Series25 LYNX Interface FAQ

What is the Series25 LYNX Interface?

LYNX is a fast, full-featured interface that integrates with your SIS to keep data in sync with the Series25 database. For information about licensing, see About the Series25 LYNX Interface.


Configuration and Setup

How do building/room code delimiters work?

In 25Live location names are a single text field, but in some SIS types they are a combination of a building and room code in separate fields. These codes are joined by a "delimiter" character which LYNX uses to identify the boundary between them.

We do not recommend using a delimiter character that is found in your building or room codes. For example, if you have a building code of SMITH HALL then you should use an underscore or other character that isn't a space. That way when LYNX sees SMITH HALL_102 in 25Live, it will know which part of the name represents the building and the room.

Are there any problems running LYNX against my SIS Test/Development environment and 25Live Test environment?

Running full-scale LYNX processes in your 25Live Test environment is not recommended since LYNX is designed to maintain strict synchronicity between your SIS and Series25 databases. SIS Test/Development environments are often overwritten by Production databases. When this happens, LYNX data becomes out of sync and needs to be re-initialized.

Also, LYNX relies heavily on SIS database tables, triggers, and stored procedures. Until those are added to your Production SIS database, any overwrite of SIS Test/Development data causes LYNX to not function correctly. Using a past term in the SIS for small-scale testing is ok because the data in those past terms is not likely to change moving forward.

What steps do I need to take after my Series25 test environment is refreshed with production data?

If you have LYNX data in both your production and test environments, you should only need to reinitialize reference data in your test instance of LYNX. This action will re-populate the data translation rules results to ensure they are not out of date after the refresh. See Initializing Data in LYNX in the help topics.

SIS Database Compatibility

Is LYNX compatible with Banner 8.X or 9.X?

LYNX for Banner is compatible with Banner 8.X, but only if the Banner DBEU Phase 2 upgrade has been implemented for the Banner Schedule module. Only Banner 9.X / XE recognizes and uses the new extended fields added by the DBEU which is critical to maintaining accurate data between your SIS and 25Live.

Is LYNX compatible with Banner 9?

LYNX is fully compatible with Banner 9.

Does LYNX for Campus Solutions support both Oracle and SQL Server database systems?

Yes! CollegeNET will provide deployment scripts to match your Campus Solutions database type.

Local LYNX Application

How does the LYNX-APP manage the log files that it generates daily?

The LYNX application stores log files for 30 days. Log files that are older than 30 days are automatically deleted by the LYNX application at the start of the next day.

Does the LYNX_APP Windows service need to be stopped prior to a patch or upgrade to 25Live?

No. There is no need to stop the LYNX-APP service when there is a SaaS service interruption, which includes patches and upgrades to your CollegeNET-hosted environments. The LYNX-APP is designed to automatically resume after such interruptions.

Data Privacy and Security

What SIS data does LYNX act on?

Any change to pertinent data (tables associated with academic scheduling data) in the SIS triggers an update of that data on CollegeNET servers. This is deliberately comprehensive. However, we only update an imported event in 25Live when important data is updated in the SIS.

Does LYNX collect personal user data from the SIS?

Although LYNX monitors SIS tables for personal information, such as email addresses, data from those tables are not fully replicated on CollegeNET servers. LYNX collects only the table columns needed for 25Live instructor contact records, and even then only instructor records pertaining to a given term code. Your SIS DBA can verify this in the LYNX_*_HIST tables installed in your LYNX schema.

LYNX is also piloting a program in some environments to collect anonymized student registration data for enhanced analytics such as mapping traffic across campus.

Why does LYNX require permissions to create triggers in the SIS application schema?

The 'CREATE ANY TRIGGER' permission for the LYNX user is necessary for two stages:

  1. During the initial installation, these triggers monitor table objects in another schema, and therefore, as required by Oracle, the 'CREATE ANY TRIGGER' permission is required so triggers can be properly created and compiled.
  2. For ongoing LYNX maintenance, this permission is required to update LYNX triggers within its schema, allowing CollegeNET DBAs to correct/fine-tune any issues without needing time or assistance from your SIS DBAs.

Maintaining a clean, reliable, and extremely stable LYNX schema is of the utmost importance to CollegeNET and is the heart and soul of a robust and functional 25Live environment. Our ability to quickly and accurately monitor and correct LYNX schema issues makes this stability and reliability possible.

The CREATE ANY TRIGGER Permission

It should be noted that, with "CREATE ANY TRIGGER" permission the LYNX user (in theory) could create additional triggers elsewhere in your database, or overwrite existing trigger objects on other schemas. While this is technically true:

  1. We stick to a very specific object naming schema and place all objects within the LYNX schema.
  2. The LYNX user has very limited permissions. For a database object (trigger) to compile it has to be able to access its dependent objects. Therefore, if the LYNX user creates a new trigger but then references an object in another schema that it doesn't have rights to, it will fail to validate and ultimately not be usable.

General Use

What is overwritten when an event imports and what is preserved?

When an imported section is updated via LYNX, the following data elements in 25Live are preserved. Everything else is "reset" to match the updated data from the SIS as if it were a brand new import.

  • Object Security
  • Internal Notes
  • Confirmation Notes
  • User-Defined Custom Attributes (System-Defined attributes will be updated)
  • Assigned Resources (so long as any updated reservation dates/times are compatible with the existing resource assignments. If they are not, a warning is added to the Import Messages.) 

How can I perform a room swap in my SIS with LYNX?

LYNX updates 25Live every 60 seconds, so it's possible (though unlikely) that this update may occur while you are in the middle of unassigning and swapping rooms between two sections in your SIS. For best results, remove the location from both section meeting patterns and save the section data before assigning the new locations.

What happens if a section's location is changed in the SIS and 25Live at the same time?

LYNX treats the SIS as the system of record. If LYNX processes an update for the same section in the SIS and 25Live at the same time, it will return this warning message: Data sync conflict occurred. Location assignments in SIS are retained. LYNX will then attempt to reimport the change from the SIS so that 25Live is updated with the most current data from the system of record.

Can LYNX remove a location assignment in my SIS and leave it null?

Yes. This ensures better synchronicity between 25Live and your SIS database. You may disable this behavior if desired.

Upgrading From the TCS Interface

Are all configuration options from TCS available in LYNX?

Most are, but some have been streamlined, combined, or deprecated. During LYNX installation a CollegeNET staff member will advise you of the best way to replicate your Interface experience with the new application. Some changes to your event types and folders may be required.

Does LYNX use vCal Reply and Counter files?

No. LYNX does not create or use vCal files. Editing a class in 25Live is enough to trigger an update to the SIS.

Should I use locked or unlocked transactional processing with LYNX?

This distinction is irrelevant since LYNX does not use vCal files.