How Do I Get Access From Home?

Most links already have the proxy connection built into them. Click on the red button if you experience a connection problem. Go to the Proxy Server Help page if problems persist.

Begin your research at the library website: www.trentu.ca/library. If you're reading this, you've probably already found us.

From the website, you can:

• connect to TOPCAT (our Library Catalogue);
• find out about our library, and;
• access external resources.

Most of our website is freely available to anyone on the internet. This is not the case, however, with our licenced external resources (such as online indexes, e-books, and e-journals). These resources require authentication, to ensure that you belong to the Trent community.

Authentication

Our agreements with external resource providers require us to limit access to current Trent students, faculty, and staff. If you are on campus, your computer's address (IP address) is recognized, and you have direct access. If you are NOT using a campus computer (and this includes Residence rooms), you need to authenticate yourself as a valid Trent user in order to connect to the resource.

The Proxy Server

The proxy server is what allows you to access restricted online resources from a computer that is not on the Trent network. It routes you through a server that is on the network, thereby providing an IP address which the external system will recognize and accept. Before it links you through, it checks your account to make sure you are an authorized user. You must have a valid Trent Novell (network) account to be authorized by the proxy server. Trent's IT ( Information Technology) department looks after accounts.

Links to online resources from the library website have the proxy access already built into them, to provide seamless access. When you click on these links from on-campus, the proxy server will ignore you because it's not needed. If you are off-campus, it will prompt you to login. For this process to work each time, you must always use links from the library website to resources, rather than create bookmarks.

Here are the steps to follow:

1.	Get to the PROXY SERVER by clicking on a link or finding the red image.
2.	You will be prompted for your USERNAME:
	Use your current Trent network (Novell) username. This is the username you use to login to a computer on campus or to access your Trent email. If you don't know it, go to www.trentu.ca/claimid to get it.
3.	You will be prompted for your PASSWORD:
	Use the current password that goes with your network/Novell account. If you've changed it and forgotten it, contact the Technical Support Centre of IT. The library doesn't have control of this account.
4.	Once you are authenticated by the proxy server, you will be directed to the external resource or a webpage providing links. Note that cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080 (or something similar) appears in the address of all the restricted databases you connect to from here forward. If it is NOT present, you are not connected through the proxy server.

If you are asked for a username/password once you've arrived at a site, you are not authenticated and you won't be able to access it.
We do not have individual passwords for specific sites.

Your authenication status lasts for the duration of your browser session. You'll need to go through this process each time you open your web browser.

If you experience problems accessing an online resource through the proxy server, see our Proxy Server Help page.

TOPCAT Links to E-Journals and E-Books

Our library catalogue (TOPCAT) offers links to available e-resources that allow you access from off-campus. When you search TOPCAT and find a record for an e-resource, you can click on the button. If you are on-campus, it will take you directly to the website for that resource. If you are off-campus, it will route you through the proxy server (asking for your ID, as above) to the website for that resource. Once you do this for one resource, it may not ask you again during your session. For easy access to a known e-journal or e-book, TOPCAT is often your quickest route.

Losing Contact with the Proxy Server

Proxy servers are tricky things, and they're not perfect. Sometimes you can lose your connection with the proxy server. It may happen from too many "clicks", or it may be that the resource you are trying to connect to is not recognized by our proxy server.

Whenever you are connected to the proxy server, the url (address) of each restriced site you visit will contain cat1.lib.trentu.ca:8080. If that remains in the url, you have NOT lost your connection. If you are denied access, you should let us know what you were trying to access at the time this happened, so that we can investigate. If it disappears, try logging in to the proxy again to see if it works the second time. If you still can't get access, let us know exactly where you were and where you were trying to go at the time. Contact libraryhelp@trentu.ca. Check our Proxy Server Help page.

The Proxy Prefix

Course instructors may wish to provide links to resources for students. For help with this, see our webpage on Creating Persistent Links.

Most links (urls) can be routed through the proxy server by adding the following prefix to the beginning of the link:

http://web2.trentu.ca:2048/login?url=

The address to which you want the link directed then follows. For example:

http://web2.trentu.ca:2048/login?url=http://www.anyplace.ca

This proxy works as long as the url it is being directed to is included in our Proxy Config file. If you receive a message that the url needs to be added to our config file, contact us to have it added. Naturally, we can only add sites for which we have legal access rights. If we haven't paid for access, the proxy server won't help.

If you have questions or concerns about using the proxy server, contact libraryhelp@trentu.ca.

If you experience problems accessing an online resource through the proxy server, see our Proxy Server Help page.

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Last Modified: June 16, 2011
Maintained by , Thomas J. Bata Library.