UVA Library Proxy Server

Certain NRAO Staff Members (those with adjunct faculty status in UVa's Astronomy Department, and select others) may have access to the internal network resources in the UVa Library system. The way to gain access to these is relatively straightforward, but does involve jumping through a few hoops (figuratively):

1. (Optional) Determine your UVa 4- or 5-letter/number username
2. Changing your password (they default it to SSN)
3. Configuring your browser to use the proxy
4. Accessing an internal UVa resource and giving username/password.

Detailed instructions follow below. NRAO/CV Computing Division staff recommend that you do not leave your browser permanently configured to use UVa's Proxy server for several reasons. For one, we have our own proxy services. If you do not need the UVa proxy, you should leave it disabled and simply enable the NRAO CV Proxy.

Determining Your UVa Username

You can choose to skip this section and go directly to the second step. It's only needed if you want to know your Uva "ID" before proceeding (or to check if you actually have one). The second step will produce output that shows your ID anyway.

Search using UVa's Directory for your Username. Thanks to Professor Rood at UVa, most of the permanent Scientific Staff in CV are already in this directory. If you are not there, contact our Librarian who can shepherd you through the process.

The result of the search will likely show lots of "matches". When you find the record that corresponds to you, click on it to see something like what's shown in the box on the below. If you do not find any entry for yourself, see the Librarian.

Murphy, Patrick                (pm3x)    Staff      As-Astronomy
     Name:                    Patrick Murphy
     Mailid/Handle:           pm3x
     Unix Uid:                none
     Classification:          Staff
     Department:              As-Astronomy
     Department Address:      PO Box 400325,530 Mccormick Rd #204
                              Charlottesville, VA  22904-4325
     Office Phone:            unknown
     Registered E-Mail Addr:  unknown

Change Your Password

Once you find the entry, Change your Password here. If for any reason that does not work, go to the UVa Proxy Info page, and select the "get an account to use the Uva Proxy" link.

When we last tried this second approach, UVa's Certificate for that secure server had expired, so we had to press "Continue" on the netscape alert box that popped up. Either way, you will get to a secure server (look for the padlock to go locked, and "https" in the URL line of your browser). You'll need to enter:

• Your last name
• Your "University ID" (Social Security Number, no dashes or spaces!)
• The desired proxy password (twice).

DO NOT USE YOUR NRAO PASSWORD for the proxy server!!! Not only would that be a breach of NRAO's Security Policy, but it's just a bad idea, and would expose your password in clear text on the net in a totally unnecessary manner. Choose another password, easy to remember but hard for someone else to guess.

If all is successful, you will see this on screen:

This shows your UVa User ID (it won't be "pm3x"; that's mine!); please remember this and write it down in a safe place. You'll use it and your proxy password to access the Uva Resources (read on).

You do not need to follow the UVa instructions on setting up your proxy (they don't have any for Linux); instead, read the following section.

Configuring Your Browser to Use the UVa Proxy

NOTE: if you are using the NRAO Proxy, you cannot use both it and the UVa Proxy at the same time. Unfortunately, it's necessary to switch between using one or the other.

For netscape and mozilla: Edit your preferences (pull down the "Edit" menu from the top menu bar of the program, choose "Preferences") and you will see a screen like the image below.

You need to press the little triangle beside "Advanced" to expand that section; then you will see the "Proxy" item. Choose it and you will see the screen above. Follow the annotations, i.e.:

1. Choose Automatic proxy configuration
2. Enter http://proxy.virginia.edu/ in the "Configuration location (URL)" field.
3. Press "Reload" (not strictly necessary).
4. Press "OK". The preferences dialog box will disappear.

Remember: it is best to only enable this automatic proxy when needed, i.e., when you want access to a UVa Library resource that is not generally available. You should switch back to using http://www.cv.nrao.edu/cvproxy.pac in step 2 above when you're done with the UVa content.

Accessing Internal UVa Resources

You should now be ready to access UVa internal Library resources such as the virgo link on the Uva Library page, or go direct to Virgo now. When you first access an internal UVa resource, you will see a password prompt like this:

Use your UVa User ID and Uva Proxy Password here. Once you are authenticated, you will have access. Happy digging! REMEMBER to replace the automatic proxy setting in your preferences with our own one when you're done accessing the UVa Library Resources!