clientTransferProhibited

ClientTransfer is a term used in distributed systems to describe the process of moving an active client connection, session, or user identity from one service endpoint to another. The operation is intended to be seamless from the client’s perspective, ensuring continued access to resources without requiring a new login or restart of the session.

In web applications, clientTransfer often occurs during load balancing, maintenance, or failover. A load balancer or reverse proxy may redirect subsequent requests from a client to a different backend server. If the session has per-client state, the system must transfer or replicate that state to the target server, or retrieve it from a shared store. In telecom and real-time collaboration platforms, explicit handover or transfer mechanisms move an ongoing interaction from one network node or server to another to preserve call quality or continuity.

Two broad approaches exist: stateful transfer, where the server maintains client state and actively migrates it to another node; and stateless transfer, where per-client state is externalized to a cache, database, or distributed store so any node can serve requests with the needed context. Token-based session continuity, using opaque session tokens or cookies, allows the client to present a token without requiring server-side session transfer. Protocols in telecom and messaging systems sometimes implement explicit transfer or handover mechanisms to move an ongoing session between endpoints.

Key concerns include latency and potential disruption during transfer, data consistency, security and trust, and ensuring authentication on the target endpoint. Implementations favor designs that minimize state or rely on fast, shared stores to enable rapid transfer. Related concepts include session failover, connection draining, and session affinity.