Web Caching : Reducing Network Traffic

On the World Wide Web, speed and efficiency are vital.

Users have little patience for slow Web pages, while network administrators want to make the most of their available bandwidth.

A properly designed Web cache reduces network traffic and improves access times to popular Web sites - a boon to network administrators and web users alike.

This text provides the technical information needed to design, deploy, and operate an effective Web caching service.

It starts with the basics of how Web caching works, from the HTTP headers that govern cachability to cache validation and replacement algorithms.

Topics covered in this guide include: designing an effective cache solution; configuring Web browsers to use a cache; setting up a collection of caches that can talk to each other; configuring an interception cache or proxy; monitoring and fine-tuning the performance of a cache; configuring Web servers to co-operate with Web caches; and benchmarking cache products.

The book also covers the important political aspects of Web caching, including privacy, intellectual property, and security issues.