14 DAY TRIAL // IT professionals that need a little help to leverage BranchCache in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 can download a new resource from Microsoft.
The Redmond company is offering the BranchCache Learning Roadmap via the Download Center, free of charge.
The purpose of the BranchCache Learning Roadmap document is to offer guidance to IT pros in need of insight into the feature.
Of course, the software giant also provides information designed to streamline deployment of BranchCache.
“BranchCache is a wide area network (WAN) bandwidth optimization technology that is included in the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems,” reads an excerpt from the BranchCache Learning Roadmap.
“To optimize WAN bandwidth, BranchCache copies content from your main office content servers and caches the content at branch office locations, allowing client computers at branch offices to access the content locally rather than over the WAN.”
It’s important to note that the BranchCache Learning Roadmap does not contain all the information that IT pros will be able to take advantage of.
Instead of packing all the details in a single document, Microsoft has taken a slightly different approach.
The company offers a collection of links to documentation that already exists online. Obviously, IT pros will need to visit TechNet quite a lot.
“If you are new to BranchCache, this [documentation] can help you identify what you need to learn to fully understand how to deploy and troubleshoot BranchCache,” Microsoft notes.
“It includes prerequisite topics that cover a variety of networking and IT infrastructure fundamentals. You must understand the prerequisite technologies first, because BranchCache builds upon them and assumes an understanding of them.
“Afterwards, you can begin learning about BranchCache through the resources in the Level 100, 200, and 300 sections.”
Windows 7 SP1 RTM and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RTM are available for download here.