On Thu, 24 May 2001, Kigunda Mbogo wrote:
> to answer your question:
> each cafe has its own link to the same ISP. the problem (actually not a
> problem) is to reduce wastage of bandwidth for static web pages and other
> files that would be appropriate to cache. statistics show that most users
in
> the cafe use the net to access yahoo or hotmail mails (of which i know
would
> not be appropriate to cache).
>
> the issue is to share the other static pages like cnn.com and the like
which
> rate second.
Assuming the bandwidth you want to save is on the links from each cafe
to your ISP, and unless you have your cafes connected together with
bandwidth to spare on *those* links, then the only solution is to have
one cache server per cafe. Been a long time since I looked at it, but a
decent Unix-based PC running harvest or squid should be well within your
budget. Or you could go with the cisco devices, if they do what you want
and you're more familiar with them. Dunno where that would leave your
budget, though.
If, OTOH, the bandwidth bottleneck is within your ISP or upstream, and
you can colo a machine with them, you may want to have a single cache
server located there. You will user as much bandwidth on the links from
your cafes to the ISP as you would without any caching external to the
browsers, but you will save more, since all requests for a given static
page will be served by the caching server, no matter how many cafes
request it.
Oh, and the purpose of the list is (also) to help its subscribers learn
about network design issues beyond strictly cisco-related issues, not
just to provide free advice. :-) Accordingly, it's a good idea to cc: it
on all follow-ups. Hope you don't mind my doing so on this.
> > On Thu, 24 May 2001, Kigunda Mbogo wrote:
> >
> > > hi,
> > >
> > > We do have like 30 cybercafes. We would like to make use of proxy cache
> > > services preferably cisco. we are looking at two options: to have one
> > > centralized cache box and to have several cache servers at the cafes.
> Can
> > > someone assist me in providing information about cache engines
products.
> > the
> > > budget is US$ 2000 per center or even more if the product is to sort us
> > out!
> >
> > And I answered:
> >
> > Hard to answer that with the information you're giving. What problem do
> > you think the HTTP caching server(s) will solve? Do you have a central
> > Internet connection, or does each cafe have its own? If the former,
> > what's the topology of your network? If the latter, how does each cafe
> > connect to the Internet? In both cases, do you have stats on the total
> > number of HTTP requests vs. the number of unique URLs accessed, and the
> > corresponding volumes? And do you know where your towel is?
> >
> > --
> > "Someone approached me and asked me to teach a javascript course. I was
> > about to decline, saying that my complete ignorance of the subject made
> > me unsuitable, then I thought again, that maybe it doesn't, as driving
> > people away from it is a desirable outcome." --Me
> > FAQ, list archives, and subscription info:
> http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html
> > Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
>
>
--
"Someone approached me and asked me to teach a javascript course. I was
about to decline, saying that my complete ignorance of the subject made
me unsuitable, then I thought again, that maybe it doesn't, as driving
people away from it is a desirable outcome." --Me
Message Posted at:
http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=5768&t=5714
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