Web Proxy

If you need to download file from external web-sites while using systems such as the CSF or iCSF, the IT Services Web Proxy will be needed. This is because the CSF and iCSF cannot access the outside world directly (for security). For example:

• Many applications make use of the Web protocol (HTTP) to download updates and/or data files. Almost all such applications can be easily configured to use the proxy. Applications installed by IT Services’ support teams will usually be configured for you. For example, wget can be used to download files from the web while on the CSF or iCSF.
• If you make use of an off-campus revision control repository (e.g., CVS, Git, Github or Subversion) in your code development, you should access the repository via the proxy.

The proxy details are:

• hostname: proxy.man.ac.uk
• port: 3128.

Many applications can read the settings from environment variables such as HTTP_PROXY (upper or lower case). In this case, first check whether a modulefile is available on the system you are using that sets these variables (e.g. the CSF, iCSF):

module load tools/env/proxy

Not all software can use the environment variables so you should check your application’s instructions. Some more examples are given below:

Example: SVN

Add the following to your ~/.subversion/servers configuration file:

[global]
http-proxy-host = proxy.man.ac.uk
http-proxy-port = 3128
http-compression = no

Example: Git

Before running git, set the following in your environment:

export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.man.ac.uk:3128
export HTTPS_PROXY=$HTTP_PROXY

You will then be able to clone from http(s) repositories. For example:

git clone https://github.com/myproject.git myproj

Example: Python urllib(2)

Before running your python script set the following in your environment:

export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.man.ac.uk:3128
export HTTPS_PROXY=$HTTP_PROXY

The above environment settings may be used by other applications. Some use lowercase environment variable names. Please check your application documentation for exactly what is required.