Re: [squid-users] Replace squid with "A Box" ??

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pat Newby" <P.Newby@uea.ac.uk>
To: "Squid-Users" <squid-users@squid-cache.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 7:38 PM
Subject: [squid-users] Replace squid with "A Box" ??

> We're running squid on a Solaris machine.
>
> Over the past few months, I've been forwarding messages to managers
> and networking people here, from squid-users, about why transparent
> caching will not work. We're an IE5 site, which doesn't help.

IIRC Squid 2.4 has a patch from Joe cooper to force off caching for
transparent users from IE < 5.5. That may help.

> Our head of networking says that he can buy a box (for example a
> "NetCache C1100 Web Caching Appliance") which will do transparent
> caching with no problems. The rest of the world is doing this, so it
> must be a problem with squid, in that squid is unable to do the same.

1) Squid can do it.
2) Squid can do it as well as anyone else. It's recommended against not
because squid can't do it, but because it's a bad thing to do, unless
you _need_ to.

Detail:
There is a network working group discussing known problems with HTTP
proxying.
http://www.wrec.org/Drafts/draft-ietf-wrec-known-prob-02.txt

Section 2.1.1. is probably very relevant for you. If NetCache claim that
they work with no headaches, and no problems, _and maintain a high byte
hit rate_ I'd really like to know how it's done.

> On a similiar topic, he says that the same box will cache streaming
> media, which squid is unable to do at the moment. (And that it will
> do a lot of other things as well of course).
>
> Would anyone care to comment ?

It really depends what you want to do whether squid or an appliance such
as that you've mentioned is right for you. Squid has a very rich
functionality set, and AFAIK no proprietary vendor solution matches
that. There are things squid doesn't do, such as cache non-http
accessible streaming media, but squid is under active development, and
you don't have to pay for upgrades ;].

Rob

>
> Pat.
> Pat Newby, IT and Computing Services (ITCS),
> University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
>
>
Received on Thu May 31 2001 - 03:58:16 MDT