University of Kentucky
Proxy Service
Presentation
By
Kelly Vickery
http://www.uky.edu/~kmvick0/proxy/ezptrouble.ppt
Purpose of proxy server as used by
U.K. Libraries
• To authorize access to purchased resources
licensed to U.K.
• To authenticate authorized users affiliated with
the institution.
• To serve documents to computers OUTSIDE
the institution’s closed network.
Three Basic EZProxy Functions
1. Maintain a list of Vendor URLs to which
ezproxy will authenticate access—found
in an ezproxy configuration file.
2. Maintain a list of authorized users and
their passwords. Authenticate users as
they use the system.
3. Mediate requests for information
between users and vendors, and deliver
information to authenticated users.
Prerequisite Knowledge
• What is an IP (Internet Protocol) address?
• What is a Domain Name?
• Anatomy of a URL (Uniform Resource
Locator)
What is an IP address?
An Internet Protocol address is a set of four
numbers separated by a decimal point—
each set can be a value from 0 to 255; e.g.
128.163.2.27. The important point is that an
IP address is assigned to every computer
that sends or receives information on the
Internet—it can be considered an Internet
address or social security number; i.e., it
distinctly identifies a single computer or
service on the Internet.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is an alphanumeric identifier used
to refer to a computer or computing service on
the Internet. It usually has a name that is a
mnemonic. In a URL the domain name is just
that part of the URL that appears between the
“://” and the following slash “/”; e.g., in the URL
“http://www.uky.edu/Libraries” the domain name
is “www.uky.edu.” A domain name usually
refers to an underlying IP address which
identifies an individual computer or service.
Anatomy of a URL
Document name being viewed
Host computer name: domain name or IP.
http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/proxyhelp.html
Internet protocol
(i.e., transaction language)
Directory or folder on serving computer
Uniform Resource Locators
Protocol
Host
Directory
Document
http://
www.uky.edu
(128.163.2.27)
/Libraries/
proxyhelp.html
http://
www.uky.edu
(128.163.2.27)
/Libraries/Reserves/ERes
Courses/edsaedp301/
Jones_Talk.pdf
ftp://
ukcc.uky.edu
(128.163.2.61)
/webstat391/
stats1202.webpath
gopher://
mother.wis.edu /sports/
(R.I.P.)
ncaa.txt
…so a link is…
<a href=“http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/proxyhelp.html”>Libraries</a>
Libraries
Internet web page transfer.
(by clicking a link)
Hey, send
me a web
page?
Ok, here
you are.
Web
page
server.com
Patron computer
121.214.5.555
In
a standard
transaction
The
server responds
by a
client
(patron’s)
computer
sending
the requested
requests
document
documentaback
to the and
IP of the
sends
its IPcomputer.
to a server.
requesting
IP protected service.
Hey, send
me a web
page?
NO SOUP FOR
YOU! You’re not
on my IP list.
Vendor.com
Patron computer
121.214.5.555
When an off-campus library
To
restrict
accessa adocument
vendor
patron
requests
…and delivery of the
maintains
a list ofthe
IPspatron’s
of all
from
the
vendor,
requested document is
customers
who
purchaselist of
IP
is
not
in
the
vendor’s
denied.
access
to IPs.
the service.
customer
EZProxy Link
Prefix: http://ezproxy.uky.edu/login?url=
American Civil War Letters & Diaries
Normal URL
http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/CWLDLive/
Ezproxy URL
http://ezproxy.uky.edu/login?url=
http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/CWLDLive/
http://80-www.alexanderstreet2.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/
Let’s see how it works
If the ID and Password entered in the prompt are
not in the
list of authorized
users then access is
EZProxy
transaction-1.
denied; if they are in the list then the proxy
fetches the document and sends it to the patron.
(by clicking ezproxy link)
Hey ezproxy! Send me
a web page from
Vendor.com.
Vendor.com
Get ID &
Password
Ok, but
first, who
are you?
Patron computer
121.214.5.555
UK EZProxy
Server
128.163.1.29
EZProxy transaction-2.
Ok, here is my ID
and password.
Please get
Vendor.com for me.
You’re IP is
authorized for
access. I’ll send the
web page.
Vendor
web page
Vendor.com
Post ID &
Password
Vendor
web page
Patron computer
121.214.5.555
UK EZProxy
Server
You’re on my
list. Ok,
I’ll Get
121.214.5.555,
Vendor.com
for
here isyou.
your web
page from
Vendor.com
128.163.1.29
EZProxy Authority List
A list of last names and barcodes is loaded
into the proxy server from Voyager at
10:30 P.M. daily. For patron information to
be loaded into the proxy it must have an
active, 13 character barcode, beginning
with “2” that is associated with a proxy
approved Voyager patron group. The ID is
the patron’s last name and the password
is their 13 character Voyager barcode.
Proxy Approved Patron Groups
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
UK Distance Learning
UK Donovan Scholar
UK Faculty and Staff
UK Graduate Student
UK Independent Study Program Student
UK Law Faculty
UK Medical Center Community-Based Faculty
UK Undergraduate Student
UK Visiting Scholar
UK Affiliate Faculty and Staff
Old proxy configured browsers.
Patrons will be prompted by
a pop-up box a second time
if they are still configured for
the old proxy. These
configurations should be
removed.
Proxy off in Internet Explorer
Proxy off in Netscape
Purpose of the UK proxy server.
The proxy server does not solve a technical problem–the
problem of delivering information. (The Internet is
perfectly adequate for delivering information without
the use of a proxy server.) The purpose of a proxy
server is to NOT deliver information. The PURPOSE
of a proxy server is to STOP the delivery of
information to unauthorized individuals.
The proxy IS a technical solution to a legal problem—the
purpose of which is to STOP the delivery of
information to unauthorized individuals.
EZProxy function summary
• Patron must click a link with ezproxy
prefix.
• Link must contain domain or host name in
ezproxy configuration file.
• Proxy prompts & checks User’s ID and
password.
• Proxy requests document from Vendor.
• Proxy delivers document to Patron.
Problems can occur in each step.
Potential problems
•
•
•
•
•
Proxy server or its connection is down.
Vendor server or its connection is down.
Patron’s computer or connection problems.
Problems with patron authentication.
Vendor’s domain name is not in ezproxy
configuration.
Diagnosing connection problems
• Proxy server or its connection is down.
– Point web browser to ezproxy.uky.edu
– Start>Run>Cmd> Ping ezproxy.uky.edu
– Start>Run>Cmd> Tracert ezproxy.uky.edu
• Vendor server or its connection is down.
– Point web browser to vendor server.
– Start>Run>Cmd> Ping vendor server.
– Start>Run>Cmd> Tracert vendor server
Diagnosing Authorization Problems
• Problems with patron authentication.
– Check Voyager Circulation:
•
•
•
•
Approved patron group?
Active account?
Valid barcode?
Check date (was record entered today? Will load at 11:00
P.M.)
– Point web browser to http://ezproxy.uky.edu and log
in with patron last name and barcode—this is the acid
test.
If a patron receives the proxy prompt, but is denied
access then check Voyager for following conditions:
Voyager Circulation
1) 13 character barcode beginning with “2”.
2) with one of the approved patron groups
3) with an active account
4) not entered with today’s date.
5) account has expired.
Diagnosing Authorization Problems
con’t
• Problems with patron authentication.
– Does patron have hyphenated last name or
punctuation in name?
– Have patron enter 13 character barcode in Notepad
and cut and paste it into proxy prompt.
Missing Domain Problem
To allow
/login?url=http://www.missingdomain.com
to work, your EZproxy administrator must
first authorize this within the ezproxy.cfg
file. Within this database's section of the
file, the following line must be added:
Host www.missingdomain.com
The EZproxy server must then be restarted to
make this change take effect.
Domain & Host not in ezproxy
config
If a vendor domain and host name are not in
the ezproxy configuration file then access
to that service will be denied to all offcampus users. If patrons receive a
message telling them to contact the
ezproxy administrator then, if possible,
send the URL displayed on the error page
to proxy-l@lsv.uky.edu.
You never would believe where
those proxy cookies come from.
Have a cookie
Never higher than “Medium High”.
Advanced…> Not “Block”
NEVER select “Never”, again –I.E.
“Settings…” setup
and
“LAN Settings…” setup
Different look and feel in Netscape 7.x and 4.x.
Setup is basically the same.
Netscape
If you are describing the
browser to a patron on the
phone, but they don’t see
Viewing
Problems
what you think
they should
see, then have them place a
“check mark” on all features
found under “View”.
Some web problems or browser configuration
problems get blamed on the proxy. Check some
Check
“Enable-Java”
and cookies
of the following browser settings to ensure they
are configured correctly (enabling Java, for
instance).
Netscape
4.8
and
7.0
In the Cache, make sure “Never” is NOT
selected. This can create problems if the patron
NEVER
select
“Never”!--Netscape
receives an error viewing a web page. If the
problem is corrected on the server the patron will
continue viewing the cached error page.
Enable Cookies for 7.0--Netscape
Netscape
7.0
and after clicking “view
JavaScripts for 7.0 --Netscape
…and finally.