Recently I worked on a message where the customer was reporting that following the steps bellow the SAP Portal remained logged on both Internet Explorer windows:
1 - Launch Internet Explorer;
2 - Log on to the portal;
3 - Create a new window by pressing ctrl+N or by navigating to File -> New Window;
4 - On the new window you will be already logged to the portal;
5 - Close one of the IE windows;
6 - You will keep logged on;
Why this happens?
The Session management for cookies (please does not confound with Session Release Agent), on this case, is a browser's responsibility. Each browser manage they session on different way. For example Firefox maintain the same session for all browser instances while IE can have just one or multiple sessions.
How Internet Explorer until version 7 Works?
On internet Explorer if you open a new window from the executable file or shortcut, you have a new session created to this new browser. It's important to emphasize that if you try to open a new portal on this way, you must login again, and you may able once to login with different user.
However, if you do the same by pressing CTRL>N or going to File> New Window, you maintain the same session as the previous window, on this way if you try to connect on the portal, and has already logged in on the other windows, you may be already logged in with this windows also.
How Internet Explorer until version 8 Works?
The internet Explorer 8 works a little different. By default the ie8 maintain the same session for all browser instances, does a matter if you open direct from the shortcut or pressing Ctrl N. However different from Firefox there is an option on menu "File" called "New Session", using this option it is possible to open a browser instance
Please for reference check the links bellow:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831678
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2009/05/06/session-cookies-sessionstorage-and-ie8.aspx
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/07/22/run-separate-isolated-ie8-window-frame-session-with-nomerge...
