establishing a secure socket layer (SSL) session between a client and a first server, wherein the first server publishes on a database a set of session state information for the SSL session, and wherein the SSL session state information includes:

an SSL session identifier;

a read key for encrypting communications from the client;

a write key for encrypting communications from the first server;

an encrypted running message digest; and

a message digest key which is used to encrypt the running message digest; and

wherein the first server continually changes the running message digest as messages are sent through the SSL session, and wherein the first server publishes updates to the running message digest to the database;

receiving a message from the client at a second server, wherein the message includes the SSL session identifier which identifies the SSL session between the client and the first server, and wherein the second server contains different content and performs different functions from the first server;

determining that an SSL session corresponding to the received session identifier is not configured on the second server;

querying the database with the received SSL session identifier;

retrieving from the database the SSL session state information which corresponds to the received SSL session identifier and which is published by the first server,

establishing an SSL session between the client and the second server with the same SSL session identifier based on the retrieved SSL session state information; and

using the running message digest to send a second message from the second server to the client through the SSL session without establishing a separate SSL session between the client and the second server.