Web Cache Focusing Devices
Caching is vital in the World Wide Web for reducing network bandwidth and providing acceptable quality of service to users. This paper introduces the concept of Cache Focusing Devices for improving performance. This approach is novel in that it attempts to address this problem by influencing the behaviour of users, as opposed to concentrating on architectural aspects such as cache dimensioning and purging strategies. Fundamental to this concept is exposing the cache contents to users, contrary to the current industry trend of cache transparency. Tackling caching performance from this perspective is believed to be crucial since the browsing profile of users intrinsically limits performance improvements.