Configuring Windows 7 (Training Kit) - Part 50. This training kit is designed for IT professionals who operate in enterprise enviroments that use Windows 7 as a desktop operating system. You should have at least one year of experience in the IT field, as well as experience implementing and administering any Windows client operating system in a networked environment. | Distributed Cache Mode Distributed Cache mode uses peer caching to host the branch office cache among clients running Windows 7 on the branch office network. This means that each Distributed Cache mode client hosts part of the cache but no single client hosts all the cache. When a client running Windows 7 retrieves content over the WAN it places that content into its own cache. If another BranchCache client running Windows 7 attempts to access the same content it is able to access that content directly from the first client rather than having to retrieve it over the WAN link. When it accesses the file from its peer it also copies that file into its own cache. The advantage of distributed cache mode is that you can deploy it without having to deploy a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 locally in each branch office. The drawback of Distributed Cache mode is that the contents of the cache available on the branch office LAN depend on which clients are currently online. If a client needs a file that is held in the cache of a computer that is shut down the client needs to retrieve the file from the host server across the WAN. Quick Check Which BranchCache mode should you use if there are no servers running Windows Server 2008 R2 at your branch office Quick Check Answer You should use Distributed Cache mode. Hosted Cache mode requires a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 on the LAN. Configuring BranchCache Clients Running Windows 7 Configuring Windows 7 as a BranchCache client involves enabling BranchCache selecting either Hosted Cache mode or Distributed Cache mode and then configuring the client firewall to allow BranchCache traffic. You can configure BranchCache either using Group Policy or by using the Netsh command-line utility. The firewall rules that you configure depend on whether you are using Hosted Cache or Distributed Cache mode. You can use predefined firewall rules or manually create them based on protocol and port. The required firewall rules are as
