Using multiple development instances

Occasionally, you might want to connect from one machine to multiple PolicyCenter instances running on the same physical or virtual server. In this case, the port number differs for each instance, but the IP address and domain name are the same between the two application instances.

Most containers hold the session ID in a cookie. The container gives the cookie a default name and associates the cookie with a host name or IP address and a path. If you run multiple application servers for the same application, each one generates a session cookie with the same host name and path. The session cookie does not include the port number. Therefore, if you log into one application instance, the browser ends the session with any other application servers having the same host and path, even if port numbers differ.

To work around this issue, open the application instance sessions using different paths. For example, use the fully qualified domain machine name for one application server and localhost for the second application server. The browser does not associate the same cookie with an IP address and with a machine name.