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My question is on ASP.net session management. In the current web application we have "sticky sessions" (user is always redirected to server it started talking to). Below is my problem statement.

From one of our client there are huge number of request hitting our servers. Somehow requests are sent from 1 or at most 2 IPs. We have 5 servers running to serve those request. Now the problem here is that 1-2 server might be heavily getting hits while other servers might be idle because sticky sessions will not allow request to be processed by serverB which was initially answered by serverA

What we need is exactly the opposite. Any server should be able to process incoming request maintaining the continued conversation.

I have put my problem in very plain words. Any pointer will be appreciated.

Raj Chanchal
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    Did you try storing session in database? http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317604 – Efe Kaptan Jul 25 '12 at 12:04
  • Thanks for the link. I will go through it. – Raj Chanchal Jul 25 '12 at 12:06
  • Will it load balanace among servers by itself? I mean is this feature inbuilt in asp.net session management? – Raj Chanchal Jul 25 '12 at 12:10
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    for sql server mode: To configure SQLServer mode for a Web farm, in the configuration file for each Web server, set the sessionState element's sqlConnectionString attribute to point to the same SQL Server database. The path for the ASP.NET application in the IIS metabase must be identical on all Web servers that share session state in the SQL Server database. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178586.aspx – Waqar Janjua Jul 25 '12 at 12:18
  • Considering that I am new to web development, your answer will save me from few of problems I could have faced in initial stages. Thanks lot. – Raj Chanchal Jul 25 '12 at 12:28

1 Answers1

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Why not just store the session state on a SQL server?

Jaime Torres
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  • how is load balancing done. Do I have to program or asp.net will do it for me? – Raj Chanchal Jul 25 '12 at 12:11
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    You would use your normal load balancer, but just disable sticky sessions. This allows your servers to have load evenly distributed and is particularly suited for your situation. There is some overhead involved since you're deserializing and serializing session state PER REQUEST from/to a SQL server, so you have to determine if that will become an unbearable bottle neck in your design. – Jaime Torres Jul 25 '12 at 12:15
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    from msdn To use StateServer mode in a Web farm, you must have the same encryption keys specified in the machineKey element of your Web configuration for all applications that are part of the Web farm. – Waqar Janjua Jul 25 '12 at 12:17
  • Thanks Torres. I think I am getting closer to solution with your answer and link. This is very helpful for me. – Raj Chanchal Jul 25 '12 at 12:20