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Programming

X-Switch Firefox add-on

This extension allows users to easily switch between back-end servers by reading out HTTP headers that contain host-name information, such as X-Server. This extension is particularly useful for developers and website administrators who need to test their website or web application on different servers. With this extension, users can quickly switch between servers without having to manually remove cookies and refresh the page. This makes testing and administration more efficient and streamlined, saving users time and effort.

How it works:

  • The extension inspects the HTTP Headers for valid header names.
  • If a header was found, a page action button is displayed in the URL bar and the active host is visible in the corner of the page.
  • The extension will search for other values in the configured header names when you clicked the page action button . A distinct list of values (host-names) will be displayed as buttons in a popup.
  • Once you press on a host-name button the cookies for the current URL will be erased and the page reloads until it finds the requested value in the header. (reload limit can be specified in the extension settings)

Setup

To use this add-on properly, you need to make sure that the back-end server and application gateway or proxies are set up correctly

IIS-Setup

For IIS setup, you should go to the IIS manager and set up an HTTP header at the server level.

Be sure to use a unique value for each server you configure. By default, the add-on will check for X-SERVER, but you can also set up another HTTP header name. If you do this, you will need to define the header name in the add-on settings.

The application gateway or reverse proxies must allow HTTP-Header pass-through for this HTTP-Header name. Also, make sure that the header values are unique among all servers in a pool.

If you configure everything correctly, you will see an extra icon in the URL bar. By clicking on this icon, you will be able to view and switch to a different back-end server.

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