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CHAPTER
45-1
Catalyst 3750 Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-8550-09
45
Configuring Cache Services By Using WCCP
This chapter describes how to configure your Catalyst 3750 switch to redirect traffic to wide-area
application engines (such as the Cisco Cache Engine 550) by using the Web Cache Communication
Protocol (WCCP). This software release supports only WCCP version 2 (WCCPv2).
WCCP is a Cisco-developed content-routing technology that you can use to integrate wide-area
application engines—referred to as application engines—into your network infrastructure. The
application engines transparently store frequently accessed content and then fulfill successive requests
for the same content, eliminating repetitive transmissions of identical content from servers. Application
engines accelerate content delivery and ensure maximum scalability and availability of content. In a
service-provider network, you can deploy the WCCP and application engine solution at the points of
presence (POPs). In an enterprise network, you can deploy the WCCP and application engine solution
at the regional site and the small branch office.
To use this feature, the stack master must be running the IP services image. Unless otherwise noted, the
term switch refers to a standalone switch and to a switch stack.
Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the “WCCP
Router Configuration Commands” section in the “System Management Commands” part of the Cisco
IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference, Release 12.2. Access this document from the
Cisco.com page under Documentation > Cisco IOS Software > 12.2 Mainline > Command
References.
This chapter consists of these sections:
• Understanding WCCP, page 45-1
• Configuring WCCP, page 45-5
• Monitoring and Maintaining WCCP, page 45-9
Understanding WCCP
The WCCP and Cisco cache engines (or other application engines running WCCP) localize traffic
patterns in the network, enabling content requests to be fulfilled locally.
WCCP enables supported Cisco routers and switches to transparently redirect content requests. With
transparent redirection, users do not have to configure their browsers to use a web proxy. Instead, they
can use the target URL to request content, and their requests are automatically redirected to an
application engine. The word transparent means that the end user does not know that a requested file
(such as a web page) came from the application engine instead of from the originally specified server.