Branchcache Profiles
Optimize bandwidth usage by downloading content from close computers (peers) with branchcache enabled or from designated branchcache Windows Servers with the Branchcache Role installed.
It's highly recommended to use deduplication on the sever's Datastore if using Branchcache, adding to the saved space, the most CPU intensive hash calculation will be already done as the deduplicated segment hashes are the same in Branchcache. When configure deduplication is set, Host Provisioning will create a scheduled job to deduplicate data everyday at 1:45 AM.
Transfers between servers are not currently configurable for branchcache and will use the configuration for branchcache established in the server.
You can assign Branchcache profiles to Computer Groups or individual computers.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile Name | Name of the Branchcache Profile |
| Enabled | Enable the branchcache profile to be applied |
| Disable on Deployment | It is recommended not to use Branchcache on deployment unless you are deploying a computer on a WAN link. Branchcache will try to save bandwidth but it will be slower than a regular download if it's done on a LAN |
| Mode | - Distributed: In distributed cache mode, client computers cache the content locally, and serve the content to other Branchcache distributed cache mode clients. - Hosted Mode: In Hosted cache mode, clients download cached content from a hosted cache server |
| Disk Percentage | Default percentage of total disk space that is allocated for the BranchCache disk cache on client computers |
| Segment TTL | Default age in days for which segments are valid in the BranchCache data cache on client computers before being deleted |
| Branchcache Servers in Hosted mode | Full qualified hostname of a Windows Server with Branchcache role installed, normally located in the same Branch Office of the client computer. - SCP Discovery: Client computers should attempt the automatic configuration of hosted cache mode by searching for hosted cache servers publishing service connection points that are associated with the client's current Active Directory site |
If Branchcache domaing group policies have been set, they will take preference over this configuration.
Branchcache in distributed mode massively uses UDP packages to discover peers with the requested data and can be tricky to configure in big networks. It may not be recommended in subnets with more than 30 computers.