In order to connect to a zone, you must first define it in the Console. Follow these steps to add as many zones as the Agent will connect to on the zone integration server (ZIS). If you're deploying the Agent in a service agency or other service provider organization, you'll want to create Zone Groups first, to represent each school district or customer, and then create zones as members of each group.

1. Choose the File > New Zone… menu item. The New Zone dialog box appears:

Figure 23. New Zone dialog box

1. Type the name of the zone in the Zone ID field. The Zone ID defined by the administrator of the zone integration server (ZIS).

2. Type the URL of the zone in the Zone URL field. A URL is a universal resource locator that encodes three pieces of information in a single address: the networking protocol to use (e.g. "http" or "https"); the IP address or host name of the server to connect to (e.g. "zis01.myorganization.edu", "localhost", etc.); and a path to a file or other resource (e.g. "/DISTRICT"). An example of a URL with all three components would be: http://zis01.myorganization.edu/DISTRICTEach ZIS product defines its own URL format. The Edustructures SIFWorks® Enterprise ZIS uses the format shown above. The URL must end with the case-sensitive zone ID. Consult the server administrator for the exact URL that should be used for each zone.

3. If this zone should be a member of a Zone Group, choose it from the Group menu. As a convenience, you can create zone groups on-the-fly here by clicking the New… button. They can also be created from the File > New Zone Group… menu item.

4. To create a zone in a disabled state (i.e. it will appear in the main window but the Agent will not attempt to connect to the ZIS), clear the Enable SIF Connectivity with this zone checkbox. Otherwise, leave the checkbox enabled to immediately connect and register with the zone when the dialog is closed.

Click OK to close the dialog and connect to the zone. If the Agent can't establish a connection to the zone, it will display an error message. (This may also happen if the SIF Database is down or not configured properly; the database must be available to connect to zones.)

Figure 24. Connection Error

After closing the error message, you're asked if you want to go ahead and create the zone in a disabled state, or return to the New Zone dialog to make corrections.

Figure 25. Confirm Request

If you click Yes, the zone will be added to the main window but disabled. To re-enable it, return to the Zone Settings dialog box at a later time and mark the "Enable SIF Connectivity with this zone" checkbox. If you choose No, you'll return to the New Zone dialog box and can make any corrections that are needed to the Zone ID or URL.

Zone Status

The Status… button in the New Zone window opens the Zone Status dialog box, which temporarily connects to the server to obtain zone status information. Any errors that prevent the agent from obtaining zone status are listed in the Errors tab.

Figure 26. Zone Status dialog box