FW: [Q] session mgmt

[vl...@cheerful.com]

Sorry, it did not look like the email got sent
the first time.

-----FW: <XF...@cheerful.com>-----

Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 21:53:49 -0500 (EST)
Sender: vladik@baikal.excedone.com
From: vladp@cheerful.com
To: modperl@apache.org
Subject: [Q] session mgmt

Hello,
I have difficulty in designing
highly scalable session management,
mod_perl is the tool I would like
to use, but so far I cannot see
how to do it in anything other
then hand-coded C++ or use transaction
management software such as MTS.
Basically, the system I am building
has to be distributed with load-balancing
going across heterogenus computer systems.
When a user logs in, he may be doing something
on Page 1, then he decides to go to Page 2,
from Page 1 to Page 2, the system will have
to perform a long query.  I do not want the
user to wait, therefore I allow him to go to
page 2, but in the mean time I want to show him
some kind of progress bar that demostrates that
his request from page one is being worked on.
Then he spends an hour on page 1 (refreshing
once in a while the view of the data charts),
and then goes to page 3. Things on page 3
take very long time to execute, I will have
load balancing software redirect the request
to other web servers (that are not the once
who handled requests from Page 1), and on Page 3
I need info from Page 1.

So my questions are: how to save session info
from page 1 and allow a web server that services
age 3 to access it.  Second, (this is probably not
related to mod-perl) is how to show a progress
bar while allowing a user to continue through
other pages (frames).

MS suggests to use their 
distributed directory services to store session
info (instead of cookies) and they do not suggest
to use a DB for performance reasons. I would like
to know if there are alternatives to MS solutions.

Thanks in advance,
Vladislav

--------------End of forwarded message-------------------------

Re: FW: [Q] session mgmt

[Perrin Harkins <pe...@primenet.com>]

On Thu, 1 Jun 2000 vladp@cheerful.com wrote:
> So my questions are: how to save session info from page 1 and allow a
> web server that services age 3 to access it.

Have a look at Apache::Session.  Use a database or files over NFS if you
have a cluster.  I've had better luck with databases than NFS.

> MS suggests to use their distributed directory services to store
> session info (instead of cookies) and they do not suggest to use a DB
> for performance reasons. I would like to know if there are
> alternatives to MS solutions.

"Don't use a database, use OUR database."

Ignore them, they're just trying to make money from you.  Use a database.

- Perrin