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Proxy Service Home Page
Proxy Server Setup Instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
Known Service Problems
(Macintosh users, IE 4 or IE 5 users please read)
Troubleshooting Checklist
Resources that are unavailable through the Proxy Server
Proxy Server Problem Report Form
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UC Berkeley Library Proxy Server Service
Troubleshooting Checklist
I have followed the instructions to configure my browser,
but my configuration changes don't seem to take effect.
Symptoms:
- The Browser Configuration Check program
consistently tells you that your browser is not configured correctly, even when you run it
right after you restart the browser; and
- You can't get full access to the Library's licensed electronic resources.
Checklist:
Be sure you have followed the
configuration instructions faithfully.
Check to make sure you have entered the correct configuration URL in the
field your browser provides; for the CalNet authenticating proxy server, the
URL for the proxy configuration script is:
http://proxy.lib.berkeley.edu:7777/proxy.pac
and for the conventional PIN-authenticating proxy server the
configuration script is at:
http://proxy.lib.berkeley.edu/proxy.pac
Be sure there are no spaces to the left of the
configuration URL and that there are no extraneous characters following the
configuration URL to the right.
Be sure you click the "OK" button to conclude a configuration change
and do not merely close the configuration dialog box.
Be sure you are using a supported browser.
You must use a browser that supports Automatic Proxy Configuration.
In Windows, you can use Netscape version 2.0 and up or
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 and up,
but certain versions of Internet Explorer versions 4 and 5 have problems even in Windows.
No version of Internet Explorer supports Automatic Proxy Configuration on the Macintosh,
so Macintosh users must use Netscape or Mozilla.
See Known Service Problems for more information.
If you're using Internet Explorer and are having problems, we might suggest
trying Netscape.
If you're using AOL's browser (a highly customized version of Internet Explorer),
you will not be able to use the proxy server. Install a version of Netscape or
Internet Explorer.
My browser is configured correctly, but I still cannot
access the Library's licensed electronic resources.
Symptoms:
- The Browser Configuration Check program
tells you that your browser is configured correctly; however
- You can't get full access to the Library's licensed electronic resources.
Checklist:
There are generally two possible reasons why a correctly configured browser
may fail to request licensed resources via the proxy server:
faulty networking settings, and the presence of a firewall.
Network Settings:
Be sure your computer's networking environment is set up correctly.
It should be configured to agree with the type of service you get from your ISP.
If your ISP provides you with the same IP address and hostname each time you connect,
your computer's networking environment should be set up with that static IP address encoded.
On the other hand, if your ISP provides you with a different IP address and hostname
each time you connect (as is the case with most dial-up, DSL, and cable services),
then your computer's networking environment needs to be configured to
"Obtain an IP address automatically" from your ISP.
In particular, if you have a laptop computer which you have used on the UC Berkeley campus,
you may have configured it with a static UC Berkeley IP address.
If so, your browser will assume it's on the UC Berkeley network and never request
the proxy service.
Here is how to check and re-configure your network environment in Windows 2000
and other Windows NT variants:
From the Start button menu, go to Settings, select to view the Control
Panel, and double-click on the Network icon.
START -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network
In the "Network and Dial-Up Connections" window,
double-click on the icon that represents the connection you use.
In the dialog box diplayed, click on "Properties."
In the window titled "Components checked are used by this connection,"
select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and then click on "Properties"
to reach the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" dialog box.
You should select "Obtain an IP address automatically" if your ISP
provides you with a different IP address each time you connect,
as most dial-up, DSL, and cable services do.
Select "Use the following IP address" and enter a specific IP address
only if instructed to do so by your ISP.
Then click "OK" to close the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" dialog box,
and click "OK" to close the dialog box pertaining to your connection "Properties."
Finally, click "Close" to close the dialog box pertaining to your connection,
and close the "Network and Dial-Up Connections" window.
For other operating systems, please consult the vendor's documentation for
configuring your network environment.
Firewalls:
Firewalls may cause problems for browsers that run Automatic Proxy Configuration.
Many companies have firewalls to prevent outsiders from accessing their intranet,
and if your connection is behind such a firewall, you may not be able to use
the proxy service.
Some ISP's use firewalls or caching servers to minimize the amount of data
their servers have to obtain from sites on the internet,
thus increasing their apparent speed.
If your ISP provides connections from behind a firewall or caching server,
your browser may not be able to engage the Library's proxy server.
In such a case, you may wish to find a different ISP.
As internet security has become a major problem, many users are choosing
to run personal firewalls on their own systems.
Some users have implemented firewall products
such as Black Ice, Zone Alarm, and Symantec
without negatively effecting their use of the proxy service.
However, it is possible that the presence of a personal firewall
may interfere with the browser's ability to access the proxy service.
If your browser is clearly configured correctly but fails to engage the
proxy service, the failure may be due to the presence of a personal firewall.
If you are willing to run your system without the firewall,
you may be able to determine whether this is the problem by turning the firewall off.
Some users have reported that wireless routers may have a similar effect upon
the browser's ability to access the proxy service. Clearly not all wireless routers
have this effect, and the Library Systems Office simply does not have sufficient experience
with such devices to provide any advice on their use and configuration.
However, if your browser is correctly configured, and you are unable to access the proxy service
while on your wireless router, you may be able to determine whether the wireless router is
the cause by removing the wireless and connecting by means of a conventional wire.
The Library currently is unable to provide recommendations for
configuring wireless routers or personal firewall hardware or software.
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The proxy server rejects my username and password.
Symptoms:
- You get prompted over and over again
to enter your username and password; or
- Your username and password are accepted, but you get "Proxy authorization failed" or similar message.
Checklist:
If you are getting prompted over and over again to enter your username and password,
make sure you're using the right username and password!
If you are using the CalNet authenticating proxy server and you see this behaviour,
make sure that the "Caps Lock" key on your keyboard is not in effect:
the CalNet Kerberos passphrase is case sensitive.
If you are using the conventional PIN-authenticating proxy server,
be sure that you are using your current Library ID as your username
and the last four digits of your Social Security Number as your password.
If your username and password were accepted but you see a message such as
"Proxy authorization failed", your Library privileges may have expired or your
affiliation with UC Berkeley may not warrant access to the proxy server.
Only current UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff may use the proxy server. This includes
emeritus faculty, as well as unregistered students and Post-Docs affiliated with a UC Berkeley
department who have a current UC Berkeley Student ID.
If you have questions concerning your eligibility for Library services,
please contact the Privileges Desk in Doe Library (510-642-3403).
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The proxy server requires me to authenticate repeatedly, once for every page I request
This is a problem with MSIE 6.0 which we first began seeing in the Fall of 2003.
Normally, a browser which has been configured to use the Library's proxy server
requests the proxy server's automatic configuration script once at the very beginning
of a browser session.
(See How Automatic Proxy Configuration Works for background
information on what takes place when your browser is configured for the proxy service.)
The browser generally does not request the configuration script
again until it is exited and re-started. The proxy server senses when the browser
requests the configuration script and regards that as the beginning of a browser
session. When the browser requests the configuration script on a subsequent occasion,
the proxy server assumes that the browser has been restarted. Any authentication
that might have taken place earlier is cancelled out.
NOTE: This is a security feature.
It guarantees that somebody cannot sit down to a computer where you have been using
the proxy server, start up a browser session, and access licensed Library resources
under your identity.
However, occasionally MSIE 6.0 starts requesting the proxy server's configuration script
repeatedly, unbeknownst to the user, once every couple of seconds.
From the proxy server's point of view, the browser session seems to be being restarted
over and over again.
From the user's point of view, s/he is required to authenticate again and again
while moving merely from one page to another of potentially the same resource.
We currently do not know why MSIE 6.0 sometimes starts misbehaving in this manner.
Some possible explanations have surfaced, but there is insufficient evidence to
clearly point the blame in any one direction. It has been suggested that the continuous
snowstorm of Microsoft security patches has allowed bugs to creep into the MSIE code unnoticed;
that certain combinations of browser preference settings may allow a formerly existing MSIE bug
to express itself; or that user-installed browser enhancements (such as
"FunWebProducts" which modify the behavior of the browser) may be implicated.
We do not know what causes the bad behavior, we have not been able to reproduce this behavior
in a browser that works properly, and we do not know how to fix it.
If you encounter this bad behavior in MSIE 6.0, we can only recommend that you re-install MSIE, or
that you use Mozilla or Netscape.
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Reporting Other Problems
If you encounter other problems, please consult our
Frequently Asked Questions and
Known Service Problems pages.
If your situation is not addressed there, feel free to submit the
Proxy Server Problem Report Form.
To help us analyze your problem, please submit the form from the machine
on which you are experiencing the problem and as close to the time the problem
occurred as possible.
The form gathers information concerning your connection's hostname,
your browser and your operating system that help us track down your transactions
among the thousands of proxy server log records.
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