14 DAY TRIAL // One of the new features brought to the table by both Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server (Windows Server 2008 R2) is BranchCache, a component designed to adapt the platforms to the needs of businesses with branch offices. The promise from Microsoft is that business customers will see a boost in network responsiveness associated with centralized applications, when it comes down to access and requests generated from remote offices. According to the Redmond company, BranchCache will make a remote connection from a branch office feel like one over a local area network.
“BranchCache can improve the performance of applications that use one of the following protocols: HTTP and HTTPS. The protocols used by Web browsers and many other applications (such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media, and more). SMB (including signed SMB traffic). The protocol used for shared folders,” Microsoft revealed.
In the video embedded at the bottom of this article, Devrim Iyigun, senior product manager in the Windows client, shares her perspective on BrandCache. The feature is capable of delivering both distributed and hosted cache. In branch offices without a local server, distributed cache will use a peer-to-peer architecture, in which the Windows 7 computers on the network will also cache content and serve it when needed to additional Win 7 machines. Hosted Cache is associated with a client and server architecture, namely a combination of Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 machines.
“Branch Cache is a new technology we have in both Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that enables the IT professionals to reduce bandwidth utilization and increase user productivity,” Iyigun explained. “The first time a client tries to download content from the headquarters, it of course checks if the client has access to the content and the content gets downloaded to the client as well as it gets cached somewhere in the branch office. Any additional users that will try to reach the same content will go ahead and ask the server to try and download the content, and if the content is available within the branch office, we serve it from the branch office instead of serving it from [the] server itself.”
Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta (Windows 7 Server Beta) is available for download here.