The network-centric point of view impacts workload characterization. For example, request and response routing information needs to be included in workload characteristics, in order to address such problems as network cache placement. In this paper, we argue why the repertoire of research in the field should widen to include the point of view of the network, and to provide an initial attempt at clarifying how this might be done using research from the field of performability . As the Internet grows at a historic pace, doubling in aggregate traffic rate every three to six months, it suffers from bottlenecks that frustrate its users. This latter measurement reflects transfer rates delivered, not over modem lines, but over dedicated T1-class last hop.
Network caching applies server-like functionality to solve the network congestion problem.
On the other hand, a network cache expands bandwidth and speeds up response time. These benefits are the true goals of network caching. With only one exception, measurements of network cache performance continue to focus on the server aspect of network caching. Server-Centric Performance Characterization Network caches, as implemented most commonly today, originated from work on high performance web servers. From the point of view of the network, servers are hosts, while network caches are more like routers or switches.