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-
- SOCKS access for MS-Windows Mosaic
- ----------------------------------
-
- The CERN httpd can now provide SOCKS access for standard MS-Windows
- Mosaic 2.0alpha2 clients. This is probably the only README file you
- need to read.
-
-
- BACKGROUND
- ----------
-
- Some recent changes to the CERN WWW library code allow redirection of
- requests from WWW clients.
-
- In summary, this mechanism allows clients compliant with the CERN
- library to be pointed at an httpd daemon, which will satisfy WWW
- requests on their behalf. Win-Mosaic 2.0alpha2 is such a client.
-
- Thus, this can be used to provide proxied Internet access to Win-Mosaic
- clients that cannot themselves connect directly to Internet resources,
- because they are inside an Internet `Firewall'.
-
- This can be got working in two ways:
-
- 1. You may run a proxying daemon (such as CERN's httpd 2.17beta) on
- a system which does have direct Internet access -- such as your
- Internet Firewall bastion system itself -- and point your
- Win-Mosaic clients at this. The disadvantage of this is that
- you have to run another, large piece of software (the httpd) on
- your bastion; I was not happy to do this.
-
- or
-
- 2. You may build a SOCKS-compliant version of this proxy httpd,
- which can then run on an _internal_ host, and can still access
- Internet resources on behalf of its Win-Mosaic clients, thus:
-
- Win Mosaic -> SOCKSified httpd -> sockd -> Internet
- or
- -> direct -> local
-
- The advantage of this to SOCKS users is that Internet access
- remains governed by the configuration of the sockd on your
- Firewall bastion.
-
- (Note that this is a scheme already pioneered by Dick St Peters
- <stpeters@spare-parts.crd.ge.com> for use with Mac-Mosaic, using
- an earlier version of WWW redirection mechanism. However, the
- new WWW Library mechanism makes implementation considerably
- simpler.)
-
-
- THE SOCKSIZED HTTPD
- -------------------
-
- The SOCKSification of the CERN httpd is relatively simple with SOCKS
- version 2.2. Just a question of SOCKSizing only the WWW library calls
- and not those that the daemon uses for local Win-Mosaic client
- connections! (see later)
-
- The distribution of the CERN httpd (2.17beta) has all the required
- changes made to it for SOCKS. After unpacking the distribution:
-
- 1. cd ./WWW
-
- 2. Edit the file `BUILD', to set values for the two variables at
- the top:
-
- SOCKSLIB set this to point to the location of
- your ready-built SOCKS library; this
- must be Version 4.2 (or later) built
- with the -DSHORTENED_RBIND option.
-
- SOCKS_FLAGS set this to "-DSOCKS" to enable the
- SOCKS code
-
- 3. Type `./BUILD'
-
-
- Everything should now build for you. To use your SOCKSized
- httpd you also need a configuration file, typically
- /etc/httpd.conf. A simple yet adequate version of this file is
- this:
-
- pass http:*
- pass ftp:*
- pass wais:*
- pass gopher:*
- fail news:*
- fail *
-
-
- (An aside to explain this file, if you care:
-
- The `pass' lines allow access to remote resources of each
- specified type. The `fail' line at the end blocks access to
- any local resources (ie, on the system where the httpd is
- running).
-
- For more details on the syntax available in httpd
- configuration files, including the the very useful use of
- CACHES, and for how to control which local client systems
- nay use your proxy, see the URL:
-
- http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Daemon/User/Guide.html
-
-
- 4. You can now start your proxy server. To run it, listenin on port
- 80, and logging to a logfile, as root use a command like:
-
- httpd -p 80 -l logfile
-
- There's also a -v command for verbose output of what its doing,
- if you hit problems and want to try to work out why.
-
-
- 5. Next you must configure your SOCKS server sockd to allow connections
- outwards from the httpd daemon.
-
- By default, the daemon will change uid to `nobody' and gid to
- `nogroup' when retrieving a request (though you can change the
- values using the configuration options `UserId' and `GroupId' in
- your /etc/httpd.conf file). Thus, this is the `user' who the
- SOCKS request will appear to have come from. Make sure that
- your sockd allows it.
-
-
- 7. Now you must point your Win-Mosaic clients at this proxy.
- Remember that you MUST have Win-Mosaic 2.0alpha2. To define your
- proxy server, edit lines of this form in your MOSAIC.INI file:
-
- [proxy information]
- http_proxy=http://proxyhost.your.dom:80/
- ftp_proxy=http://proxyhost.your.dom:80/
- wais_proxy=http://proxyhost.your.dom:80/
- gopher_proxy=http://proxyhost.your.dom:80/
-
-
- Let me know if you hit any problems!
-
-
- I. (14-March-94)
-
-
- Ian Dunkin <imd1707@ggr.co.uk>.
-
-