How Hosted Cache Works

At a detailed level, the Hosted Cache model follows this process to cache and retrieve data:

1. The client running Windows 7 connects to the content server (a file or Web server running Windows Server 2008 R2) and requests a file (or part of a file), exactly as it does if it retrieves the file without using BranchCache. After authorizing the user, the server returns an identifier that includes a signed hash of the data segment. The client uses the identifier to search for the file on the Hosted Cache, a local server running Windows Server 2008 R2. Because this is the first time any client has retrieved the file, it is not already cached. Therefore, the client retrieves the file directly from the content server.
2. The client stores a copy of the data in the Hosted Cache.
3. A second client running Windows 7 requests the same file from the content server. Again, the content server authorizes the user and returns an identifier.
4. The client uses the identifier to request the data from its Hosted Cache server. The Hosted Cache encrypts the data and returns it to the client. The client then validates the data using the hash provided as part of the identifier to verify that it has not been modified.