[Server-devel] Web Caching Issues

[Andra DuPont]

I have set up an XS server at my home to become familiar with it so I can help an installation in Asilong, Kenya. There server has never been used as no one there understands it.

My server is running the latest XS (0.6) and in order to simulate the situation in Asilong, the server is connected to the internet on eth0 from a PC running Windows 7. The PC is connected wirelessly to my home router, and that connection is bridged on the PC to its ethernet port which is then connected to the XS-eth0. The XS-eth1 is connected to a wireless AP and I'm testing performance of the server by connecting an iMac to the AP. The iMac can log into the Schoolserver, and can also access the internet. So far so good.

I have enabled squid on my server, but web caching does not seem to be working. I'm wondering if feeding my internet connection to the server from a bridged connection on my Windows 7 computer with Windows Firewall running is interfering with some of the dns information on the cache.

"Revisited" pages don't load faster (if I clear the cache on the connected iMac), and if I disconnect the eth0 internet feed, the server is unable to retrieve anything external, even material that should be cached.

I am working now on setting up the forwarders correctly in the named-xs.conf.in file, and also playing with the "offline_mode on" setting in the squid-xs.conf file to see what affect it has.

Any thoughts from the team?

Andy DuPont