Question

What is web caching? (4) b) Describe how Web caching can reduce the delay in receiving a requested object. (4) c) Are there benefits for web caching other than reducing the delay? (2

Answer 1

What is web caching?

Answer:

Web caching is the activity of storing data for reuse, such as a copy of a web page served by a web server.

It is cached or stored the first time a user visits the page and the next time a user requests the same page, a cache will serve the copy, which helps keep the origin server from getting overloaded.

(4) b) Describe how Web caching can reduce the delay in receiving a requested object.

Answer:

• Web caching is used to reduce the time needed for a client to get a reply for the request that he sent.Web caching is done by a server (Proxy Server) that could be closer to the client. This server stores the object that the client asks for.
• If this server has the object stored when a client asks for that, it will sendthe object directly to the client and the delay will be reduced.

Are there benefits for web caching other than reducing the delay?

Answer: Other benefits for web caching other than reducing the delay are:

• Caching reduces bandwidth consumption
• Caching reduces access latency
• Caching reduces the workload of the remote web server by spreading the data widely among the proxy caches over the WAN.
• In a scenario where the remote server is not available due to a crash or network partitioning, the client can obtain a cached copy at the proxy. Hence, the robustness of the Web service is enhanced