BranchCache

BranchCache is like DNS cache but for files in remote locations. When a Windows 7 user requests a file from a remote location, for example, headquarters or a data center server, the file is pulled from the remote location once and then stored on the requester's machine or a Windows Server 2008 R2 server with BranchCache enabled. Any other user on the same network that requests the same file from the remote site will pull it from the original requester or the Windows 2008 R2 server. This is a great feature introduced in Windows 7 with Windows Server 2008 R2. As the economic trend leads to budget cuts and a push to "do more with less," this feature can assist in lowering bandwidth costs between sites.

BranchCache can work in one of two modes, Hosted Cache or Distributed Cache. With Hosted Cache mode, a server in the remote office running Windows Server 2008 R2 will download the requested file and host it for the other requesters. With Distributed Cache mode, a Windows Server 2008 R2 server is not required in the remote office as the original requester will cache the file and distribute it to other requesters.

It is important to note that BranchCache will only serve files to users with the right permissions. BranchCache will also continue to communicate with the original server to ensure the file is current. As a passive cache, Branch- Cache will only cache the file once the first user requests the file from the remote location. Furthermore, this feature will only cache read requests, not write requests.

BranchCache supports file caching for Web requests using HTTP and HTTPS protocols as well as SMB. It also works with SSL and IPSec encryption. BranchCache requires Windows Server 2008 R2 in the remote site and Windows 7 clients or another Windows Server 2008 R2 server in the cache site.