Dotnetnuke session timeout errors are quite common in DNN websites.

By default, cookies are set to automatically expire when it reaches its expiration date in DNN. This causes the session timeout error.

At Bobcares, we often receive requests to fix DNN errors as a part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s analyze the problems that cause the DNN session timeout. Also, let’s see how our DNN  Experts fix it for our customers.

Causes for the Session timeout error

Let’s now get into the details of the DNN session timeout error.

This error is not a new error for DNN users. It commonly occurs for DNN using ASP.NET 1.1.

Basically, there are two types of cookies, session cookies, and persistent cookies.

Session cookies are stored in memory and never saved. When the browser closes, the cookie is permanently lost.

Persistent Cookies let us set an expiration date. So it will remember the information until the expiry date. We can mention persistent cookies in web.config. If the entry is not present or the time limit is less, it will result in a session timeout.

How we fix Dotnetnuke session timeout error

Recently we had a customer who was facing an error with session timeout. Let us discuss how our DNN Experts add persistent cookies in web.config to resolve the error.

Session time out

As we already saw, we can set the session timeout in the web.config file of the domain. There are two sets of information we mention on web.config.

First, we set the default hour session expiration. For this, we add the entry:

Under <system.web>, then in <authentication … />

<forms name=".DOTNETNUKE" protection="All" timeout="60" cookieless="UseCookies" />

The timeout is mentioned in minutes. In this case, 60 minutes of inactivity will make the session timeout.

The next option is when we select the Remember Me option. We add the entry in <appSettings>

<add key="PersistentCookieTimeout" value="21600" />

The value is also mentioned in minutes as well.

We have set by default (with Remember un-checked) to 1 hour and with Remember Login checked to 15 days. These settings require custom values based on the type of website and purpose. Therefore, we make the adjustment based on the customer’s requirement.

Remember me option in DNN Dashboard

If the remember me option is not present in a login page, we enable it in DNN.

Fortunately, DNN 9 has introduced a feature to set it from its dashboard itself. To set it, our DNN Experts do:

Login to the DNN dashboard using the Host/Superuser account that has the administrator privileges.

Go to the Settings. Then click on Security. Now click on More tab.

After that, click on the More Security Settings subtab.

Finally, we enable the option “Enable Remember Me on Login Control“.

Now the remember me option will be available on the login page.

Note: Make sure to add the details in web.config with care. Any single mistake while adding the code can make the site to go down.

[Tired of DNN related errors on the website? Call our DNN experts and fix it!]

Conclusion

In short, we have analyzed the cause for the DotNetNuke session timeout. Also, we discussed how our DNN Experts add an entry to resolve the error.