All 7 Session Management with Redis questions
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How do you extend a user's session expiration time each time they make a new request, keeping active users logged in? How would you store more complex session data, such as a user's cart contents alongside their basic login information, using Redis? How do you implement a feature that forcibly logs out a specific user across all of their active sessions and devices? How do you monitor the total number of active sessions currently stored in Redis, and why might this metric be useful? What security considerations are important when storing sensitive session data in Redis, such as authentication tokens?
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Redis › Session Management with Redis

How would you design a session management system that supports both a sliding expiration for active users and an absolute maximum session lifetime regardless of activity?

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Answer

You would maintain two separate expiration mechanisms, extending a sliding expiration key on every user request to keep active sessions alive, while also checking a separate absolute expiration timestamp stored within the session data itself, forcibly ending the session once that absolute maximum lifetime is reached even if the user has remained continuously active the entire time.
HSET session:abc123 absoluteExpiry '2026-09-08T10:00:00'
EXPIRE session:abc123 1800 -- sliding expiration reset each request
-- Application checks absoluteExpiry before honoring the session
Real-world example A banking application allows a customer's session to stay alive through continuous activity using a sliding expiration, but forces a complete re-login after twelve hours regardless of activity, using a separate absolute expiration check for enhanced security.

Common follow-ups: Why would an application want both a sliding and an absolute session expiration together?;How do you handle a user who is actively working when their absolute session expiration is reached?

Expiration & Eviction;Redis Security & ACL
All 7 Session Management with Redis questions