EZproxy is a self-installing statically compiled single binary download, with a built-in administrative interface that makes most common administrative tasks point-and-click, that works on Linux and Windows systems, and requires very little in the way of resources to run.  It also has a library of a few hundred vendor stanzas that can be copied and pasted and work the majority of the time.

To successfully replace EZproxy in this setting, it would need to be packaged in such a way that it is equally easy to install and maintain, and the library of vendor stanzas would need to be developed as apache conf.d files.

Re: nginx from another reply in this thread, I am keeping my eye on it for future projects, but one thing it does not have currently is the wealth of Apache modules.  Some of the authentication that is commonly used in a library setting are supported by existing Apache modules, while nginx does not support them. Since it was developed with a different set of priorities, supporting things like Athens/CAS/SAML were not the main focus of nginx historically.

-- 
Andrew Anderson, Director of Development, Library and Information Resources Network, Inc.
http://www.lirn.net/ | http://www.twitter.com/LIRNnotes | http://www.facebook.com/LIRNnotes

On Jan 31, 2014, at 12:43, Timothy Cornwell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I have an IT background and some apache proxy experience, and it seems fairly easy - for me.  I understand it may not be for libraries with limited IT resources.  I am not at all familiar with EZProxy, so I have to ask:
> 
> What is it about EZProxy that makes it attractive for those libraries with limited IT resources?
> 
> -T
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Code for Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kyle Banerjee
> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 12:14 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] EZProxy changes / alternatives ?
> 
> Many good ideas in this thread.
> 
> One thing I'd just like to throw out there is that there are some ideas that may be good to distribute in the form of virtual machines and this might be one of them.
> 
> Proxying is needed by practically all libraries and takes little in terms of systems resources. But many libraries with limited IT resources would have trouble implementing alternatives to ezproxy -- especially if they have to use authentication features not supported by Apache HTTPD. Even for those who do have enough staff time, it seems kind of nuts to have everyone spending time solving the same problems.
> 
> kyle
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 5:43 AM, Ryan Eby <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> There was actually a breakout in 2011? Code4lib discussing Apache and 
>> using it as a proxy. I believe Terry Reese and Jeremy Frumkin, then 
>> from Oregon?, were the ones leading it. There was lots of interest but 
>> I'm not sure if anything took off or if they have documentation 
>> somewhere of how far they got. I remember it being about getting 
>> something a consortia of libraries could use together so may have been 
>> more complex requirements than what is looked for here.
>> 
>> 
>> http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/Can_we_hack_on_this:_Open_Extensibl
>> e_Proxy:_going_beyond_EZProxy%3F
>> 
>> --
>> Ryan Eby
>>