The Move to Hosted EZproxy as Experienced by Texas Tech University
- 1. THE MOVE TO HOSTED EZPROXY EXPERIENCED BY TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY ELUNA MAY 4, 2016 Lynne Edgar Justin Daniel Systems Librarians
- 2. WHAT IS EZPROXY? In summary Ezproxy is a web proxy server that authenticates patrons by IP address. If a patron is using a University network IP listed in EZproxy, the restricted content is delivered to the patron. Otherwise, patrons are prompted to log in via the University’s SSO
- 3. EZPROXY ON-CAMPUS ACCESS DIAGRAM OCLC, 2015
- 4. OCLC HOSTING OCLC Operational staff: • Monitor production system 24x7x365 • Perform upgrades and enhancements • Provide monthly log files (optional) • Provide 10 hours of configuration services • Provide institutional administrative access (optional)
- 5. WHERE WE BEGAN . . . • Local Ezproxy server • In-house administrator • Used with MetaLib, SFX and Aleph (now with Alma and MetaLib)
- 6. REASONS WE MOVED TO HOSTED EZPROXY • In-house administrator resigned – loss of history and expertise • Server out of warranty • Operating system no longer supported • EZproxy software needed to be upgraded • Convenience of a hosted solution
- 7. INITIAL DOWNSIDES IDENTIFIED • Loss of automated 599 error report • Configuration file changes take longer using OCLC EZproxy Hosting Support
- 8. IMPLEMENTATION DECISIONS • SSL certificate • TTU Libraries decided to use our SSL certificate • EZproxy prefixes on MARC 856 links were saved in over 300,000 records • Go “live” date set for August 12, 2014
- 9. ISSUES & RESOLUTIONS • July 14th: off-campus users unable to access electronic resources • July 17th: TTU sends SSL certificate and key files to OCLC • July 18th: OCLC turns over EZproxy for testing
- 10. ISSUES & RESOLUTIONS, CONT. • Go “live” date changed to July 31st in hopes of restoring access • Custom script files for CGI authentication discovered August 1st on old EZproxy server • Scripts updated and placed on local web server in September and access was restored
- 11. ISSUES & RESOLUTIONS, CONT. • September: intermediate certificate warnings on computers and mobile devices • Resolved by intermediate certificate installations by OCLC • September for computers • December for mobile devices
- 12. RECOMMENDATIONS • Understand institutional authentication methods • Become familiar with OCLC’s EZproxy documentation • Learn how to manage the configuration file • Test mobile device access to electronic resources
- 13. RECOMMENDATIONS, CONT. Self-service after 10 hours of configuration by OCLC • Learn how to upload updated configuration and other files • Learn about EZproxy Administration processes • Test preproduction and production configuration file changes • View messages • Manage virtual hosts
- 14. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK: • TTU Library Technology and Management Services • TTU Network Information Systems • TTU Application Development and Support • TTU IT Help Central • TTU Libraries Collections and Assessment • OCLC
- 15. REFERENCES • Edgar, Lynne E. (2015). EZproxy: migrating from a local server to a hosted environment, Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 27:3, 194-199, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/1941126X.2015.1059655. • OCLC (2016). CGI authentication. https://www.oclc.org/support/services/ezproxy/documentation/usr/cgi.en.htm l, accessed April 19, 2016. • OCLC (2016). Ezproxy documentation. http://www.oclc.org/support/services/ezproxy/documentation.en.html, accessed March 23, 2016. • OCLC (2015). EZproxy overview. https://www.oclc.org/support/services/ezproxy/documentation/learn/overview .en.html, accessed March 23, 2016.
- 16. Lynne Edgar Systems Librarian & Lynne.Edgar@ttu.edu Justin Daniel Systems Librarian Justin.Daniel@ttu. edu http://library.ttu.edu
Editor's Notes
- #6: The Libraries maintained a local EZproxy server since 2005. This was maintained by a programmer who was moved into the Library Systems Office in
- #9: SSL: OCLC provides 3 ways to handle SSL certificates. We chose to retain our own certificate and send it to OCLC with permission of TTU Telecommunications. This prevented us from having to update the EZP prefixes on hundreds of thousands of records. Authentication: