=====================
-MKWS accesses targets using the Pazpar2 metasearching engine, almost
-always fronted by the Service Proxy to manage target selection. This
-document assumes the SP is used, and so that a library of targets is
-available, maintained using an instance of MKAdmin (often
-http://mkc-admin.indexdata.com/console/)
+MKWS accesses targets using the Pazpar2 metasearching engine. Although
+Pazpar2 can be used directly, using a statically configured set of
+targets, this usage is unusual. More often, Pazpar2 is fronted by the
+Service Proxy (SP), which manages authentication, sessions, target
+selection, etc.
+
+This document assumes the SP is used, and explains how to go about
+making a set of targets (a "library") available, how to connect your
+MKWS application to that library, and how to choose which of the
+available targets to use.
+
+
+1. Maintaining the library
+--------------------------
+
+The service proxy accesses sets of targets that are known as
+"libraries". In general, each customer will have their own library,
+though some standard libraries may be shared between many customers --
+for example, a library containing all open-access academic journals.
+A library can also contain other configuration information, including
+the set of categories by which targets are classified for the library.
+
+Libraries are maintained using MKAdmin (MasterKey
+Admin). Specifically, those used by MKWS are generally maintained on
+the "MKC Admin" installation at
+ http://mkx-admin.indexdata.com/console/
+
+In general, Index Data will create a library for each customer, then
+give the customer a username/password pair that they can use to enter
+MKAdmin and administrate that library.
+
+Once logged in, customers can select which targets to include (from
+the list of several thousand that MKAdmin knows about), and make
+customer-specific modifications -- e.g. overriding the titles of the
+targets.
+
+Most importantly, customers' administrators can add authentication
+credentials that the Service Proxy will used on their behalf when
+accessing subscription resources -- username/password pairs or proxies
+to use for IP-based authentication. Note that IT IS THEN CRUICIAL TO
+SECURE THE LIBRARY FROM USE BY UNAUTHORISED CLIENTS, otherwise the
+customer's paid subscriptions will be exploited.
+
+Access to libraries is managed by creating one or more "User Access"
+records in MKAdmin, under the tab of that name. Each of these records
+provides a combination of credentials and other data that allow an
+incoming MKWS client to be identified as having legitimate access to
+the library. The authentication process, described below, works by
+searching for a matching User Access record.
+
+
+2. Authenticating your MWKS application onto the library
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
+Some MKWS applications will be content to use the default library with
+its selection of targets. Most, though, will want to define their own
+library providing a different range of available targets. An important
+case is that of applications that authenticate onto subscription
+resources by means of backe-end site credentials stored in MKAdmin:
+precautions must be taken so that such library accounts do not allow
+unauthorised access.
+
+Setting up such a library is a process of several stages.
+
+Stage A: create the User Access account
+
+Log in to MKAdmin administrate your library:
+ - Go to http://mkc-admin.indexdata.com/console/
+ - Enter the adminstrative username/password
+ - Go to the User Access tab
+ - Create an end-user account
+ - Depending on what authentication method it be used, set the
+ User Access account's username and password, or IP-address
+ range, or referring URL, or hostname.
+
+If your MWKS application runs at a well-known, permanent address --
+http://yourname.com/app.html, say -- you can set the User Access
+record so that this originating URL is recognised by setting it into
+the "Referring URL" field.
+
+If your application accesses the Service Proxy by a unique virtual
+hostname -- yourname.sp-mkws.indexdata.com, say -- you can tie the use
+of this hostname to your library by setting the User Access record's
+"Host Name" field to name of the host where the SP is accessed. NOTE
+THAT THIS IS NOT SECURE, AS OTHER APPLICATIONS CAN USE THIS VIRTUAL
+HOSTNAME TO GAIN ACCESS TO YOUR LIBRARY.
+
+### Authentication by IP address does not yet work correctly -- see
+bug MKWS-234 ("Improve SP configuration/proxying for better
+authentication").
+
+Alternatively, your application can authenticate by username and
+password credentials. This is a useful approach in several situations,
+including when you need to specify the use of a different library from
+usual one. To arrange for this, set the username and password as a
+single string separated by a slash -- e.g. "mike/swordfish" -- into
+the User Access record's Authentication field.
+
+You can create multiple User Access records: for example, one that
+uses Referring URL, and another that uses a username/password pair to
+be used when running an application from a different URL.
+
+Stage B: tell the application to use the library
+
+In the HTML of the application, tell MKWS to authenticate on to the
+Service Proxy. When IP-based, referer-based or hostname-based
+authentication is used, this is very simple:
+
+ <script type="text/javascript">
+ var mkws_config = { service_proxy_auth:
+ "//sp-mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=perconfig" };
+ </script>
+
+### This should be the default setting
+
+And ensure that access to the MWKS application is from the correct
+Referrer URL or IP-range.
+
+Stage C1 (optional): access by a different virtual hostname
+
+When hostname-based authentication is in use, it's necessary to access
+the Service Proxy as the correctly named virtual host. This can be
+done by setting the service_proxy_auth configuration item to a
+URL containing that hostname, such as
+ //yourname.sp-mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=perconfig
+
+### It should be possible to change just the hostname without needing
+to repeat the rest of the URL (protocol, path, query)
+
+### When changing the SP authentication URL, the Pazpar2 URL should in
+general change along with it.
+
+Stage C2 (optional): embed credentials for access to the library
+
+When credential-based authentication is in use (username and
+password), it's necessary to pass these credentials into the Service
+Proxy when establishing the session. This can most simply be done just
+by setting the service_proxy_auth configuration item to a URL such as
+ //sp-mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=perconfig&username=mike&password=swordfish
+
+### It should be possible to add the username and password to the
+configuration without needing to repeat the rest of the URL.
+
+Stage D (optional): conceal credentials from HTML source
+
+Using a credential-based Service-Proxy authentication URL such as the
+one above reveals the the credentials to public view -- to anyone who
+does View Source on the MKWS application. This may be acceptable for
+some libraries, but is intolerable for those which provide
+authenticated access to subscription resources.
+
+In these circumstances, a more elaborate approach is necessary. The
+idea is to make a URL local to the customer that is used for
+authentication onto the Service Proxy, hiding the credentials in a
+local rewrite rule. Then local mechanisms can be used to limit access
+to that local authentication URL. Here is one way to do it when
+Apache2 is the application's web-server, which we will call
+yourname.com:
+
+ - Add a rewriting authentication alias to the configuration:
+ RewriteEngine on
+ RewriteRule /spauth/ http://mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=check,login&username=U&password=PW [P]
+ - Set thwe MKWS configuration item "service_proxy_auth" to:
+ http://yourname.com/spauth/
+ - Protect access to the local path http://yourname.com/spauth/
+ (e.g. using a .htaccess file).
-1. Selecting targets within the library
----------------------------------------
+3. Choosing targets from the library
+------------------------------------
MKWS applications can choose what subset of the library's targets to
use, by means of several alternative settings on individual widgets or
udb==NAME
-2. Changing the library
------------------------
-
-Some MKWS applications will be content to use the default library with
-its selection of targets. Most, though, will want to define their own
-library providing a different range of available targets. An important
-case is that of applications that authenticate onto subscription
-resources by means of credentials stored in MKAdmin: precautions must
-be taken so that such library accounts do not allow unauthorised
-access.
-
-Setting up such a library is a two or three-stage process.
-
-Stage A (on MKAdmin)
-
-Create the library:
- - Make a new library on http://mkc-admin.indexdata.com/console/
- - Select relevant targets
- - Add authentication credentials to the targets as necessary
- - Create an end-user account
- - Set its username and password
-
-Stage B (on the application's web-server):
-
-### simple SP URLs
-
-Stage C (optional)
-
-### Fix description
-
-Authentication onto the library can be achieved by a single HTTP GET
-to the relevant Service Proxy, passing in the credentials and thereby
-initiating an HTTP session. This can most simply be done just by
-setting the service_proxy_auth configuration item to a URL such as
- http://mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=check,login&username=MIKE&password=SWORDFISH
-which is usually done with JavaScript like:
-
- <script type="text/javascript">
- var mkws_config = { service_proxy_auth:
- "http://mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=check,login&username=MIKE&password=SWORDFISH" };
- </script>
-
-However, doing so reveals the the credentials to public view -- to
-anyone who does View Source on the MKWS application. This may be
-acceptable for some libraries, but is intolerable for those which
-provide authenticated access to subscription resources. For such
-circumstances, a more elaborate approach is necessary. The idea is to
-make a local URL that is used for authentication onto the Service
-Proxy, hiding the credentials, and to use local mechanisms to limit
-access to that local authentication URL. Here is one way to do it when
-Apache2 is the application's web-server, which we will call
-example.com:
-
- - Add a rewriting authentication alias to the configuration:
- RewriteEngine on
- RewriteRule /spauth/ http://mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=check,login&username=U&password=PW [P]
- - Set thwe MKWS configuration item "service_proxy_auth" to:
- http://example.com/spauth/
- - Protect access to http://example.com/spauth/ (e.g. using a .htaccess file).
-
-Once such a library has been set up, and access to it established,
-target selection within the set that it makes available can be done
-using the mechanisms above.
-
projects / mkws-moved-to-github.git / blobdiff