Web Access Management Syntax

The system can use a proxy server to forward requests to remote servers. Your organization can create Web pages or MARC 856 fields in bibliographic records that include URLs to the remote servers. The format of these URLs depends on the proxy method you use.

To use the Innovative proxy server, you must choose one of the following methods:

The Proxy Rewrite Method

The Proxy Method

The Token Method (obsolete)

The Proxy Rewrite Method

The proxy rewrite method uses URL configurations to make the Innovative server act as a proxy server for patron browsers. Using this method, the client browser software requires no configuration. Patron browsers automatically use the Innovative server as a proxy to external resources when following links that incorporate appropriately configured URLs.

Proxy rewrite requires the following setup:

1. Your DNS administrator must configure a wildcard entry for your Innovative server. The method for accomplishing this varies based on the DNS system, but the following is a typical example:

   If your Innovative server entry is:

   123.45.67.89   my.lib.edu

   The DNS wildcard entry would be an additional line such as:

   *.my.lib.edu  IN  A  123.45.67.89

2. Links to resources in the Forward table must conform to the following format:
   

   http://<port>-<target server>.<Innovative server>/<rest of URL>

   Field	Description
   <port>	The port number of the resource. If the port number is 80, substitute 0 (zero) for the port number.
   <target server>	The address for the target resource.
   <Innovative server>	The address of your Innovative server.
   <rest of URL>	The rest of the URL for the target resource.

   For example, if the URL for the resource is:

   http://search.epnet.com/a/acp/name/db/bgmi/search

   You must change your URL to:

   http://0-search.epnet.com.my.lib.edu/a/acp/name/db/bgmi/search

   If the resource uses an alternate port, for example:

   http://search.epnet.com:5670/a/acp/name/db/bgmi/search

   You must change your URL to:

   http://5670-search.epnet.com.my.lib.edu/a/acp/name/db/bgmi/search

The Proxy Method

The proxy method requires the client's browser software to be configured to use the Innovative server as the proxy host. If your organization chooses to have browsers running in-house forwarded through the Innovative server (rather than reporting the IP addresses of the browsers to the subscription database vendor), your staff should perform this configuration. Your organization should also provide instructions on your Web pages informing those patrons who connect to the in-house WebPAC from off-site how to do this. These instructions might appear on a separate page that is accessed via a link on the OPAC Menu page or a reference database page. A sample instruction page is provided as part of Web Access Management installation. This page is named wamproxy.html and is stored in the 'screens/' directory on the Innovative server. It can be edited using the Web Master function.

The Token Method (obsolete)

Each remote server in the Forward table is assigned a token that uniquely identifies that server for reporting Web Access Management usage. Rather than using the proxy server, your organization can opt to replace the standard URL link to the remote server with a /wm/<token> command link, e.g.,

<A HREF=/wm/lexis/universe>Go to Lexis-Nexis</A>

With this method, the token associated with a particular server appears in the link instead of the actual URL. This is the method that must be used for accessing reference databases mounted locally on the Innovative server. However, note the following:

• The /wm/token method uses web "cookies" to maintain the connection between the client browser and the remote server. If the client browser has the cookie feature disabled, these remote servers will not be available.
• Many remote servers (most notably, those servers that use Javascript code in their web pages) will not work with the "wm" method.