Managing Client Variables; Planning Client State Management - MACROMEDIA COLDFUSION 4.5-ADMINISTRING COLDFUSION SERVER Manual

Chapter 3: Configuring ColdFusion Server
Chapter 8, "ColdFusion Security," on page 273 — Explains the differences
between Basic and Advanced security so you can determine which features best
suit your needs.
Chapter 9, "Configuring Basic Security," on page 283 — Describes how to
configure Basic security options for developing and deploying coldFusion
applications.
Chapter 10, "Configuring Advanced Security," on page 289 — Describes how to
configure Advanced security options for developing and deploying ColdFusion
applications.
For more information about implementing runtime security measures, refer to
Developing Web Applications with ColdFusion.

Managing Client Variables

ColdFusion includes a number of options designed to give you a great deal of flexibility
in managing client variables. Client variables in ColdFusion give you the ability to
determine the identity of a client visiting your site. Identifying clients and customizing
page content for users requires the ability to manage client state.
ColdFusion allows the following ways of managing client variables:
Using the system Registry to store client variables
Using browser cookies
Using an external data source of your choice

Planning client state management

The method you choose to store client variables will depend on a number of factors.
Among the most important factors is whether your site is currently using, or will be
using server clustering to provide load balancing and fail-over support. In addition,
there are a number of other factors to consider:
Client Variable Storage
Storage Type
System registry
Advantages
Simple implementation
Good performance
Registry can be exported
easily to other systems
Server-side control
Disadvantages
Need to be aware of the
registry's maximum size
limit as defined in the
System Control Panel
(Windows NT only)
Tied to the host system:
Not practical for clustered
servers or a round-robin
DNS configuration
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