Title: Managing MetaLib Version 3
1Managing MetaLib Version 3
- Debbie Shalit
- Yale
- September 22nd 23rd, 2004
2New Tools for Managing MetaLib
- New concept of Groups to manage consortia
- New authentication module (PDS)
- Changes to VIR00 tables
- New installation path location of some log
files - Utilities moved to the Management interface
3MetaLib Version 3 Installation Path
- MetaLib version 3 path
- MetaLib version 2 path
/exlibris/metalib/m3_1
/exlibris/m2_1
4MetaLib Version 3 Login Menu
- Version 3 installed as separate installation
- Ports will be switched to make version 3 the
live installation when you are ready
5Changes to MetaLibs Directory Tree
6KnowledgeBase Directory Changes
- KB programs, Z39 Gate, and Z39 Server moved to
DAT01 directory
7Introducing Groups
- Allow institutions to be grouped together to ease
workflow in consortia - A group owner would be allowed to manage the
resources of the institutions in the group - Groups are setup and maintained in tab_groups
- Located in /dat01/tab/ directory
- MetaLib implemented as Single Site or
Enterprise installations - Enterprise installations can be Centralized or
De-Centralized
8Tab_groups Single Site model
- Each institution is listed as belonging to a
group of the same name - Group codes are listed with the institution codes
that belong to the group
Col. 1 Group code
Col. 2 Institution codes
9Tab_groups Centralized Consortia
- A Central institution is created to manage CKB
resources - A group named Central is also created to manage
the resources of other institutions - Local institutions may not have administrative
rights
10Tab_groups De-Centralized Consortia
- Each institution manages local KB resources and
has administrative rights to the /M - No Central institution is created
- No Central Group owner each institution is
independent
Col. 1 Group code
Col. 2 Institution codes
11Tab_groups Hybrid Consortia
- Its possible to mix consortial models within the
same installation if needed - Some institutions would have access to /M, some
may not depending on group ownership
Col. 1 Group code
Col. 2 Institution codes
12Changes to tab_management
- Column 4 of tab_management now refers to Group
instead of institution - Allows creation and setup of Group owner
13Introducing the PDS Module
- PDS stands for Patron Directory Services
- Separate module that manages authentication of
users - Allows for Single Sign-On/Sign-Off for Ex Libris
products - Replaces authentication programs in MetaLib
Version 2 - Can still use same authentication methods (Aleph,
CGI, LDAP, etc.)
14What can PDS do?
- Work with institutions existing authentication
server patron database - Can be separate applications on separate servers
- Work in a consortium of several institutions each
with its own authentication and patron databases - Present the PDS login page, or redirect the user
to an external login page
15PDS Architecture
- The PDS is installed within MetaLib application
- Also installed with other Ex Libris applications
- you decide which one to use
m3_1/pds
install_component
service_proc
conf_table
html_form
16Accessing PDS via MetaLib
17What happens when a user logs in
User accesses MetaLib as guest user
User initiates login
Login request sent to PDS
tab_service
PDS displays login page
PDS redirects to login page
18PDS Login The Flow
MetaLib sends request to PDS
user enters credentials
PDS checks tab_service for AUTHENTICATE
program and sends authentication request to
remote server
Remote authentication server sends Y or N
flag
19PDS Login The Flow
PDS creates PDS session, installs cookie in
users browser sends MetaLib backlink URL
PDS validates handler fetches bor_info to
update MetaLib
MetaLib requests validation of PDS handle
requests user details with bor_info as defined in
tab_service
20Remote Login
PDS
PDS redirects login request
Remote server authenticates user and sends
details to PDS
User is directed back to MetaLib
PDS accepts parameters, creates session, and sets
cookie for SSO
21Important Config files in conf_table
- Three important files in conf_table control how
PDS and MetaLib interact - tab_service defines services required from PDS
- sso_conf defines login/logout flags
- heading_error.lng defines error messages
22The tab_service file
- Defines the authentication method and server
location - Defined with a section for each service each
section has at least 4 sections
23The tab_service file
Authentication program and server address
How to get Patron ID
Location for patron information
Display name for institution in pull-down menu
24Authentication Programs in PDS
- ldap.pl
- metalib_x_server.pl
- remote_cgi_hook.pl
- remote_cgi_hook_ssl.pl
- aleph_141.pl
- aleph_142.pl
- aleph_152.pl
- aleph_16.pl
LDAP authentication
MetaLibs patron file
Remote authentication using CGI scripts
For use with Aleph catalogs
25Using sso_conf
- Enables single sign-on and sign-off
- Logon and Logoff defined seperately
- Type 0 Logon/logoff MetaLib only
- Type 1 Logon/logoff listed applications
26PDS Login Screen
- List of institutions is defined in tab_service
- HTML pages are in the /html_form directory under
/pds
27New PDS user in tab_management
- A pds user was added to tab_management at
installation to allow the PDS to use MetaLib - User must not be removed, or the PDS will fail
28PDS Cookie
- At login, PDS sets a cookie on users machine to
enable later SSO - The cookie is deleted
- When the user logs off
- When the user closes the browser
- When the timeout has elapsed
- Timeout is set in www_server.conf
- Default is 30 minutes
- Setenv pds_cookie_exp 30M
29PDS logs
- PDS Log is kept in MetaLibs LOGDIR
- File is called pds_server.log
30Changes to VIR00 tables
- The table tab_institute_division has been removed
- Divisions have been removed, user groups remain
- Functions of tab_institute_division that have
moved - User interface instance is now defined in
tab_institute - Logo at top of page now in html file banner-1
- Table or Citation format for results now defined
as users personal preferences
31Changes to tab_institute, line 1
- User interface instance now defined in first line
of tab_institute table - Authentication has been removed from line 2
replaced by PDS
32Changes to tab_institute, line 2
- CKB updates now pulled to the server at your
own intervals (separate from software upgrades) - Line 2 defines if the CKB update should be
automatically loaded to DAT01 after download
Line 3 Proxy server method Line 4 SFX instance
33Changes to Log File Locations
- Z39_gate log is now in the /log directory
- Moved from /tmp directory
- PDS logs are also located in the /log directory
34New Parameters in www_server.conf
- MetaLib system parameters are set in
www_server.conf found in the metalib_conf
directory
35MetaLib Search limit
- Defines the maximum number of databases that can
be searched at once - If raised from default of 8, we recommend no
higher than 10
36Pre-Select Limit Parameter
- Determines if resources will be pre-selected in
MetaSearch - If database list contains more than limit, no
databases are selected
37QuickSet Threshold
- Determines lock threshold for Quick Sets
- Defined as percentage
- The number of resources in a Set available to a
user, must be equal to or less than the
percentage - If 0.8 is set, 80 of the resources must be
available to the user to remove the lock
38Quick Set Threshold, contd.
80 must be free
75 are free so Set is locked
39Show Locked Resources
- By default all resources are displayed even if
user does not have access to them (Version 3) - Can choose to display only resources a user can
use (the Version 2 model) - Change www_quick_show_locked to N to hide
restricted resources
40Default Result Display in MetaSearch
- In MetaSearch, users can be presented with a
merged result list or a target-by-target list - Set www_v_combine_first to Y to display a
merged list to the user by default
41Database Display Limit
- Defines the maximum number of databases to
display on a page in the Find Databases
MetaSearch modules - Default is 10 per page
42E-Journal Display Limit
- Defines the maximum number of e-journals to
display on a page in the Find e-Journals module - Default is 10
43Number of Refresh Cycles
- Defines amount of time MetaLib waits before
displaying results page - One cycle is a refresh of the Search Hits page,
about 8 seconds (set in meta-tags)
44MetaLib Timeout
- Amount of time before a users session expires
- Use in conjunction with browser timeout defined
in meta-tags file ( - Default value is 900 seconds (15 minutes)
- Minimum value is 300 seconds (5 minutes)
45Changes to Utilities Menu
- Several utilities have been replaced by
functionality in the /M interface - Util L Update procedures
- Replaced by Global Update functions in the /M
- Util U MetaLib Setup Internal
- Replaced by Setup interface
- Util M KB Export-Import Procedures
- Replaced by Export-Import Procedures and new CKB
Pull functionality
46MetaLib Maintenance
- V2 Required maintenance unchanged in V3
- Clear VIR01 library nightly (Util X-8 or X-9)
- Backup scripts have same name and functionality
- Clean Apache logs regularly
47New Reports Statistics in 3.11
- New Statistics
- Quick Sets counts usage of QuickSearch module
- User Records counts registered users who have
used personalization options - Links to Native counts usage of Link to Native
Interface - Updated options to other Statistics
- Included ability to limit statistics by /V
module, including History and Alerts where
appropriate