Maintaining user sessions started with content from a first version of a website whilst forwarding new user sessions to a second version of the website

摘要

A system provided with a traffic management server 14 for providing access to an information system (eg website) comprising a plurality of instances 102,104 which exist in parallel during a transition from one version of the website content 102 to a second version 104. The traffic management server identifies the session to which each request (in the form of URI) from a user 22, 23 belongs, for example using cookies written to each user's browser. Prior the transition, the traffic management server forwards to the first instance each request that is the first request in a session; following the transition, the request processor is arranged to forward to the second instance each request that is the first request in a session. After the transition the traffic management server forwards to the second instance each request associated with a session for which a user request has previously been forwarded to the second instance while continuing to forward to the first instance each request associated with a session for which a request has previously been forwarded to the first instance. This allows existing users 22 to continue accessing the content existing when they begun their session whilst new users 23 are directed to the updated content. This arrangement may continue for a set time period after the transition. The traffic management server may also be arranged to forward to the second instance each request associated with a session for which a user request has previously been forwarded to the second instance prior to the transition thereby allowing support teams access to any of the instances.