Many services offered to users via the Internet, such as email services, provide a web interface (“webclient”) that allows users to interact with a server using a web browser. User connectivity to such servers is facilitated by one or more web servers (typically Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servers) that retrieve data in response to user web page requests and host web applications. Mail servers and web servers are typically located in a data center or some other facility remote from the user. Redundancy is usually built into such systems, with redundant servers providing service in the event of a failure of a primary server and redundant communications links connected to the Internet to provide service in the event of a failure of one or more communications links.
When a user attempts to access an email system using a webclient, the webclient connects to a web email application hosted by an HTTP server and sets up a communications session with the HTTP server. Upon initiating such a session, some form of authentication is normally required by the HTTP server. This may take the form of a username and password combination, access key, token, or some other form of user identity verification. Upon authenticating the user, the HTTP server may provide access to the user's email account and information on the mail server via the web email application hosted by the HTTP server. If there is a failure of the HTTP server hosting the web email application being used by the webclient, or if the connection between the HTTP server and the webclient fails, the webclient is likely to be directed to a backup HTTP server hosting another web email application. When this happens, the user may have to provide authentication information again because the user's authentication information has not been received by, or stored at, the backup HTTP server.