A method for performing integrated caching in a device that is communicatively coupled to a data communication network, comprising: a) receiving a packet from a client over the data communication network, the packet including a request for an object; b) at the operating system/kernel level of the device: i) performing one or more processes selected from: decryption processing of the packet, authentication and/or authorization of the client, and decompression of the request; ii) determining if the object resides within a cache working in the operating system/kernel space; iii) serving the request from the cache responsive to a determination that the object is stored within the cache, and iv) sending the request to a server responsive to a determination that the object is not stored within the cache; wherein: the cache, by virtue of working in the operating system/kernel space: is enabled to relate to the object of the request as a data structure, is integrated at the operating system/kernel level of the device with the processes of b)-i) and has equal status as each of said processes in processing the same data structures. a) receiving a packet from a client over the data communication network, the packet including a request for an object; b) at the operating system/kernel level of the device: i) performing one or more processes selected from: decryption processing of the packet, authentication and/or authorization of the client, and decompression of the request; ii) determining if the object resides within a cache working in the operating system/kernel space; iii) serving the request from the cache responsive to a determination that the object is stored within the cache, and iv) sending the request to a server responsive to a determination that the object is not stored within the cache; wherein: the cache, by virtue of working in the operating system/kernel space: is enabled to relate to the object of the request as a data structure, is integrated at the operating system/kernel level of the device with the processes of b)-i) and has equal status as each of said processes in processing the same data structures. i) performing one or more processes selected from: decryption processing of the packet, authentication and/or authorization of the client, and decompression of the request; ii) determining if the object resides within a cache working in the operating system/kernel space; iii) serving the request from the cache responsive to a determination that the object is stored within the cache, and iv) sending the request to a server responsive to a determination that the object is not stored within the cache; wherein: the cache, by virtue of working in the operating system/kernel space: is enabled to relate to the object of the request as a data structure, is integrated at the operating system/kernel level of the device with the processes of b)-i) and has equal status as each of said processes in processing the same data structures. the cache, by virtue of working in the operating system/kernel space: is enabled to relate to the object of the request as a data structure, is integrated at the operating system/kernel level of the device with the processes of b)-i) and has equal status as each of said processes in processing the same data structures. is enabled to relate to the object of the request as a data structure, is integrated at the operating system/kernel level of the device with the processes of b)-i) and has equal status as each of said processes in processing the same data structures.