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/
+`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
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
+to use for IP-based authentication. Note that **it is then crucial 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"
Setting up such a library is a process of several stages.
-Stage A: create the User Access account
+### 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.
+
+* 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
+`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.
+"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").
+> TODO 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,
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
+### 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
<script type="text/javascript">
var mkws_config = { service_proxy_auth:
"//sp-mkws.indexdata.com/service-proxy/?command=auth&action=perconfig" };
- </script>
+ </script>
-### This should be the default setting
+> TODO 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
+### 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
+`//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)
+> TODO 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.
+> TODO 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
+### 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
+`//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.
+> TODO 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
+### 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