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    Configuring MetaLib and Primo to Enable Remote Searches

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    This information is not applicable to Primo VE environments. For more details on Primo VE configuration, see Primo VE.
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    To allow Primo to search remote resources using the MetaLib API, perform the following steps within MetaLib and Primo:
    1. Your Primo institution must communicate with a specific MetaLib institution. If you have several Primo and MetaLib institutions, you need to decide which MetaLib institution to use for each Primo institution.
    2. Create a valid MetaLib staff user (/M user) with Metalib Administrator or Super User roles. This allows Primo to run searches in MetaLib and create the Find Databases list. The mladmin user can be used for this purpose. For more information, see Creating a Staff User in MetaLib.
    3. To allow Primo users to search MetaLib QuickSets, the QuickSets must be assigned to a default profile, which must have the same name as the MetaLib institution code. For more information, see Assigning QuickSets to the Default Profile.
      In a multi-institution site, it is important to define the same list of QuickSets for all institutions. Although the QuickSet names need to be the same for all institutions, the list of resources within each QuickSet can be different. This is because Primo redirects a remote search request to the MetaLib institution that has been defined for the Primo institution to which the user belongs. Since users from several different institutions may see the same list of QuickSets (for example, in a cross-institution view), the codes of the QuickSets should be the same in all MetaLib institutions.
    4. Retrieve the list of defined IPs in MetaLib:
      1. Log on to the MetaLib Management interface (/M).
      2. On the Ongoing Menu page, click Institutional Settings under MetaLib Administration > Set-Up to display the Institutional Settings page.
      3. Click the IP Addresses tab on the menu bar to display the IP Addresses page.
      4. Copy the list of defined IP ranges to a file so that they can be configured later in the Primo Back Office.
    5. Retrieve the MetaLib host and port, which are used by Primo to access MetaLib:
      1. Log on to the MetaLib server as the metalib user.
      2. Enter the following commands to display the MetaLib host and port, respectively:
        echo $WWW_HOST
        echo $WWW_PORT
      3. Save this information for later configuration in the Primo Back Office.
    6. In MetaLib, make sure that the 833# ports (for example, 8331, 8332, and so forth) are open to the Primo Front End IPs. Primo uses these ports to access the QuickSets and categories in Metalib.
      • You can use port 80 instead of 833#.
      • Port 1601 (which is used for the Primo Back Office) does not have to be opened to MetaLib.
    7. In Primo, make sure that the following ports are open:
      • 8991 – open to the world for all Front End machines.
      • 443 – open to ML server IP (for QuickSets)
    8. From the Primo Back Office server, enter the following command to verify open access between the Primo and MetaLib servers:
      wget -O querytest 'http://<metalib host:port>?user_name=<user>&user_password=<passwd>'
      If the above command gets stuck at Connecting to ..., then make sure that the ports are open from Primo to MetaLib. For example:
      traceroute to 64.94.37.62 (64.94.37.62), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
      1 10.118.232.3 (10.118.232.3) 0.643 ms 0.755 ms 0.913 ms
      2 * * *
      3 * * *
    9. Configure the following parameters on the Primo Home > Ongoing Configuration Wizards > Institution Wizard page:
      • MetaLib Institution Code– Specify the same institution code and name that are visible under Institutional Settings in the MetaLib Management interface (for example, LHALL).
      • MetaLib Portal Code – Specify the same institution code and name that are visible under Institutional Settings in the MetaLib Management interface (for example, LHALL).
      • Delivery Base URLs > MetaLib – Build the URL from the host, port, and login information you defined previously in MetaLib. Construct the URL as follows:
        http://<metalib host:port>?user_name=<staff-username>&user_password=<staff-pwd>
        For example:
        http://myserver:8331?user_name=primo&user_password=primo_inst
        The Institution Wizard can use DNS/host name instead of IP (DNS is preferred) as long as they are mapped in their DNS entry, and the DNS name is an external name.
    10. Copy the MetaLib IP ranges (which were saved previously to a file) to the Primo Home > Ongoing Configuration Wizards > Institution Wizard > Edit IPs page.
    11. Add a remote search scope for each QuickSet on the Primo Home > Ongoing Configuration Wizards > Views Wizard > Search Scope List page. Make sure to add either a remote_<quickset> or ML_<quickset> prefix to each remote scope that you create.
      For example: remote_MATH or ML_MATH
    12. Add the remote search scopes to the appropriate search tab on the Primo Home > Ongoing Configuration Wizards > Views Wizard > Tabs Configuration > Edit View Attributes page.
      If you want a dedicated tab for MetaLib, you may need to create a new tab and then add the remote search scopes to it.
    13. Verify that the remote search scopes appear in the correct tab in Primo’s Front Ends.

    Creating a Staff User in MetaLib

    To access MetaLib from Primo, you must use the mladmin user or create a staff user that has MetaLib Administrator or Super User permissions. For more details on staff user management, refer to the MetaLib System Configuration and Administration Guide.
    To create a valid staff user:
    1. Log on to the MetaLib Management interface (/M).
    2. Click either Staff Users or Staff Administration from the Initial menu or the Ongoing menu, respectively.
      The Manage Staff Users page opens.
    3. Select an institution/group from the drop-down list on the Manage Staff Users page.
    4. Select either the MetaLib Administrator or Super User role from the drop-down list.
    5. From the Create a New Staff Member section, enter the following fields:
      • Login Name – primo_<inst_code>
      • Display Name – primo_<inst_code>
      • Password – primo_<inst_code>
      • Confirm Password – primo_<inst_code>
      The above values are recomended, but you can use any naming convention that you prefer.
    6. Click SUBMIT to create the user.

    Assigning QuickSets to the Default Profile

    To perform remote searches in MetaLib, the MetaLib QuickSets must be assigned to a default profile, which must have the same name as the MetaLib institution code. To assign QuickSets to the correct default profile, you may need to perform one of the following procedures:

    Creating a New Default Profile

    This procedure is necessary if you have not created any QuickSets and the institution default profile. The default profile must have the same name as the MetaLib institution code. For more information on managing default profiles, refer to the MetaLib System Configuration and Administration Guide.
    1. Log on to the MetaLib Management interface (/M).
    2. Click Define Default Profiles from the Management Main menu (/M).
      The Default Profiles page opens.
    3. Click Add a Default Profile.
      The Add Default Profile page opens.
    4. Select an institution from the drop-down list.
    5. Select a portal from the drop-down list.
    6. Enter the following fields and use the defaults for the remaining fields:
      • Default Profile ID – Enter the MetaLib institution code.
      • Password – Enter the MetaLib institution code.
      • Verify Password – Re-enter the password of the new default profile.
    7. Click SUBMIT to create the new default profile.
      The new default profile is added to the list of default profiles on the Default Profiles page.
    8. Create QuickSets and add them to your default profile. For more information, refer to the QuickSet and Category Administration Guide.

    Copying QuickSets to the Institution Default Profile

    Existing MetaLib customers who installed after v3.13 assigned QuickSets to default profiles called <inst/>-ENG (for example, LHALL-ENG). Because Primo cannot find these QuickSets, they must be transferred to the institution default profile (for example, LHALL). For more information, refer to the QuickSet and Category Administration Guide.
    To copy QuickSets to the institution default profile:
    1. Log on to the MetaLib server as the metalib user.
    2. Enter the following commands to display the MetaLib Users Management menu (see MetaLib Users Management Menu).
      dlib vir00
      util k
      K. MetaLib Users Management
      ------------------------
      0. Exit procedure
      1. Run MetaLib Alerts Report
      2. Run MetaLib Users Loader
      3. Delete Expired Users
      4. Copy QuickSets
      5. IP Loader for IP_RANGES table
      6. Convert User to Default Profile
      Please select [exit]:
      MetaLib Users Management Menu
    3. Enter option 4 to begin copying QuickSets.
    4. At the following prompt, enter the institution code (for example, LHALL):
      Enter Institution (or q to exit)
    5. At the following prompt, enter the user ID of the source (for example, LHALL-ENG):
      Copy QuickSets from User Id (or q to exit)
    6. At the following prompt, enter the user ID of the target (for example, LHALL):
      Copy QuickSets to User Id (or q to exit)
    7. At the following prompt, enter Yes to replace the target user’s QuickSets with the source user’s QuickSets:
      Target user QuickSets will be deleted. Type “Yes” to continue (or q to exit)
    8. At the following prompt, type enter to return to the menu:
      <#> sets copied successfully from <source> to <target>
      type ENTER to continue...
    9. Verify that the QuickSets appear under the new default profile (for example, LHALL) in the /M interface.

    Converting a User QuickSet to a Default Profile

    MetaLib v3.13 and earlier customers may already have their QuickSets assigned to a /V user (rather than a default profile) that matches their institution code. If this is the case, the /V user that is holding the QuickSets needs to be converted to the institution default profile. For more information on the User Loader utility, refer to the MetaLib System Configuration and Administration Guide.
    To convert a /V user to a default profile:
    1. Log on to the MetaLib server as the metalib user.
    2. Enter the following commands to display the MetaLib Users Management menu:
      dlib vir00
      util k
      K. MetaLib Users Management
      ------------------------
      0. Exit procedure
      1. Run MetaLib Alerts Report
      2. Run MetaLib Users Loader
      3. Delete Expired Users
      4. Copy QuickSets
      5. IP Loader for IP_RANGES table
      6. Convert User to Default Profile
      Please select [exit]:
      MetaLib Users Management Menu
    3. Enter option 6.
      The following prompt displays:
      Convert User to Default Profile
      Enter Institution name:
    4. At the prompt, enter the name of the institution to which the /V user belongs:
      The following prompt displays:
      Enter User ID:
    5. At the prompt, enter the name of the /V user that you want to convert to a default profile.
      The following prompt displays:
      The User was successfully updated
      Enter CR to continue...
    6. Type enter to return to the MetaLib Users Management menu.