The Tomcat 5.5 "Clustering/Session Replication Guide" says, "Make sure
that your loadbalancer is configured for sticky session mode." However,
I don't see the term "Sticky" sessions anywhere in the Servlet 2.3 or
2.4 specifications.
Are sticky sessions really required for clustering to function properly
in Tomcat 5.5? I thought that session replication would eliminate any
need to direct a client session to one node in a cluster.
If not, can we adjust the documentation to indicate that Sticky sessions
are optional, for the appropriate reason (I'm guessing the advent of
session replication in tomcat.)
I am asking this question because I am having trouble with Sticky
sessions in my load balancer, and I need to know whether or not I should
pursue fixing this feature. If tomcat doesn't really require sticky
sessions, then I can leave my load balancer alone. If tomcat does need
the feature to function properly, then I need to go to some additional
expense to resolve the issue with my load balancing appliance.
Thank you for your time and expertise.
Stephen Wick
Interactive Developer
Nicholson Kovac, Inc.
References
http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-5.5-doc/cluster-howto.html
