Coverage Zones and PAC files

[mark.duffy]

Just wondering if anybody has used coverage zones and PAC files to do auth browser configuration.

I'm looking at a global deployment of Content Engines (ACNS 5.1) and would like to set each CE up as a PAC server to respond to a request and direct the user to the nearest CE. So if I'm in Milan I use the Milan CE and when I go to London I use the London CE.

I'm trying to get my head round this in the lab at present and want to get away with not using a Content Router only CE's. Can this be done?

Any experience will be really helpful and I'll post any findings back to this thread.

Thanks

Mark

[didyap]

Here is something that I found. ACNS 5.1 has the new auto proxy-config option which combines coverage zones with a proxy pac file. Essentially, you create a pac file that contains a special macro, and configure the CE (through the CDM GUI) to use that pac file in conjunction with the coverage zone information. Then, when the client requests that pac file from the CE, the CE replaces that macro in the pac file with one (or more) CE names based on the coverage zone that matches the requesting client's IP address. Link to the configuration.

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/webscale/uce/acns51/deploy51/51router.htm#wp1039339

[mark.duffy]

Thanks for the reply, I looked at the configs and I've hacked them about, the first thing I discovered is the Zone file needs to have hostnames and not IP addresses for it to work, at this stage I hadn't got the content routing side done on my test rig to fully test this. The other thing I found is the complete set of PAC documentation can be found on Netscapes website: -

http://wp.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/2.0/relnotes/demo/proxy-live.html

I'll update the thread if I ever get it working, I do love being on the bleeding edge.

Mark

[jfoerster]

Hi Mark,

if you need assistance with the proxypac feel free to ask. I've some experience with those...

What kind of informations do you need about it.

Regards,

Joerg

[mark.duffy]

Hi Joerg

Basically I'm looking to do a deployment across 8 subnets with a CE in each. I *think* I've understood the PAC files/Zone files enough from the documentaion to write them. In this deployment however I don't have a CR so I was going to try and do it with the CE's making the redirection decision as it hints you can in the documentation.

I suppose my quesiton is, is it going to work? Could you summerise what you did and what results you had with a browser configuring itself to the correct proxy for that subnet the client is on.

Thanks for your help,

kind regards

Mark