[MacTUG] What is content caching on Mac? - Apple Support (CA)

[Marlon A Griffith]

Interesting feature demoed in seminar.

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Content caching is a macOS service that helps reduce internet data usage 
and speed up software installation on Mac computers, iOS and iPadOS 
devices, and Apple TV.

Content caching speeds up downloading of software distributed by Apple 
and data that users store in iCloud by saving content that local Mac 
computers, iOS and iPadOS devices, and Apple TV devices have already 
downloaded. The saved content is stored in a content cache on a Mac, and 
is available for other devices to retrieve without going out over the 
internet.

See the Apple Support article Content types supported by content caching 
in macOS.

You can use content caching on networks consisting of a NAT environment 
for the content cache and all devices, or on networks consisting of 
publicly routable IP addresses. Apple devices with iOS 7 or later and OS 
X 10.8.2 or later automatically contact a nearby content cache without 
any configuration.

Important: It’s strongly recommended that you set up content caching on 
a Mac that has a single wired Ethernet connection as its only connection 
to the network. Content caching can use a Wi-Fi connection instead of 
Ethernet, but performance might be affected.

How does it work?
What if my network has multiple subnets?
Can I have more than one content cache?
Where are the cached files stored?
How can I evaluate the performance of a content cache?
Performance best practices

Content caching best practices

The following are best practices for content caching. Whenever possible, 
you should follow these recommendations:

     Allow all Apple push notifications.

     Don’t use manual proxy settings.

     Don’t proxy client requests to content caches.

     Bypass proxy authentication for content caches.

     Specify a TCP port for caching. (See the Port key in Advanced 
content caching settings on Mac in the Apple Platform Deployment guide.)

     Manage inter-site caching traffic.

     Block rogue cache registration.

     Use a static public IP address for content caches.

See also
Set up content caching on Mac
Apple Platform Deployment: Intro to content caching
Apple Platform Deployment: Plan for and set up content caching
Apple Platform Deployment: Use multiple content caches for Apple devices

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchl9388ba1b/mac
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