Web caches are popular with network managers because they help manage the access bandwidth into and out of a subnet by saving local copies of commonly accessed web pages. This problem will explore the impact that a web cache can have. Consider a subnet that is connected to the Internet with a 1.5Mbps symmetrical channel.
a) If the computers generate 15 requests per second to web servers on the Internet, and if the average object size is 100kbits, what is the bitrate of the web traffic? (ans: 1.5Mbps) Is this sustainable?
b) Instead of upgrading the link, the network manager decides to install a web cache. If the hit rate for the cache is 0.5 (that is, half of the web requests can be satisfied by the cache, and the other half require internet access), what is the bit rate of the web traffic? Is this sustainable
c) Clearly, the success of a web cache-based strategy depends on the hit rate. What do you think can be done to improve the hit rate of a web cache?