Session Management
- Last Updated: July 4, 2025
- 3 minute read
- LoadMaster
- LoadMaster GA
- Documentation
Session Management provides increased security when users are logging in to the LoadMaster WUI. WUI Session Management can be enabled/disabled and configured in the following screen: Certificates & Security > Admin WUI Access > WUI Session Management.
Session management is enabled by default on all LoadMasters initially deployed with firmware version 7.1.35 or above.
The level of user permissions determine what WUI Session Management fields can be seen and modified. Refer to the table below for a breakdown of permissions.
|
Control |
Bal user |
User with ‘All Permissions’ |
User with ‘User Administration’ permissions |
All other users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Session Management |
Modify |
View |
View |
None |
|
Require Basic Authentication |
Modify |
View |
View |
None |
|
Basic Authentication Password |
Modify |
View |
View |
None |
|
Failed Login Attempts |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
None |
|
Idle Session Timeout |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
None |
|
Limit Concurrent Logins |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
|
|
Pre-Auth Click Through Banner |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
None |
|
Currently Active Users |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
None |
|
Currently Blocked Users |
Modify |
Modify |
View |
None |
When using WUI Session Management, it is possible to use one or two steps of authentication.
In addition to the bal user, another user exists by default in the LoadMaster called user. The purpose of the user user is so that administrators can provide credentials of the user user to people, instead of providing the bal credentials. The password for the user user, can be set by configuring the Basic Authentication Password text box. The password needs to be at least 8 characters long and should be a mix of alpha and numeric characters. If the password is considered to be too weak, a message appears asking you to enter a new password. Only the bal user is permitted to set the Basic Authentication Password.
If the Enable Session Management check box is ticked and Require Basic Authentication is disabled, the user only needs to log in using their local username and password (or using a client certificate, if client certificate WUI authentication is enabled – refer to the Client Certificate WUI/API Authentication section for further information). Users are not prompted to log in using the bal or user logins.
If the Enable Session Management and Require Basic Authentication check boxes are both selected, there are two levels of authentication enforced in order to access the LoadMaster WUI. The initial level is Basic Authentication where users log in using the bal or user logins, which are default usernames defined by the system.
Once logged in using Basic Authentication, the user then must log in using their local username and password (or using a client certificate – if client certificate authentication is enabled) to begin the session.

After a user has logged in, they may log out by clicking the Logout button,
, in the top right-hand corner of the screen.