WSKey validation and messages

WSKey validation

When an EZproxy administrator installs the WSKey for an EZproxy subscription, EZproxy will contact the WSKey server and attempt to validate that key. At this point, several things could happen:

  1. EZproxy will successfully connect with the WSKey server, check the key for validation, and receive a confirmation that the key is connected with a current EZproxy subscription.
  2. EZproxy will successfully connect with the WSKey server, check the key for validation, and receive a message that the key has expired.
  3. EZproxy will not be able to connect to the WSKey server due to firewall or other network security issues and will not be able to validate or invalidate the WSKey. To verify that your EZproxy server can connect to the WSKey server, enter the following URL, replacing WSKey with your WSKey value.

    https://authn.sd00.worldcat.org/wskey/authorize.action?service=ezproxy&wskey=WSKey

The server will return a response about the result of the test and whether you were able to authenticate with the server. If the WSKey is invalid, you will also receive the message, "WSKey is invalid."

The below table will explain the warnings you may see in your messages.txt file and what they mean with regard to your WSKey validation for EZproxy V6.1 and later.

WSKey alerts V6.1 and later

As long as your EZproxy server is able to connect to the WSKey server and validate your key, you should only see the following message in your messages.txt file after startup:

EZproxy license key is valid.

If your EZproxy server is unable to validate your key with the WSKey server, you may see one of the messages in the table below. These messages provide two important pieces of information:

To troubleshoot if you see these messages:

  1. Ensure that your EZproxy server can connect to the WSKey server by navigating to: https://authn.sd00.worldcat.org/wskey/authorize.action?service=ezproxy&wskey=WSKey, and replacing WSKey with your complete WSKey.
  2. If EZproxy is able to connect to the WSKey server, but you are still seeing one of the messages below at startup contact, orders@oclc.org to verify the status of your key and subscription.
Message Recorded at Description
EZproxy license key requires revalidation with OCLC by (date). Startup

EZproxy has attempted to contact the WSKey server at startup and either:

  • It cannot connect with the server
  • It has connected, but cannot validate your WSKey

This does not necessarily mean your WSKey is invalid. EZproxy will continue to attempt to validate the key once an hour. 

***WARNING: EZproxy will stop running if it cannot revalidate your license key with OCLC by (date).

***WARNING: If you have concerns, please contact support@oclc.org.

Hourly Intervals After startup, the message above will be recorded, and EZproxy will attempt to contact the WSKey server once an hour. If it cannot connect with the server, or connects with the server and cannot validate your WSKey, this Warning will be recorded in messages.txt.

***DANGER: EZproxy will stop running if it cannot revalidate your license key with OCLC by (date).

***DANGER: If you have concerns, please contact support@oclc.org.

Hourly Intervals

If EZproxy is unable to validate your key with the WSKey server during the above warning period, a new Danger message will be recorded in messages.txt.

The startup message above will be recorded, and EZproxy will attempt to contact the WSKey server once an hour. If it cannot connect with the server, or connects with the server and cannot validate your WSKey, this Warning will be recorded in messages.txt.

***DANGER: EZproxy will stop running if it cannot revalidate your license key with OCLC by (date).

***DANGER: EZproxy has been unable to validate your license key with OCLC for over 87 days.

***DANGER: Validation will cease to retry and will shut down in less than 3 days.

***DANGER: If you have concerns, please contact support@oclc.org.

Hourly Intervals

If EZproxy is unable to validate your key with the WSKey server during the above danger period, a new, more descriptive Danger message will be recorded in messages.txt.

You will see this message for three days while EZproxy makes its final, hourly attempts to validate your license key with the WSKey server before the given date.

If you see this message, your license might be nearing its expiration. If you have confirmed that your EZproxy server can connect to the WSKey server, contact orders@oclc.org to confirm your subscription is current or renew.

WSKey alerts V6.0 and V6.0.8

If you are currently using EZproxy V6.0 or V6.0.8, EZproxy will validate your WSKey for 3 months and record an expiration date of 3 months from that initial installation in your messages.txt log file. On that date, EZproxy will attempt to revalidate the key with the WSKey server. If it is able to validate the key, you will see a new expiration date 3 months from validation in your messages.txt file upon startup and restart. You can ignore these expiration dates as your WSKey will expire a year from your subscription's start date or you can upgrade to V6.1 or later to receive the messages described above. For more details see Known issues.