Cover Story

V.18 Upgrade Overview

Features

Sandbox

Staff Accounts & Circ

V.18 Web OPAC

Angel & OLIS Training

Standardized Indexes

New Titles Lists

SUNYConnect Updates

How to Contact Us

Linkable Links

A major change with Aleph v18 will be the use of a web-based application called Sandbox which will be used to access the campus regions on the shared Aleph servers. This will replace the telenet/SSH (Putty) client access to the server Unix prompt. The Sandbox application used with v16 will be replaced with one updated for v18 that includes enhanced functionality.

Sandbox was re-written to address significant security concerns regarding campus access at the Unix level to the Aleph servers. This has been an ongoing concern since the beginning of the Aleph implementations in 2000. The structure and function of the Aleph system does not accommodate campus level restrictions for Unix access. Further, Ex Libris has not been compelled to develop a resolution since SUNY had been the only consortium in their customer base to allow campuses direct Unix level access to the Aleph servers. Security concerns related to inadvertent access to server wide data and configuration files have been intensified by growing concerns regarding access to sensitive personal identity information.

The new Sandbox version will enable access to the standard suite of Aleph tables, as well as access to commonly used utilities and the ability to move/copy files among various directories. New processes will enable data files transfers to and from the server without a direct SFTP connection. Campuses will continue to be asked (as in v14 and v16) to submit SQL query requests through Footprints. The option of requesting a read-only Oracle report account (see Footprints Public Solution 4396 for information) will continue in v18.