Re: Problem with Proxy Rewrite

["Debra Flewelling" <flewellingd@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Caleb,

 

I think you're right that there is a connection concerning our problems but I also know it goes beyond the asterisk.  We experience extreme problems with Ebsco but we also have problems with ABI when we do a boolean search and truncate with the "?" .  The search eventually comes in but it takes a long time to display the page.

Some people have responded to me off list saying they got the same slow results with the sample search I suggested.

I'm hoping for some answers soon or else we may have to make some tough decisions like not using the proxy rewrite address on campus or offering different off campus access depending on the database.

We are also the college that experiences problems with one of our cable companies (Shaw Cable in Canada) in that the proxy rewrite will not work if they have the box in IE ticked that says to "Automatically detect settings".  We receive so many problem calls that I think this company has cornered the market on internet access.

All in all, our transition to proxy rewrite has not been trouble free.

 

Debra Flewelling
IT Librarian
Douglas College Library
Tel: (604) 527-5190
Fax: (604) 527-5193

 

>>> ctucker@xxxxxxxxxx 07/01/02 01:29PM >>>
Debra,

I just noticed that your problem has something in common with the problem I posted about an hour ago about how certain searches didn't work in Proquest with WAM proxy rewrite.

The behavior is very similar - extreme delay in your case and not loading at all in ours.

The circumstances are also similar - you're using an asterisk (*) as a truncation symbol in your search, and the links we're clicking on the don't work include the same symbols in the URL.

An example URL that doesn't work for us is : http://0-proquest.umi.com.library.ggu.edu/pqdweb?RQT=317&SK=2&ScQ=000017437|*&StPt=1&FC=40&Branch=1&TS=1025554260

Truncation, and the asterisk-as-truncation-symbol usually work for us. This might be because most search forms use the METHOD="POST" option, which passes the form fields in the http header instead of in the URL.

I can't get Ebsco to behave right now, so I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that Ebsco uses the METHOD="GET" option for it's search which makes the search data part of the URL.

To recap, asterisk (*) character in my Proquest URL = bad
asterisk (*) character in Debra's EbscoHost URL = bad

Hypothesis: WAM proxy rewrite does not handle the asterisk character in the URL.

This isn't listed as a known issue on CSDirect.

Does anyone have any other WAM experiences that would prove or disprove this hypothesis?

Thanks -

Caleb Tucker-Raymond
Golden Gate University


>>> flewellingd@xxxxxxxxxx 06/26/02 11:06AM >>>

We are experiencing a problem with the proxy rewrite system with one set of databases and only under certain search conditions.The databases are from EbscoHost and we encounter an extreme time delay when searching using boolean operators or truncation (*).  When we repeat the same search not using the proxy rewrite link, it works fine.
Simple one word searches will work fine so I guess it is not the size of the result set that is a problem.
Is anyone else experiencing a problem like this?  Could someone who uses the proxy rewrite method and subscribes to Academic Search Elite try a search like "homelessness and (teen* or adolescent)".
Any help or ideas concerning this problems is appreciated.

Debra Flewelling
IT Librarian
Douglas College Library
Tel: (604) 527-5190
Fax: (604) 527-5193