Selective cache redirection
Selective cache redirection sends requests for particular types of content, for example, images, to one cache server or group of cache servers and sends other types of content to a different cache server or group of cache servers. You can configure advanced cache redirection in transparent, reverse proxy, or forward proxy modes.
In selective cache redirection, the NetScaler appliance intercepts a client request and forwards non-cacheable requests to the original destination in the client request. For cacheable requests, the appliance sends the requests to the destination cache server that can serve content of a specific content type.
Selective cache redirection involves configuring content switching policies in addition to cache redirection policies. The appliance first evaluates the cache redirection policies that are bound to the cache redirection virtual server. If a request matches a cache redirection policy, the cache redirection virtual server sends the request to the origin server or a load balancing virtual server for the origin. If no cache redirection policies match the request, the appliance evaluates the content switching policies bound to the cache redirection virtual server. If a content switching policy matches the request, the cache redirection virtual server redirects the request to a load balancing virtual server for the cache.
To configure selective cache redirection, first enable cache redirection, load balancing, and content switching on the NetScaler appliance. Then, configure a load balancing virtual server for the cache and an associated HTTP service. After this, configure a cache redirection virtual server and bind both the cache redirection and content switching policies to it. Once you have bound the policies, you can configure the virtual server to give precedence to either rule based or URL based content-switching policies.
When configured for transparent mode cache redirection in an edge deployment topology, the appliance sends all cacheable HTTP traffic to a transparent cache farm. Clients access the Internet through the appliance, which is configured as a Layer 4 switch that receives traffic on port 80.
The appliance can direct requests for images (for example, .gif and .jpg files) to one server in the transparent cache farm, and all other requests for static content to other servers in the farm. For this configuration, you configure content switching policies to send images to the image cache and send all other cacheable content to a default cache.
Note: The configuration described here is for transparent selective cache redirection. Therefore, it does not require a load balancing virtual server for the origin, as would a reverse proxy configuration.
To configure this type of selective cache redirection, first enable cache redirection, load balancing, and content switching. Then, configure a load balancing virtual server for the cache and configure an associated HTTP service. Then, configure a cache redirection virtual server and create and bind both cache redirection and content switching policies to this virtual server.
For details on how to enable cache redirection and load balancing on the appliance, see Enable cache redirection and load balancing.