BranchCache is a network performance tool available in Windows 7 and Server 2008. It acts like a proxy in that it works only when requested by a client user. The typical user scenario where BranchCache will be useful is where a branch office has a slow link back to the central office. Any downloads that might occur will be slow because of the bandwidth connection. BranchCache is designed for such remote office operations.

There are two modes in which BranchCache works, hosted or distributed. In hosted mode, a 2008 server located on the branch office hosts the cached files. In Distributed Cache mode, a branch server is not necessary; file copies are directly cached onto the PC’s at the branch location.

When BranchCache is enabled, if there is a request for data across the network, a copy of the data or file is downloaded from the intranet website or a file server and it is cached locally within the branch office. As the need arises if another user in the branch requests the file, the user gets access to the content almost immediately as it is downloaded from the local cache rather than over a limited bandwidth connection back to headquarters.

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Tags: bandwidth connection, branch, branch location, BranchCache, Cache, click, command line tool, Configuration, configuration tasks, file, file servers, Group, internet protocol security, netsh command, network, network security technologies, Policy, policy settings, role, secure sockets layer, Server