Proxy-sharing proxy servers

A proxy server is a Web server that caches Internet resources for re-use by a set of client machines. CERN's Web server implements proxy services and CERN-based proxy servers are in wide use at the enterprise level. This paper presents the design and implications of an extended proxy server that shares cache resources with near neighbors. A substantial reduction in internetwork load can be obtained from proxy sharing, with a corresponding increase in performance. Good performance comes from a simple implementation model that is non-hierarchical; proxies access each other using the natural topology of the Internet.