Re: Are prefix+target starting URLs required?

Hi David.

I think you will have a problem if the destination HTTPS URL has "-" hyphens in it. For example, I believe this will work :-

http://yourproxy.uni.edu/login?url=https://macquarie-primoprod.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com

but I think there will be issues with this :-

https://macquarie-primoprod-hosted-exlibrisgroup-com.yourproxy.uni.edu

In the first case, ezproxy would save the correct destination host name, but in the second case the correct hostname would not already be saved by ezproxy, so it would be unreliable to guess which '"-" hyphens to replace with "." dots.

Best,

Laszlo.


________________________________
From: EZproxy List <[email protected]> on behalf of Noe, David <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, 13 December 2019 10:43 AM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [EZPROXY-L] Are prefix+target starting URLs required?

Hello,

I have been at a library using WAM (iii) for a proxy for some time now. We are moving to EZproxy and are configured to proxy by hostname. I would like to clarify a point on best practices.

In the document, "Starting point URLs and config.txt" (help.oclc.org/Library_Management/EZproxy/EZproxy_configuration/Starting_point_URLs_and_config_txt<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/hvZhC81Vq2CQDx91Uo28-5?domain=help.oclc.org>), the method for constructing starting URLs is described. Having run EZproxy at a couple of other sites some years ago, this format was familiar to me.

That said, is there a reason to not write starting point URLs in links as they will ultimately be resolved? e.g. https://www-somedb-com.ezproxy.ocls.info<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/6Og6C91W8rCxLP8Qi1pwp9?domain=www-somedb-com.ezproxy.ocls.info> ? Is there a reason that URLs necessarily be constructed with a prefix and target? e.g. https://ezproxy.ocls.info/login?url=http://www.somedb.com/<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/nRw7C0YKgRs4qljVuLOMXq?domain=ezproxy.ocls.info> ?

I probably misread a document and thought it suggested that this would work fine, so I constructed the URLs as I would have logically expected them to work. This is also how URLs are constructed in WAM on Sierra (and Millennium). It both made sense that it would work like this since we are configured for proxy by hostname and seemed like an easier transition for staff to adjust to EZproxy. My testing would seem to suggest the answer is this is perfectly fine, but this assumption is not supported by the available documentation.

I asked OCLC support and was told that the URL has to be cached in ezproxy.hst or it will not work, and if we were to have to delete this host file and start over, these URLs will not work; however, every time we have added a new stanza, all URLs have worked upon first and continued use throughout this implementation without having ever used the prefix+target construct. Ostensibly, these hosts should not even be in ezproxy.hst until someone has successfully logged in based on this response, right?

If it's the proper way to go, we can certainly adjust our links to the prefix+target format. It would just be an easier transition organizationally if we actually did not have to.


Thank you,

David

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