# What load balancing software handles session persistence and failover properly for mission-critical web applications that cannot afford dropped user sessions?

 Hey G2 community, I've been researching load balancing software specifically for the session persistence and failover problem for mission-critical web applications where dropped user sessions aren't an option and keep hitting the same wall. Every tool says it handles session persistence, but what I actually need to know is what happens when a backend goes down while a user is mid-session, not just being redirected to the login page.  Here's what the reviews for the products were like:   HAProxy is the most cited option here, with stick tables for deep session affinity and zero-downtime reloads that don't disrupt live sessions. Has anyone tested whether stick table entries actually survive a backend going down mid-session?  Progress Kemp LoadMaster supports conditional routing rules across backend servers, used for both internal and external apps. Reviewers describe it as easier to configure than alternatives.  Load Balancer Enterprise ADC is built specifically for application delivery in mission-critical environments, with persistent session handling, cookie and IP-based affinity, and high-availability failover pairs. Reviews note it's relatively straightforward to configure compared to alternatives in the enterprise ADC space.  F5 NGINX is reliable in high-concurrency environments, though complex session routing is flagged as requiring real expertise to configure.   Akamai Cloud Computing routes traffic at the edge, so a backend going down during a session can be handled before the impact reaches the user. Reviews from enterprise teams mention it for mission-critical setups where dropped sessions aren't an option.    I'm wondering if anyone has actually stress-tested session persistence during a planned failover. Did any of these maintain session state correctly, or did users still get bounced back to login despite the configuration?       

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: 2 months ago
- Net upvotes: 2


## Comments
### Comment 1

Yeah, this is the real test, not whether the box says "session persistence." The thing I learned the hard way is that stick tables (HAProxy's are the best I've used) only keep a user pinned to the same server. If that server dies mid-session, the session still dies with it unless you're storing session state somewhere shared like Redis or the database. So the load balancer isn't really what saves you there, it's where the session actually lives. Once we moved session state off the app servers, HAProxy handled the failover cleanly.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: 2 months ago
- Author title: SEO Content Writer





## Related discussions
- [How well does Trello scale into a larger team?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/1-how-well-does-trello-scale-into-a-larger-team)
  - Posted at: over 13 years ago
  - Comments: 6
- [Can we please add a new section](https://www.g2.com/discussions/2-can-we-please-add-a-new-section)
  - Posted at: over 13 years ago
  - Comments: 0
- [Quantifiable benefits from implementing your CRM](https://www.g2.com/discussions/quantifiable-benefits-from-implementing-your-crm)
  - Posted at: over 13 years ago
  - Comments: 4