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Use BranchCache to cache SMB share content at a branch office overview

Contributors netapp-thomi

BranchCache was developed by Microsoft to enable caching of content on computers local to requesting clients. ONTAP implementation of BranchCache can reduce wide-area network (WAN) utilization and provide improved access response time when users in a branch office access content stored on storage virtual machines (SVMs) using SMB.

If you configure BranchCache, Windows BranchCache clients first retrieve content from the SVM and then cache the content on a computer within the branch office. If another BranchCache-enabled client in the branch office requests the same content, the SVM first authenticates and authorizes the requesting user. The SVM then determines whether the cached content is still up-to-date and, if it is, sends the client metadata about the cached content. The client then uses the metadata to retrieve content directly from the locally based cache.