CACHING PROXY SERVER Meaning and
Definition
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A caching proxy server is a network server that acts as an intermediate entity between a client and a web server, serving as a storage for frequently accessed web content. Its main purpose is to improve the performance and reduce the load on the web server by storing copies of web resources (such as images, web pages, or multimedia files) requested by clients.
When a client requests a web resource, the caching proxy server first checks if it already has a cached copy of the resource. If the resource is found in its cache, the proxy server retrieves it from its local storage and delivers it to the client, without the need to forward the request to the web server. This significantly reduces the network latency and improves the response time for subsequent requests.
By caching frequently accessed content, the proxy server can reduce bandwidth usage and alleviate network congestion, as well as decrease the load on web servers. It also enables multiple clients to share a single network connection and saves internet costs by increasing the efficiency of data transfers.
Moreover, a caching proxy server can implement various caching policies, such as time-based expiration, cache validation using headers, or user-defined rules to determine when to invalidate or update cached resources. These policies ensure that clients receive the most up-to-date content from the web server while minimizing unnecessary network traffic for content that has not changed.
