Understanding the EZproxy proxy summary: local, proxy, and unknown counters explained

Applies to

• Hosted EZproxy

Answer

Monthly usage reports are generated by the 10th of each month for the previous month's activity. At the bottom of each report, you'll find a Proxy Summary section that shows three counters:

Proxy summary: 
 local ###, proxy ###, unknown ###

What these counters mean:
"local" – Counts accesses from workstations in your ExcludeIP list. These machines bypass EZproxy and connect directly to vendors via IP authentication, but their activity is still recorded in the SPU (Starting Point URL) log.

"proxy" – Counts accesses through EZproxy's proxy links, regardless of whether users are on or off campus. This represents standard proxied connections where EZproxy mediates access to resources.

"unknown" – Counts requests where EZproxy cannot determine how to handle the access. This typically occurs due to:
• Missing or incomplete SPU (Starting Point URL) configuration for the resource
• Resources not properly defined in EZproxy's database stanza configurations
• HTTP 599 errors ("needhost" errors) where EZproxy doesn't recognize the destination host
• Connection issues or malformed requests that prevent proper classification

Important Notes:

• A zero "local" count doesn't indicate a problem—it simply means no ExcludeIP workstations used the Starting Point URL during that period.
• A high "unknown" count may indicate configuration issues that should be investigated.
• Generating these reports is a manual process, and although the report is typically generated by the 10th of each month, it can occasionally be delayed. As a result, the 10th should be considered an estimated target date rather than a fixed deadline. Depending on processing time and operational factors, the report may become available later than the 10th.

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