Definition of Proxy Cache Server in the Network Encyclopedia.

What is Proxy Cache Server?

Proxy Cache Server is a type of proxy server that caches Web pages that users request on the Internet. You can use a proxy cache server like a regular proxy server at the border of a private corporate network in order to cache the Web pages returned from the Internet when users in the private network request them. When users request these pages again, the pages are returned instantly from the cache; a new request need not be sent over the Internet. This speeds up browsing for frequently accessed Web sites and reduces the amount of bandwidth used on the corporate Internet link.

Proxy cache servers can also be used at Internet service providers (ISPs) and at strategic locations on the Internet’s high-speed backbone to provide relief to heavily accessed Web servers and to reduce overall backbone traffic.

Microsoft Proxy Server

Microsoft Proxy Server supports two kinds of caching for the Web proxy service:

• Passive caching: Web pages that clients request are cached for later retrieval if requested. 
• Active caching: Proxy Server tries to anticipate which Web pages clients will request, and when the server has idle time and the network is sufficiently quiet, Proxy Server requests the pages and stores them in the cache.