Access -Reply

[Dan Lester]

I'm not a vendor.  I fully understand the reason for limiting the
access by ip number.  Otherwise, the whole world would
learn in a week that free access to SDB (Some DataBase) is
available from podunk.edu.  Neither the vendor nor Podunk
wants that.  If Podunk thinks they've got net load problems
now, just wait til the whole world hits their local net and
server.  o-)

One person noted that s/he could already do that, get to SDB
via dialup.  I'll give VERY high odds that places is running
their own PPP service for staff/students.   That is fairly
common.  How they control the access (logon and password,
most likely) is their problem.  Most vendors won't mind at all if
you do this as long as they're satisfied it is only YOUR users
who can get in.  

The problem arises when people connect via an ISP by
choice, or because the campus doesn't provide PPP dialup
(this campus for example...we have a special contract with an
ISP for this).   Then you need to run a proxy server to handle
the authentication.  The user puts the appropriate proxy
server info into his/her browser and then the proxy server,
which has an ip number of the campus (or other site that has
licensed SDB), authenticates the user and passes the
request on to SDB, which approves it and sends data back,
as the proxy server has a good ip address.  

Yup, it costs the campus more money, and another thing to
administer (and in most cases the proxy server is
authenticating against some OTHER database that is always
kept up to date as folks are hired, fired, quit, enroll, etc, etc.),
but it works, is relatively affordable and simple to do.  Proxy
servers are VERY common in the corporate world.  In fact, I'd
be surprised if a place as big as the U of Iowa didn't already
have such services on campus.  I'd sure check before going
out and doing it myself.  o-)  

cheers

dan




Dan Lester, Network Information Coordinator
Boise State University Library, Boise, Idaho, 83725 USA
voice: 208-385-1235   fax:  208-385-1394
dlester at bsu.idbsu.edu     OR    alileste at idbsu.idbsu.edu
Cyclops' Internet Toolbox:    http://cyclops.idbsu.edu
"How can one fool make another wise?"   Kansas, 1979.