I have an idea for a KH show I 've got a family of internet junkies and a home network with a ...

[G+_Ronald Kurr]

I have an idea for a KH show.  I've got a family of internet junkies and a home network with a couple of low-power always-on Linux boxes attached to it.  What I'd love to know how to do is to turn one of those boxes into an HTTP caching proxy.  There are certain times of the day when the internet slows down and the wife wants me to "fix it!".  I'm also dreading the day when Comcast starts billing by the packet and would love to be able to cut down on redundant traffic.  I'm sure there is a whole bunch of images and Javascript files that could get served faster from a local cache.  Like most homes, we stream Netflix as well as use Xbox Live and Steam for gaming.

 

Thanks,

Ron

[G+_Jerry Ham]

So you'll need a transparent proxy (looks like a router to the devices) since your various devices such as Chromecasts, Rokus, etc. typically aren't going to support a proxy that has to be configured. There are some tutorials on the internet about setting up a Linux box as a transparent proxy.

[G+_Barry Brown]

My personal experience has been that caching proxies don't have much effect these days. So much of what we do on the web is dynamic content that it can't be cached. HTTPS traffic also doesn't get cached; more and more sites are using HTTPS. The stuff that is cachable is inconsequential: small UI images and such.

 

Setting up Quality-of-service on your router in order to preserve bandwidth for all users and reduce latency will probably do more for you.

[G+_Ben Reese]

As Barry Brown? pointed out, SSL/HTTPS will be you're biggest problem. To adequately cache from YouTube or Netflix you'd need to break the SSL encryption doing a man in the middle attack. You're ISP wishes they could do the same! It might be easier for you though since you can trust your own connection.

[G+_Ronald Kurr]

Wow.  I almost forgot that we live in the post-Snowden world and most sites are moving towards HSTS and the data is wrapped inside encrypted tunnels.  I guess Comcast wins and we pay to download the same bits multiple times. 8-(