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Dear Code4Lib list members,

 

I'm wondering if other libraries have a solution or workaround for a problem
that is plaguing my corporate library.

 

We subscribe to many e-journals and databases that use IP authentication.
This works fine from a company site, or with a full VPN connection to the
company network. In these environments, our users always have a company IP
address.

 

However, on mobile devices, our corporate VPN uses "split tunneling". With
this configuration, the VPN tunnel is used only for internal resources such
as our Intranet. All other traffic is routed through the user's Internet
Service Provider. So when a user browses to, say, ScienceDirect, the server
detects a connection from Verizon, Comcast, or some other ISP. Up comes the
paywall!

 

I'd really like to know three things:

1.       If your institution offers VPN access to mobile device users, does
it employ split tunneling?

2.       If so, does this present challenges with IP-authenticated
resources?

3.       If so, what solutions or workarounds are available, other than
proxies or alternative authentication procedures?

 

Thanks,

 

Bob Dougherty