Tarantella Administration Guide > Security > Configuring proxy server settings on clients

Configuring proxy server settings on clients

To use a proxy server with Tarantella, web clients and Tarantella Native Clients need to be configured with the following information:

• The address and port number of the proxy servers your LAN uses to connect to the Internet.
• An exception list of addresses which do not need to be accessed through the proxy server, for example, addresses on your corporate intranet.

The configuration method you choose (automatic or manual) depends on the size of your user base, their level of expertise, and the number and type of client device(s) in use.

Automatic configuration

You can automatically configure the proxy server settings for web clients by using the URL of an autoconfig file. The config file must be written in Javascript and have a .pac file extension. See the Netscape Proxy Auto-Config File Format page for details.

Note Use this format for all web browsers supported by Tarantella.

For users of the Native Client for UNIX, their proxy server settings are stored in the $HOME/.tarantella/native-preferences file and may be updated using a shell script.

Manual configuration

Some sample instructions for distribution to your users are included here for you to modify and use as needed.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the Connections tab, click LAN Settings.
3. Under Proxy server, click Use a proxy server for your LAN.
4. To bypass the proxy for intranet addresses, click Bypass proxy server for local addresses.
5. Click Advanced.
6. For each type of proxy server used, type the address and port number of the proxy server.
7. If you are using an exception list, type the addresses in the Exceptions box.

Netscape

1. On the Edit menu, click Preferences.
2. Click Advanced, Proxies.
3. Click Manual Proxy Configuration.
4. For each type of proxy server used, type the address and port number of the proxy server.
5. If you are using a SOCKS proxy server, select SOCKS v5.
6. If you are using an exception list, type the addresses in the No Proxy for box.

Tarantella Native Client

1. On the Webtop menu, click Options.
2. Under Proxy servers, select one or more proxy server types.
3. For each proxy server type selected, type:
   • the proxy server name in the Address box, for example, chicago.indigo-insurance.com
   • the port number in the Port box, for example, 8080
4. If you are using an exception list, type the addresses in the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with box.

Exception lists

An exception list is a semicolon-separated list of DNS hostnames:

chicago.indigo-insurance.com;detroit.indigo-insurance.com;london.indigo-insurance.com

Exception lists may include the * wildcard:

*.indigo-insurance.com

There is no translation between DNS hostnames and IP addresses in exception lists. For example, with an exception list of "*.indigo-insurance.com", connections to "chicago.indigo-insurance.com" and "detroit.indigo-insurance.com" would not use the proxy server, but connections to "192.168.5.20" and "192.168.5.30" (their IP addresses) would.

Note On Netscape browsers, the list is a comma-separated list.