European Cache Coordination

Apologies in advance for cross-posting.

Analysis of network traffic on the Internet has shown that significant
savings can be made if local caches are introduced and these are linked to
form a "caching hierarchy". Much work has been carried out on the
development of caching software and many institutions and networks already
implement caching at various levels.

It is vitally important to coordinate the construction and maintenance of
these caching hierarchies and, after being approached by various bodies,
TERENA has decided to investigate the possibility of setting up a caching
task force.

Note that the technology for caching is being developed elsewhere and is
therefore not the subject of this initiative. Rather, TERENA intends to
promote the usage and coordination of caching at the local, national and
international level to produce a more efficient, cost-effective and above
all reliable service for the users of research networks in Europe.

The objectives of this task force are therefore initially:

i    promote and coordinate the deployment of caching hierarchies in Europe
ii   linking these with initiatives in the US (NLANR)
iii  coordination with other work on caching in Europe (DESIRE,
     INSIGHT, etc)
iv   providing documentation, information and assistance for those wishing
     to start a caching service

though these are, of course, subject to change if the task force so decides.

As a kick off, we have created a task force mailing list for those
interested. If you would like to join, send a message to:

        mailserver@localhost

containing only the text:

        subscribe tf-cache Your Real Name

replacing "Your Real Name" as appropriate.

Alternatively, if you already have a national-level mailing list and would
prefer to add this, please send a message to tf-cache-request@localhost.

TERENA task forces and working groups are open to all.

Please contact me if you have any queries/comments or see

http://www.terena.nl/tech/projects/choc/

for more details. Feel free to forward this to any parties you think might
be interested.

Regards,

John Martin
TERENA