

File Menu The File menu is used to establish, import / export, or delete Zones; configure the Destiny SIF Agent; set up or change default Zone settings; shut down the Agent; and close the Console.

Menu Item Description File New Zone Set up and define a new Zone.

Import Zones Imports Zones from the Zone import file.

New Consortium Set up a new Consortium (a database hosting

solution for districts or states running numerous databases). Establish connections with database.

Export Zones Select Zones to be sent to the Zone export file.

Delete Zones Delete Zones; operation cannot be undone.

Agent Settings Choose the Agent’s connectivity and reporting settings; and choose the default settings for each Zone. (Agent Settings is the most comprehensive sub-menu in the File menu; following is a table describing the operations available in the Agent Settings menu.)

Shutdown Agent Stops the Agent, but does not close the Console.

Close Console Closes the Console, but does not shut down the Agent.


File > Agent Settings Menu Menu Item Description

File > Agent Settings

Synchronization

Synchronize Destiny Patrons with SIF StudentPersonal and StaffPersonal Data Objects.

Consortiums

Enable and define use of Consortiums.

SIF Registration

Register the SIF Agent with the Zone Integration Server (ZIS), and choose how the Agent will retrieve messages from the ZIS.

SIF Messaging

Define SIF Messaging.

Transports

Choose Transport (HTTP/HTTPS) protocols.

Logging

Define logging of transactions between the Agent and the ZIS.


Zone Menu The Zone menu is used to manage connections to SIF Zones or to display the Zone Status window for the highlighted Zone. Note that Zones cannot be added and removed from this menu; instead, use the File > New Zones or File > Delete Zones Settings… commands.

Menu Item Description Zone

Connect Establishes a connection to the Zone that’s highlighted in the main window. This command is grayed out if the highlighted Zone is currently connected.

Disconnect Disconnects the Agent from the Zone Integration Server that manages the Zone that’s highlighted in the main window.

Control > Sleep Informs the Zone Integration Server that the Agent does not wish to accept any messages. This command is grayed out if the Agent is currently sleeping. Note: The Agent normally places each Zone in Sleep mode when the Windows Service is stopped.

Control > Wakeup Wakes up a Zone that has previously been put into Sleep mode. Note: The Agent normally wakes up each Zone when the Windows Service is started.

Control > Ping Sends a “SIF Ping” request to the Zone Integration Server for the highlighted Zone to verify that the Agent and server are connected and communicating.

Control > Unregister Unregisters the zone from the ZIS. Zone Status Opens the Zone Status window from which you can

view activity and status information regarding the highlighted Zone.

Zone Settings Shows Zone Settings window. Nodes on Zone Settings window include: General, Barcode Options, Homeroom Options, School Year, SIF Registration, SIF Data Objects, and SIF Codes.


Tools Menu The Tools menu is used to access the Agent & Zone Settings dialog box and the Object ID Database status window, as well as to perform specialized administrative tasks such as manually generating SIF Events for Destiny records.

Help Menu Under the Help Menu, you can access the About window, which shows details about the agent.

Tools

Synchronize Opens Synchronization Wizard, to synchronize Destiny database with SIF data objects.

Unsynchronize Deletes all synchronized data in the Agent for the selected Zones, effectively returning the Zones to an unsynchronized state. No changes are made in the Destiny application.

Advanced > Event Queue Viewer

View waiting SIF events.

Database Status Displays connection status, server name, schools, and Object IDs.


6. Basic Operations from the File Menu (Non-Consortium-based and Consortium-based)

From the File Menu, you can set up, import/export, or delete Zones, and choose default settings for the Agent.

Setting Up a New Zone (Non-Consortium-based) Important: Consult the Zone Integration Server (ZIS) administrator to verify Zone ID and URL for the new Zone you wish to establish.

1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent Console.

2. Click on File > New Zone to open the New Zone window.

3. In the Zone Integration Server box, enter the ID of the new Zone.

4. In the URL field, enter the URL of the new Zone.

At this point, if desired, click on the “Status” button to open the Zone Status window, where the current Zone’s URL, Name, and Connectivity (Status) are displayed. The server, version, and vendor of the ZIS are also displayed in this window. This step is completely optional, but can be useful for verification and for troubleshooting.

5. If you wish to place the new Zone in a Zone Group, then select a Zone Group within the Zone Group window at this time.

6. Check / uncheck “Enable SIF Connectivity with this Zone.”


7. Click “OK” to accept the new Zone. The new Zone is displayed in the tree Destiny SIF Agent Console.

Setting Up a New Consortium Consortiums are Destiny’s unique solution for school systems with large or numerous school or district databases. The Consortium “hosts” a group of databases, allowing administrators to easily manage data for multiple schools and districts.

It is important to note that the Consortiums must be created in the Destiny application before defining Zones within the Destiny Agent.

1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.

2. Click on File > New Consortium to open the New Consortium Member window.


3. The New Consortium Member window appears.


4. Select the consortium name from the dropdown and navigate to the ‘Database’ panel.


5. Click on the Database tab.

Fields and buttons in the Database window include:

Radio buttons for choosing between connecting to a TCP/IP port or a named instance. In this example screenshot, a named instance is selected. The fields available in the Database window change slightly if the radio button for a TCP/IP port is selected.

Fields for entering database name; server address; server port; user name; password; and minimum and maximum connections.

6. Enter the information about the database with which the new Consortium will be associated.

7. Click on the Test Connection button to verify database connection.

8. If the connection is good, you will get a “Connection test was successful” confirmation message; if the connection was not made, you will get a “Connection test failed” message, in which case you should check the connection settings and verify the availability of the SQL Server database.


9. If the connection test is successful, click OK on the Connection Test window, then click OK on the New Consortium Member window. The new consortium appears in the main Destiny console window.

Once the new consortium is created, you can create zones or import zones into it.

Setting Up a New Zone (Consortium-based) Important: Consult the Zone Integration Server (ZIS) administrator to verify Zone ID and URL for the new Zone you wish to establish.


2. Click on File > New Zone to open the New Zone window.


3. In the Zone ID box, enter the ID of the new Zone. If you hit tab at this point, the URL field will automatically populate. If your Zone Integration Server (ZIS) is located on another machine, you will need to change the “localhost” portion of the URL to either the IP or the machine name on which the ZIS is installed.

At this point, if desired, click on the “Status” button to open the Zone Status window, where the current Zone’s URL, Name, and Connectivity (Status) are displayed. The server, version, and vendor of the ZIS are also displayed in this window. This step is completely optional, but can be useful for verification and for troubleshooting.

In the Consortium window, click the down arrow to the right of the Name field to see a drop-down list of established Consortiums (remember that Consortiums are created first in the Destiny application) to which the new Zone may be assigned. Choose a Consortium from the list. If you are not using Consortiums, then leave this set to “-- None --".

4. Check/uncheck “Enable SIF Connectivity with this Zone.”

5. Click “OK” to accept the new Zone. The new Zone is displayed in the tree Destiny SIF Agent Console.

Importing Zone(s) 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent Console.

2. Click on File > Import Zones to open a file/folder search window.

3. Find and select the folder / filename of the Zone to be imported, and click Open.

4. In the Zone Import window, choose the Zone(s) you wish to import, and click OK.

Exporting Zones 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.


2. Click on File > Export Zones to open the Zone Export window.

3. Click the checkbox(es) of the Zone(s) you wish to export.

4. Click “OK” to export selected Zone(s). -or- Click on the Export Information tab to verify Export details, and then click “OK.”

Deleting Zones 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.


2. Click on File > Delete Zones to display the Delete Zones window.

3. Expand the group folders and check the Zone(s) to be deleted.

4. Click the “Delete” button to display the Confirm window.

Important: This operation cannot be undone.

5. Verify that this is the Zone you wish to delete, and then click “Yes” or “No” accordingly.

Viewing Agent Settings 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.

2. Click File > Agent Settings to display the Global Agent Settings window.


Select the setting you wish to view or modify.

Synchronizing Destiny Patrons with SIF StudentPersonal and StaffPersonal Data Objects


2. Click on File > Agent Settings.


3. From the Agent Settings menu, click on Synchronization.

4. From the drop-down lists, select the fields you want to match between Destiny Patrons and SIF StudentPersonal and StaffPersonal objects.

5. Click “Close” to accept the selections.

Enabling and Defining Consortiums Consortiums are Destiny’s unique solution for school systems with large or numerous school or district databases. The Consortium “hosts” a group of databases, allowing administrators to easily manage multiple schools and districts.




3. From the Agent Settings menu list, click on Consortiums.

4. Check the “Use Consortiums” box to enable use of consortiums in the Destiny SIF Agent, and define the Database Settings. -or- Check the “Destiny 7.5 and earlier Compatibility” box.

5. Test the connection to the database by clicking on the “Test Connection” button.

6. A successful test connection message is displayed; click “OK.” -or- An unsuccessful test connection message is displayed; click “OK.” Verify the consortium name and database settings, make corrections if necessary, and retry the connection.

7. Close the Consortiums window.

Verifying Destiny SIF Agent Registration with the Zone Integration Server(s)




3. Click on SIF Registration.

4. Click on the Registration tab, and enter the Agent ID (Destiny).

5. Set the buffer size.

IMPORTANT: This setting specifies the maximum size of messages that can be received by the Destiny Agent. The factory default is 256Kb. Administrators rarely change this setting.

6. Close the SIF Registration window.

IMPORTANT: The Agent ID change will not take effect until the next time the Agent is started.

Choosing SIF Messaging Settings SIF Messaging settings control how the Agent sends responses to queries and how often it checks Destiny for changes in record data. The factory defaults are recommended for most installations, although you may wish to decrease the Event Reporting frequency to reduce network traffic and access to the Destiny database files.


Enabling Event Reporting If Event Reporting is enabled, the Destiny SIF Agent reports SIF LogEntry events to SIF.


2. Click on File > Agent Settings to open the Global Agent Settings window.


3. Check the “Enable Event Reporting” box.

4. Choose Agent reporting intervals from the drop-down box. The Agent can check for changes every 15 or 30 seconds; every 1, 5, 10, or 30 minutes; or hourly.


Setting SIF Request and Response Data Packet Volume This group of settings controls how the Agent responds to queries. If the “Return as many objects as possible per packet” radio button is selected, the Destiny Agent will fit as many objects into each response message as possible. The requesting Agent’s maximum buffer size is used to calculate the size of response packets. For example, if a requesting Agent with a maximum buffer size of 100K bytes queries Destiny for all student records, the Agent will divide the responses into chunks of 100K, perhaps resulting in a few dozen messages depending on the number of students in the school. This approach results in the optimal number of packets, thereby reducing network and processing overhead.

In some cases, particularly during diagnostics, it may be desirable to have the Agent respond to queries with a single packet per object. To enable this mode, select the “Return one object per packet (slower)” radio button. For example, if a requesting Agent issued a query for all students and 1200 students were enrolled in the school, the Destiny Agent would respond with 1200 individual packets, each consisting of one student object. This mode results in much slower overall processing by the requesting Agent because it must process many more messages.

FFactory Default The factory default is “Return as many objects as possible per packet.”

WWhen to Change Change this setting to “Return one object per packet” only when it is easier to diagnose problems if query responses are packaged into individual response packets (e.g. one record in a response is resulting in an XML Validation error but you’re not sure which one). Once you’ve isolated the problem, revert to the “Return as many objects as possible per packet” setting.


2. Click on File > Agent Settings to open the Global Agent Settings window.

3. Check the “Enable Event Reporting” box.

4. Choose Agent reporting intervals from the drop-down box. The Agent can check for changes every 15 or 30 seconds; every 1, 5, 10, or 30 minutes; or hourly.


Setting Transports Protocols The Transports group of settings controls how the Agent communicates with the Zone Integration Server over the HTTP or HTTPS transport protocols. Refer to the Security section in the Advanced Configuration chapter for additional information on configuring HTTPS.

IMPORTANT: For additional information on configuring HTTPS and using the Certificate Manager, refer to the Security section of this guide.

Protocol Choose the networking protocol used to communicate with the Zone Integration Server when the Agent is running in Push mode. (In Pull mode, this setting is ignored.) The default is HTTP. When the Agent starts up, it will establish a networking socket on the specified port to “listen” for incoming messages sent by the Zone Integration Server.

NOTE : TThe protocol chosen here must match the protocol used in the Zone URL field of each Zone. In other words, you cannot send messages to the ZIS over HTTPS but configure the Transports settings to receive messages over HTTP. The protocols must match.

HTTP Port

This is the port the Agent will listen on for incoming HTTP traffic when the Protocol field is set to HTTP. The factory default is 5580. Change the port number only if another application on the computer is already using this port.


HTTPS Port

This is the port the Agent will listen on for incoming HTTPS traffic when the Protocol field is set to HTTPS. The factory default is 5543. Change the port number only if another application on the computer is already using this port.

Certificate Manager

Click on the Certificate Manager button on the HTTPS tab to view the Certificate Manager. From the Certificate Manager, view or select Agent and Server certificates to be trusted by the Zone Integration Server.


Choosing Logging Settings This group of settings controls the volume and level of diagnostic logging information written to the Agent and Zone logs. Log files are found in the Agent’s “logs” sub-directory.

Logging > Scope Tab

Scope

These checkboxes control how much information is written to the log files.

SIF Message Logging

This setting controls how much if any low-level SIF Messaging activity is written to the log files, independent of any Destiny-related activity. Experiment with these settings to determine how much logging is desired. For example, if you’re interested in viewing the actual SIF infrastructure messages that are exchanged between the Agent and Zone Integration Server, choose the “4-Detailed” level or higher. If you’re only interested in seeing the SIF message identifiers but not the actual payload of each message, decrease the logging level to “2-Moderate”. To view all SIF activity logging, choose “6-All”.

Low-Level Diagnostics

Use these checkboxes to choose the types of Destiny-related activities that will be written to the log files. For example, to view details about each change captured in the Destiny Event Transaction Log whenever the Agent reports a SIF Event, check the “Log Event Reporting” and “Log Event Reporting Details” check boxes.

Note that Log Event Reporting Details is considered a diagnostic log level, so “Diagnostics” must also be checked at the top of the page.

Logging > Output Tab

Log to System Console / Log to File

Choose options for logging SIF messaging to the System Console and/or to designated files.

Roll Files by Size

Choose the maximum file count and size .

Roll Files by Date

Choose to roll files hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.

Logging > Server Log Enables/disables the Agent’s ability to report SIF_LogEntry events to the Zone’s log.

Logging > Message Tracing Enables the Agent to write out and/or archive SIF responses received during synchronization. You may also set whether or not to keep prior message traces, and if so, how many. Data Solutions support reviews these message tracing files to diagnose synchronization problems.


Choosing Default Zone Settings These are the settings by which each Zone will handle Barcode Options, Home Room Number, School Year, SIF Data Objects, and SIF Codes. (The options you choose here will be applied to every Zone, but you can change settings for individual Zones by disabling the defaults in the Zone Settings menu.) Some of these steps are covered in the “Basic Configuration” section of this guide.

To Set the Zone Defaults:

1. Open the Destiny Agent Console.

2. Click on File > Zone Settings.

3. Choose from the following options in the Default Zone Settings tree to configure the Zone settings.

Barcode Options File > Agent Settings > Default Zone Settings > Barcode Options

Allow Student and Teacher Barcodes to be updated by checking the respective box, and/or choosing a prefix for all SIF-supplied barcodes.


Homeroom Options File > Agent Settings > Default Zone Settings > Homeroom Options

From the Homeroom Options drop-down, choose the SIF source for Patron Homeroom. (These settings apply only to existing patrons updated via the Synchronization Wizard and SIF Events.)

How the Agent Handles Homeroom Options

The Agent and Destiny support Home Room Number, Home Room Name, and five user-defined fields (User-Defined Field 1, User-Defined Field 2, User-Defined Field 3, User-Defined Field 4, User-Defined Field 5). The value for each of these fields can be obtained from the StudentPersonal or StudentSchoolEnrollment SIF objects. The agent configuration can define custom mappings to assign values to the user defined fields.

HOMEROOM works differently than the USER1 – USER5 fields. HOMEROOM is configured through a combination of the user interface and custom mappings in the agent configuration file. If you wish to use fields other than Homeroom Room Number and Homeroom Room Name, please consult Data Solutions Support team members, who can configure up to five User Defined Fields in the agent configuration file for use in Homeroom Options.

Note: Custom fields can be defined on an implementation, per-zone group, or per-zone basis. That is, custom mappings can be specific to a zone or zone group. Implementing such mappings is an advanced topic/feature and will likely require the assistance of Data Solutions to configure.


The Destiny agent can perform a 1-to-1 mapping of any StudentPersonal or StudentSchoolEnrollment data element into a Destiny custom field. The Agent cannot perform data lookups, such as deriving a teacher’s name or room number from a student’s enrollment record or schedule for a specific period. Some student information systems, such as SASI, can perform the lookups; the ability to perform relational lookups is a feature of the SIS and not Destiny. Destiny simply leverages the abilities of the SIS.

School Year File > Agent Settings > Default Settings > School Year

Choose the School Year and date range by which certain SIF Data Objects will be filtered.

SIF Data Objects Settings File > Agent Settings > Default Zone Settings > SIF Data Objects

The SIF Data Objects Settings will determine how the Destiny Agent shares and requests information with the Zone Integration Server and, thereby, with other Agents and applications. The settings include, as appropriate for each Object, the options to Publish, Subscribe, Synchronize, and to allow Student and Staff Username and Password Options. (Again, the selected default settings will be applied to every Zone, but can be disabled for selected Zones, through the Zone Settings menu.)


Data Objects supported by the SIF Agent are found in the following table with their corresponding query, publishing, and processing capacities:

Object Provides Requests Publishes Processes

Ad

ds

Ch

ange

s

Del

etes

Ad

ds

Ch

ange

s

Del

etes

LibraryPatronStatus √ RoomInfo √ √ √ √ SchoolCourseInfo √ SchoolInfo √ √ SectionInfo √ SIF_LogEntry √ StaffAssignment √ √ √ √ StaffPersonal √ √ √ √ StudentPersonal √ √ √ √ StudentPicture √ √ √ √ StudentSchoolEnrollment √ √ √ √ StudentSectionEnrollment √ TermInfo √

SIF Codes File > Agent Settings > Default Zone Settings > SIF Codes


This menu matches Destiny codes with their corresponding SIF codes. (These are the codes by which SIF will identify and interpret Destiny data object IDs for the ZIS). The types of SIF Codes you can configure are Subject Area, Timetable Day, and Timetable Period.

To edit the Description, Destiny Code, or SIF Code identifiers, double-click into the target cell and enter the new information or values.

Also, you can add or delete SIF Codes by clicking on those respective buttons.


Shutting Down the Agent File > Shutdown Agent

To shut down the Agent, choose File > Shutdown Agent. A confirmation dialog is displayed; choose OK to stop the Agent, or Cancel to continue running the Agent.

-or-

Click on the Windows Services icon in the system tray, and select the Agent from the list; choose “Stop” to shut down the Agent.


Closing the Console File > Close Console

To close the Console, choose File > Close Console. (This action returns the Console to the system tray. It does not stop the Agent.)

The Console may be removed from the system tray by right-clicking the tray icon and selecting Exit Console from the pop-up menu.


7. Basic Operations from the Zone Menu

The Zone menu is used to manage connections to SIF Zones or to display the Zone Status window for the highlighted Zone. Note that Zones cannot be added and removed from this menu; instead, use the File > New Zones or File > Delete Zones… command.

Checking and Managing Zone Status and Connections 1. Open the Destiny Agent.

2. In the Console’s main window, highlight the Zone you wish to check or manage.

3. Choose from the options in the following table:

Menu Item Description Zone Connect Establishes a connection to the Zone that’s highlighted

in the main window. This command is grayed out if the highlighted Zone is currently connected.

Disconnect Disconnects the Agent from the Zone Integration Server that manages the Zone that’s highlighted in the main window.

Control > Sleep Informs the Zone Integration Server that the Agent does not wish to accept any messages. This command is grayed out if the Agent is currently sleeping. Note: The Agent normally places each Zone in Sleep mode when the Windows Service is stopped.

Control > Wakeup Wakes up a Zone that has previously been put into Sleep mode. Note: The Agent normally wakes up each Zone when the Windows Service is started.

Control > Ping Sends a “SIF Ping” request to the Zone Integration Server for the highlighted Zone to verify that the Agent and server are connected and communicating.

Zone Status Opens the Zone Status window from which you can view activity and status information, activity, and any unreportable events for the selected Zone.

Zone Settings Opens the Zone Settings window where the Agent Settings and Default Settings for the selected Zone are viewed and/or modified.


Verifying or Changing Zone URL 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent Console.

2. Highlight the Zone you wish to manage.

3. From the main menu, choose Zone > Zone Settings.

4. In the General tab, verify or change the Zone’s URL

5. Close the Zone Settings window, or select options in the Zone Settings tree.

IMPORTANT: Use the Zone Defaults defined under the Agent settings unless you need to define unique Zone settings to accommodate differing school needs.


Verifying or Modifying Zone Settings 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent Console.

2. Highlight the Zone you wish to manage.

3. From the main menu, choose Zone > Zone Settings.

4. Expand the Zone Settings tree, and select the options you wish to check or modify.

5. Check / uncheck the “Use defaults” box. For example, if you wanted to use the default settings for the School Year Zone Setting, you would leave the “Use defaults” box checked. This allows it to use the same school year setting as the Global Agent setting.


6. If you choose not to use default settings, enter the information you wish to use for your Zone settings. Repeat these steps for each Zone Setting option you wish to customize. For example, if you wish to use different School Year settings for the zone you are modifying, uncheck the “Use defaults” box and make the needed changes.

7. Click on Close to close the Zone Settings window.


8. Basic Operations from the Tools Menu

The Tools menu is used to access the Agent & Zone Settings dialog box and the Object ID Database status window, as well as to perform specialized administrative tasks such as manually generating SIF Events for SASI records.

Synchronizing the Destiny Database with SIF Data Objects To start the six-step Synchronization wizard:


2. Choose Tools > Synchronization.

3. Follow the steps for choosing records and Zones to synchronize.

Menu Item Description Tools Synchronize Opens Synchronization Wizard, to

synchronize Destiny database with SIF data objects.

Unsynchronize Deletes all synchronized data in the Agent for the selected Zones, effectively returning the Zones to an unsynchronized state. No changes are made in the Destiny application.

Advanced > Queue Viewer

View waiting SIF events

Database Status Displays connection status, server name, schools, and Object IDs.


Unsynchronizing the Destiny Database with SIF Data Objects 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent Console.

2. Choose Tools > Unsynchronize.

3. From the Zone tree, select the Zone(s) you wish to unsynchronize.

4. Click on the “Unsynchronize” button; a message is displayed warning you that this operation cannot be undone.

5. Click “Yes” to unsynchronize.

Viewing Event Queue 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.

2. Choose Tools > Advanced > Event Queue Viewer.

Viewing Database Status 1. Open the Destiny SIF Agent.

2. Choose Tools > Advanced > Database Status.

3. The Database Status window displays Connection Status; Database Server; Schools, and Object IDs.


Part III A U T H E N T I C A T I O N , C E R T I F I C A T E S , A N D Z O N E U R L S

9. Security The Destiny Agent communicates with Zone Integration Servers using the HTTP or secure HTTPS transport protocols. HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP commonly used by e-commerce websites. It provides for both encrypted and authenticated communications so that data sent over the network is not only protected from view but also verified to be exchanged between two parties that trust one another. HTTP works the same as HTTPS but does not offer any encryption or authentication capability.

Authentication HTTPS may be used in two modes:

• Server Authentication • Client & Server Authentication

When Server Authentication is used, the Zone Integration Server presents its security credentials to the Destiny Agent for verification each time the Agent sends a message to the server. If the Agent does not trust that the server is who it claims to be, the connection is not established. With Server Authentication, the Agent knows that it is transmitting SIF information to the Zone Integration Server instead of to a third-party claiming to be the Zone Integration Server.

When Client Authentication is used, both sides of the communication present their security credentials for verification. Client Authentication ensures that the Zone Integration Server sends SIF messages to the Destiny Agent at a specified server address, so that another party cannot act as an imposter by registering its own Destiny Agent with the server.

With both Server Authentication and Client Authentication, the entity asking for a certificate must trust that certificate for the communication to proceed. This trust is established when both parties have one another’s digital certificate on file.

Preparing for HTTPS To use HTTPS you’ll need:

1. A digital certificate signed by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). You have two options for obtaining a certificate: Establish your own Certificate Authority with


software available from Microsoft, Netscape, and others; or purchase a signed certificate from a third-party CA such as VeriSign.

2. The Zone Integration Server’s digital certificate. You’ll import this certificate into the Agent’s “truststore”—a file that keeps track of the certificates the Agent will trust when establishing connections to Zone Integration Servers.

In addition, when using Client Authentication, the Zone Integration Server will need a copy of the Destiny Agent’s certificate as well so that it can trust the Agent. Consult your ZIS documentation for instructions on setting up HTTPS at the Zone Integration Server.

Importing Certificates for HTTPS 1. Choose Agent Settings from the File menu.

2. Choose Transports.

3. Choose the HTTPS protocol from the drop-down list.

4. Select the HTTPS tab.

5. Default settings for the HTTPS configuration are:

• Port: 5543 • Keystore: Agent.ks • Trustore: Trused.ks • Require Client Certification: Unchecked

6. Click the Certificate Manager button.

This dialog box shows the Agent Certificate in the Agent.ks file, which is modified by the HTTPS Wizard and should now consist of one entry having the IP address or hostname you entered in step 5 above. The Server Certificates tab lists the trusted Zone Integration Server certificates that are stored in the Agent’s Trusted.ks file. You can use the Import and Delete buttons on this dialog box to manually import digital certificates instead of using the HTTPS Wizard.

Trusting the Zone Integration Server’s Certificate Now that you’ve created a self-signed certificate, the second step in setting up HTTPS is to obtain the Zone Integration Server’s certificate so that the Destiny agent and the Agent console are two separate programs. The agent is intended to be run as a service but can be ran standalone.

Agent will trust it when establishing a connection to each Zone. This can be done by clicking the Import button on the Server Certificates page of the Certificate Manager (shown in the previous section).

Follow these steps:


1. Using the tools provided by your Zone Integration Server product, export its digital certificate to a file. This file will be imported into the Destiny Agent so that the server is trusted when establishing a connection.

2. Start the Agent if not already running

3. Click on the Destiny SIF Agent logo on the system tray to open the Console

4. Choose Agent Settings from the File menu

5. Click on the Transports node in the tree, then select the HTTPS protocol from the drop-down list.

6. Click the Certificate Manager button.


7. Click the Server Certificates tab to display the Zone Integration Server certificates trusted by the Destiny Agent. To import your ZIS certificate, click the Import… button and browse to the certificate file. Click OK to save your changes. The Destiny Agent is now configured to trust the certificate of your Zone Integration Server.

Configuring the Agent & Zones for HTTPS Once certificates have been configured, the final step in enabling HTTPS is to change the Agent’s transport protocol and Zone settings.

Transport Protocol Settings When the Agent runs in Push mode, it establishes an HTTPS port to listen for incoming traffic sent by the Zone Integration Server. The transport protocol and port settings are configured in the Agent & Zone Settings dialog box.

Follow these steps to set the transport protocol to HTTPS.

1. Start the Agent if not already running.

2. Click on the SIF logo on the system tray to open the Console.

3. Choose Agent Settings from the File menu.

4. Click the Transports node in the tree.

5. Select HTTPS from the “Use this protocol” combo-box.


6. Click the HTTPS tab and verify that the field values are correct. Here you can specify a port number to listen for incoming traffic, change the Agent’s keystore and truststore files, and enable Client Authentication. By default, the Destiny Agent uses port 5543 for HTTPS connectivity. If another application is using this port you can change it to another value.

7. Close the Settings dialog box and restart the Agent for the changes to take effect.

Zone URL Settings The Zone Integration Server URL of each Zone must match the protocol used by the Agent. For example, if the Agent’s transport protocol is set to HTTPS as described in the preceding section, then the URL of each Zone must be changed to “https://”. Follow these steps for each Zone the Agent is connected to:

1. Start the Agent.

2. Click on the SIF logo on the system tray to open the Console.

3. Select a Zone in the tree.

4. Choose Zone Settings from the Zone menu.

5. Verify that the URL begins with “https://” if the Agent is configured to use the HTTPS transport protocol.


6. Click on the Change button.

7. Enter a URL for the Zone.

8. When the Settings dialog box is closed, the Agent will reconnect to each Zone using the new URL.

NOTE : We encourage you to use HTTPS for all zones.


Part IV F R E Q U E N T L Y A S K E D Q U E S T I O N S

10. Follett Destiny SIF Agent FAQ Will the agent delete patrons from Destiny?

No. The agent will inactivate a patron if it gets an exit date, or if the patron is inactivated or deleted from the Destiny application, but the agent will not delete a patron.

What about student transfers? Patron information and transactions are transferred to the destination school within a district.

How can I tell if the Destiny SIF Agent is running? The agent runs as a Windows Service. From the Windows Services screen, you can verify that the service is started. There is also a log file in the Destiny application itself. In the log file, you can see exactly what the agent has been doing and when. If there is no recent activity, then you may wish to check the Windows Services screen to make certain the agent is running.

What is synchronization? Synchronization occurs when the SIF agent updates the contents of its database to match what is stored in the source database and turns over the information to the application (in this case, Follett Destiny) to place in its database as well. This allows all involved pieces of software to keep up to date about information for students in the school or district that the zone covers. The goal of synchronization is to give the SIF agent a high-level view of data from the zone in order to be able to process SIF events for the zone. It is very important the information in the agent’s database is accurate, because any inaccuracies will be duplicated in all agents that synchronize with the agent.

What is matching? Matching is the process that occurs when the SIF agent identifies differences between its information and information from the source database during synchronization. In some cases, the user/administrator must manually review these differences to determine if they are the results of inaccuracies (i.e. typographical errors in a student’s information),


updated information (i.e. the same student has moved and has a different address), or a new entry (i.e. a new student).


11. Destiny Fields These Destiny fields may be included in StudentPersonal and/or StaffPersonal mapping rules:

ACCESS_LEVEL (the Destiny Access Role [i.e. Patron, Assistant, etc.]) BARCODE BIRTHDATE CARD_EXPIRATION_DATE DISTRICTID EMAIL_1 EMAIL_2 GENDER GRADE (This field is automatically mapped) GRADUATION_YEAR HOMEROOM FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME MIDDLE_NAME NICKNAME (e.g. SIF Name/PreferredName) PASSWORD POLICY_ON_FILE (Signed Acceptable Use Policy on file. Values: Yes, No) PRIMARY_ADDR1 PRIMARY_ADDR2 PRIMARY_CITY PRIMARY_PHONE1 PRIMARY_PHONE2 PRIMARY_STATE PRIMARY_ZIPCODE SECONDARY_ADDR1 SECONDARY_ADDR2 SECONDARY_CITY SECONDARY_PHONE1 SECONDARY_PHONE2 SECONDARY_STATE SECONDARY_ZIPCODE STATUS (The patron status. Values: Active, Inactive, Restricted) USER1 USER2 USER3 USER4 USER5 USERNAME

data solutions sif agent for follett destiny 9 · destiny's patron database with any student...

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