Mangosoft's software uses cache on networked clients to build virtual proxy server at a low price
Cachelink 2.0 lets departments and small businesses provide employees with
improved Web performance by using the caching capabilities of all the PCs in the office.
Released last month by Mangosoft Corp., this product creates a linked
browser cache on any PC on a network. When a user accesses a Web site, CacheLink checks the cache of each system
in the network for a current version of the page.
CacheLink is very affordable, with prices starting at $35 for a five-user
link, increasing to $300 for a 100-user link. CacheLink's cost is well below that of most
proxy servers and caching appliances, especially because shops need not dedicate a system to run CacheLink
a requirement for any standard proxy server.
In addition, CacheLink can create a considerable reservoir of shared
storage. For example, 20 linked systems with 500MB caches apiece can be combined to create a 10GB cache.
PC Week Labs found the product to be a good fit for regional offices and
small businesses, especially those using a digital subscriber line or slower Internet connection.
However, in tests, we've found that even the most advanced and powerful
caching solutions provide little upgrade for businesses with fast T-1 or T-3 connections, and
we don't recommend CacheLink for use with high-speed connections.
Mangosoft's product runs on Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT and
requires a standard network card in each system. Also, systems must be accessing the Internet via a network
connection and not through a dial-up connection.
The program runs as two background tasks on each system in the network:
These agents work as a local proxy server while also handling communications among the linked systems.
During installation on client systems, we could define how much disk space
the cache could use on each system. However, the setup program also performed several tasks
with no option for user control, such as changing browser proxy settings and browser cache sizes.
In Netscape Communications Corp.'s Communicator, setting up CacheLink
removed our current proxy settings; in Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, CacheLink
dropped the browser cache size to 5MB, effectively
disabling IE's offline browsing capabilities.
We had the option of manually changing the settings in IE after installing
CacheLink, but we would have preferred to see more information in the setup program and have the option to
change some defaults during installation.
Once set up, CacheLink runs invisibly to the user — almost too
invisibly. The program tasks don't appear in the task bar or in the task manager; we had
to use system information to view them.
This also makes it difficult to temporarily disable CacheLink — a
potential problem for businesses using a networking application that can't run in conjunction with CacheLink.
Despite these flaws, tests showed that CacheLink improved the performance of
slow Internet connections. We expect that performance would continue to improve over time
as the amount of cached data increases.
Like other caching systems, CacheLink supports the privacy enhancements in a
secured connection by not caching pages accessed through it.
Once CacheLink is enabled, users will find that they can no longer browse
their cache for files, since the cache on each system is contained in data files that are
essentially unreadable. Mangosoft officials say the files are designed to be inaccessible
so that networked users cannot determine what pages any particular user has accessed.
The program includes a simple configuration utility that lets users change
basic settings such as browsers used, ports used and the potential size of the cache. We could
also define a secondary proxy server. To a user, these options would be helpful; an administrator
might prefer having the option of locking down some of these settings to prevent users from changing them.
CacheLink also provides several basic HTML reports designed to quantify
improvements gained from using the system. Reports cover general performance results, cache usage
and comparisons of access times from cache and from the Internet.
Mangosoft's CacheLink is an affordable and simple solution for improving the performance of slower
Internet connections used by small businesses and departments. However, CacheLink doesn't provide much
help for IT staff who have to deploy and maintain the product.
Short-term Business Impact: CacheLink can be implemented fairly quickly, and sites should see
an immediate performance improvement. The low cost makes it painless to try out for businesses interested
in the technology.
Long-term Business Impact: The longer a caching solution such as CacheLink is used, the
greater the performance gains should be. However, as fast broadband connections become more common,
the product begins to lose its appeal.
Senior Analyst Jim Rapoza can be contacted at jim_rapoza@zd.com.review
