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Session not being set

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    #1

    Session not being set

    I am in the process of moving servers (sticking with Zebrahost they are just moving me to their new datacenter onto newer and better equipment). I have managed to get all necessary files moved to the new servers and am able to access my site through the load balancers IP, however, when I login the session doesn't seem to be created and therefore none of my session variables are working. I've tried messing with the "Session Storage Settings" within the instance settings, but I can't seem to get anything working. Any ideas on what I need to do to get sessions running properly?
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Session not being set

    So an update on this, if I only have a single instance running then my session variables will work but as soon as I have more than one running my session variables get lost when I refresh the whole page (if I keep the site up and use refresh button within the site that rely on session variables they will still be used even after starting a second instance). Any ideas what would be causing this issue? I have a single IP for all instances they just run on different ports (I believe Zebrahost told me the load balancer handles this).

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      #3
      Re: Session not being set

      So just another update, after messing with the instance config files I have found that if I assign multiple ones to use port 80 then session variables work as expected. However, I have some buttons that are suppose to export list data into an excel file (using the simple list action in javascript and the advanced javascript export action) and I can see the temp files showing up in the session folders but they aren't downloading, any ideas why?

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Session not being set

        I think each instance of traditional WAS needs a unique cookie name when you are using a load balancer. Open the WAS server console, go to "Advanced" tab and look at the "Cookie Name". Open the XML configuration files that zebrahost setup for you and locate this value and change it to be unique across all instance xml files.

        I believe you will always have some sort of problem when using a load balancer under traditional WAS. I scrapped the load balancer junk when ZH migrated us to new server and I have not heard any complaints from users about session timeout, anymore. The money saved by scrapping the load balancer will be put towards an Alpha IIS license. The load balancing mechanism offered by MS under IIS is way superior. Although, I haven't been able to make that transition yet (need a stable release from Alpha and will need a fair IIS subscription price!)

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          #5
          Re: Session not being set

          Yeah I unfortunately had to do a call with a third party company that costed a little moolah to get that information (was passed to them by ZH), but we did get it sorted out so I'm happy about that so I can get us moved to the new servers finally this weekend! Wish I had been a little more patient to get your wise words first though!

          My concerns aren't related to session timeouts as I am completely getting rid of session variables (just a long process because there a many places I used them). Really my hope is that the new server setup in the new DC with the newer load balancer and equipment will give me a performance boast. During heavy traffic times it seems the system can come to crawl and one or more of the instances will lock up causing a need for a drop of all clients on that instance so I am hoping this will help prevent that (this issue also very much affects my mobile app users who aren't the most tech savvy so one something doesn't save and sync in half a second they think it's broken).

          I am also very interested in the IIS since I keep seeing so much information about it and would be curious what you feel makes it the far superior choice as far as load balancing is concerned (whether your words or some good resources).

          Thanks again Rich!

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Session not being set

            If you are using Alpha's integrated security mechanism then it may not matter if you eliminate your use of session variables; you may still have issues when using a load balancer. If you want to use a load balancer then I suggest contacting Steve Wood at iadn.com. He may have a better load balancer than what ZH is using that he can sell you. Steve has been working with a load balancer that does a better job at keeping users attached to the alpha instance they logged in with.

            If the load balancer redirects a request from an already logged in user to a different Alpha WAS instance then the other instance will believe that users has no permission and is not logged in. Depending on what the request was they will either be redirected to an "access denied" page, shown some other message, or nothing at all will happen. This is because traditional WAS does not share session information across multiple instances. If you run the IIS Alpha Server version then you can opt for session storage to be held in a SQL database. All instances of alpha will have access to same session info. Therefore, a user could be bounced around between different instances without any issue. Unless you are frequently changing the value of session variables and you run into a timing problem. Session variables are best used for information that only needs to be set once during the login process. Also, under IIS when a alpha instance fails another is started by IIS to take its place. Since session storage is maintained in SQL , most users won't notice any problem; only the few users that were actively transmitting to the server during the crash will have a problem. With a load balancer from ZH you probably also have "AlwaysUp" installed. There is no need for AlwaysUp under IIS Alpha; as IIS performs that function for you. When ZH setup AlwaysUp for me a couple of years ago, I found out AlwaysUp had to configured with a periodic call to a batch file to determine if AA had frozen. That whole thing was rather inefficient and triggered error messages in the AA logs. I have not checked what happens under IIS, but I suspect IIS is much cleaner.

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              #7
              Re: Session not being set

              Yeah I’m planning to handle the user security on my own once I have the information I need from the server to really get rid of the need for anything alpha related but not being well versed in how servers or the WAS operate I don’t want to get in a situation where I don’t have any help fixing issues that are over my head haha

              Definitely like the idea of how the IIS works, is this something that Zebrahost is capable of if the license is purchased or is this something I’d have to take on on my own other than going through Alpha Cloud?

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Session not being set

                Might as well install Alpha IIS yourself, it is just a matter of running the installer. You can install it locally in demo mode, without a license, on your development computer to test.

                Alpha has documentation to walk you through the process of installing Alpha IIS and publishing an application to IIS. There are many places for things to go wrong. Just follow the instructions the best you can. Start with everything on one computer (Alpha Developer IDE, Alpha IIS, IIS, SQL database) and follow Alpha's instructions for converting one of their sample apps to IIS. You will get a good idea of the steps. The tricky part is creating a publishing profile with all the right connection string information. It is easier if you use SQL users with full permissions.
                There are some tips on iadn.com for going to Alpha IIS.
                Last edited by RichCPT; 08-27-2018, 07:22 PM.

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