Policy Server Guides › Policy Server Configuration Guide › User Sessions › How Sessions Across Multiple Cookie Domains Are Maintained

How Sessions Across Multiple Cookie Domains Are Maintained

SiteMinder supports single sign-on across multiple cookie domains in environments with heterogeneous Web server platforms. If a user visits companyA.com and then goes to companyB.com, his or her session information stays with them. To maintain session information across multiple cookie domains, the Web Agents must be configured for single sign-on. With single sign-on configured, the cookie that contains session information can be made available to all Agents and servers in the single sign-on environment.

The ability to pass session and identification information across multiple cookie domains enables a user to authenticate at a site in one cookie domain and then navigate to a site in another cookie domain without being re-challenged for information.

Single sign-on is accomplished using a cookie provider. The cookie provider is an extension of the Web Agents in the single sign-on environment.

To achieve cross-domain logout for resources in separate cookie domains, you can enable persistent sessions for the realms in separate cookie domains. When a user logs out in one domain, the Policy Server sends a logout event terminating the user session.

Note: Single sign-on across multiple cookie domains does not require that the same user directory be used across the single sign-on environment. However, user directory connections configured in the Administrative UI must share the same directory object name in each cookie domain.