Proxy/Crossref

This section explains how SFX works with both rewrite proxies and Web proxies. The following proxy types are supported by SFX:

  • Rewrite Proxy
  • Web Proxy

  • Rewrite Proxy

This is an authentication method to allow off-campus users access to licensed databases. The proxy operates as an intermediary server between end users and the library’s licensed databases.

SFX currently supports the following rewrite proxies:

  • EZProxy
  • EZProxy Encode
  • Innovative WAM proxy
  • LIBPROXY
  • OpenAthens
These proxy modules have been tested and implemented with SFX. The location of the corresponding Perl modules is: /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/<instance>/lib/Parsers/Proxy/<proxy>.pm Where is the name of the PROXY module as it will appear in the Proxy drop-down list in SFXAdmin > Menu Configuraton > Proxy. With minor adjustments, it may be possible to configure an existing proxy module to work with your own proxy system if it is not one of the supported proxy modules listed above. Note that it is recommended to make a copy of the proxy module before making changes. If you require SFX to work with a different proxy server, contact your local Ex Libris support representative.

When creating target URLs, SFX can direct end users (either for all targets or selective targets) to the institution’s proxy server.

For example, instead of creating the following URL:

http://www.bmj.com

SFX can create the following URL:

http://proxy.library.edu/login?url=http://www.bmj.com

The proxy server determines the IP address of the end user and detects whether this user is accessing the target on campus or off campus.

  • If a user is on campus, the user is allowed to go to the target
  • If a user is off campus, the user is prompted for the proxy user name/password information. The proxy then connects to licensed databases to obtain Web pages and send them back to the user. Since the proxy runs on a machine on the library’s network, the database vendors see the requests as coming from an IP address on the network and therefore permit access.
If SFX detects that the IP address of the proxy server is identical to the IP address from which the SFX request was sent—that is, the OpenURL request that SFX received came through the proxy server—SFX does not attempt to prefix the proxy address to the target URL, since this is handled by the proxy server itself.

Web Proxy

A small number of SFX sources and targets use HTTP fetch. If you are associated with an institution that uses a Web proxy and want the HTTP requests sent by the SFX server to go through this proxy, follow the instructions detailed in Configuring Proxy Information.

The following sources use HTTP fetch:

  • PubMed
  • CrossRef

The following targets use HTTP fetch:

  • EBSCOHost and EBSCO EJS
Squid represents an example of a Web proxy.

Configuring Proxy Information

To configure proxy information, click the Proxy/CrossRef tab. The following window opens:

add_proxy_settings.gif

Proxy/CrossRef

The Crossref section allows you to enable or disable the connection to Crossref. By default, the connection is enabled (On). It is possible to disable the connection, for example, in case of technical issues on the Crossref server.

You can specify the email address that is included when connecting to Crossref. This email address is used by Crossref to contact the library in case of problems, and replaces the username and password Crossref required previously.

For information on how the CrossRef connection is used in SFX, refer to the DOI/CrossRef Setup section in the SFX Advanced User’s Guide.

To add a new proxy setting:
  1. Click Add Proxy Settings. The following dialog box opens:

add_proxy_settings_window.gif

Add Proxy Settings
  1. From the Institute drop-down list, select the institute for which you want to specify a proxy if institutes have been defined in the instance, or DEFAULT if no institutes have been set up.
  2. From the Proxy Type drop-down list, select one of the following proxy modules:
  • EZPROXY
  • EZPROXY_encode
  • LIBPROXY
  • OpenAthens
  • WAM
  • WEB_PROXY
For examples on how proxy information is added to the target URL for each proxy option, see Testing Proxy Configuration.
  1. Under Use Proxy, select one of the following options:
  • Yes – to have proxy support for all target services. Every target service is directed through the proxy server.
  • No – to have the browser redirect to the original target URL, as usual. If you select this option, there is no attempt to access the proxy server.
  • Selective – to have proxy support only for selected target URLs. If you select this option, only those targets whose target service Proxy option is selected are directed through the proxy server. For more information, see Target Services.
  1. In the Proxy Address (URL) text box, enter the URL of the proxy server.

SFX supports the HTTPS protocol for the following proxy types:

  • EZPROXY
  • WAM
  • OpenAthens

For HTTPS, specify the URL by using http:// in the proxy address (URL).

  1. In the Proxy IP text box, enter the IP address of the proxy server.
If the IP address from which the SFX request is sent does not match the IP address of the proxy server, SFX adds a prefix to the proxy address of the target URL. However, if the IP address of the proxy server is identical to the IP address from which the SFX request is sent (that is, the OpenURL request came through the proxy server), SFX does not add a prefix to the proxy address of the target URL, since the proxy server itself does this.

For EzProxy, it is possible to include a list of IP addresses/IP ranges that will be excluded from the proxy mechanism.

To configure this list, access the following configuration file on the SFX server:

/exlibris/sfx_ver/<instance>/config/proxy_ezproxy.config

The IP information can be specified as a single address or a range of addresses. It is possible to use an asterisk and a hyphen to define IP ranges. See the following example configuration file:

Section "exclude_ip"

#add here ip ranges that you wish to exclude from being proxied.

#a separate line for each range

10.1.1.1

10.1.2.11-13

10.1.4.*

10.8.0-79.-10.8.81-255.

11.1..

EndSection

Testing Proxy Configuration

After you configure a proxy, it is recommended to test the proxy configuration by sending an OpenURL to the SFX instance and verifying whether the correct proxy information has been added to the target URL.

  • Rewrite proxies (WAM, EZProxy, EZPROXY_encode, LIBPROXY, OpenAthens)

    • WAM: if a regular target URL looks like this:

      http://www.publishersweekly.com

      a correctly proxied target URL looks like this:

      http://0-www.publishersweekly.com.proxy.lib.university.edu/

    • EZProxy: if a regular target URL looks like this:

      http://www.publishersweekly.com

      a correctly proxied target URL looks like this:

      http://proxy.yourlib.org:2048/login?url=http://www.publishersweekly.com

    • EZProxy Encode: if a regular target URL looks like this:

      http://www.akademiai.com/openurl.asp?issn=0001-5210&genre=journal

      a correctly proxied target URL looks like this:

      http://proxy.yourlib.org:2048/login?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.akademiai.com%2Fopenurl.asp%3Fissn%3D0001-5210%26genre%3Djournal

    • LIBPROXY: if a regular target URL looks like this:

      http://www.publishersweekly.com

      a correctly proxied target URL looks like this:

      http://proxy.yourlib.org:2048/login?url=http://www.publishersweekly.com

    • OpenAthens: if a regular target URL looks like this:

      http://www.publishersweekly.com/2012/33/1/56

      a correctly proxied target URL looks like this:

      http://www.publishersweekly.com.proxy.yourlib.org:2048/2012/33/1/56

  • Testing Web proxies

    Test to make sure the HTTP fetch is working by using the following OpenURL:

    <base_url>?id=pmid:14972762

    If the fetch is successful, the banner of the SFX menu will contain text similar to the following:

    Title Pragmatic principles--methodological pragmatism in the principle-based …

    Source The Journal of medicine and philosophy [0360-5310] Schmidt Felzmann yr: 2003 vol: 28 iss: 5-6 pg: 581