This presentation discusses the journey of moving from the use of a local EZproxy link resolver server to a hosted environment with OCLC in 2014 by Texas Tech University Libraries.

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