.....continued

IE5 is setup a bit differently, and allows you to set up separate proxy servers for each dial-up connection (if memory serves me correct _ IE5 no longer resides on my computer), but the basics should be the same.

After setup, whenever I request a web page, my browser will first check proxy.inet.co.th to see if the page is available there. If it is, it will be sent to me and I won't have to snake my way through the Internet to the original site, a significant time and bandwidth saving. Web pages which contain frequently changing content (eg <http:www.cnn.com>) will invariably require that parts of its page be retrieved from the original site. However, if someone just checked CNN a few minutes before you, chances are you'll be able to retrieve the page entirely from the proxy's cache.

A few more facts about caching proxy servers (for cocktail chit chat):

a) data saved on proxy servers don't live there forever _ eventually they get flushed out as newer pages are loaded or their useful lives expire. However, frequently accessed pages live there longer (say, Hotmail's home page). b) Not surprisingly, the larger the proxy server, the more data can be cached and the greater likelihood that requested data will be available locally. At last count ITSC's proxy server had about 16GB of disk/cache space.

c) As a general rule you can only use the proxy server of the ISP you're dialing into. I wish there were general Thailand caches available at PIE, NIX and/or IIG which any Thailand user could hook into.

LOCAL/PC CACHING

Wouldn't it be nice if you could have a caching proxy server right at your PC? Not only wouldn't you have to retrieve a web page from the Internet, you wouldn't even have to pull it down from your ISP _ you'd simply get it from your own hard disk. Actually you can and already do, since both Netscape and Internet Explorer come with their own disk and memory caches.

The problem with Netscape's and IE's caches is that they're not very smart. I'm presently using a Windows program called NetSonic Pro, which is an external internet cache program that works with both Netscape and Internet Explorer. By both, I mean Netscape and Internet Explorer share the same cache files. Thus, if I were to call up Thai Airways (which normally takes 45 seconds to load, ugh!), I could switch to IE, access Thai Airways, and http://www.thaiair.com would pop up almost instantly. Neat!

Another really nice feature of NetSonic is that web pages that are already saved in cache (this is done automatically) can be re-accessed even if you're no longer connected to the Internet. Want to re-read that news article on cnn.com? No problem. As long as you know the URL, it can be called up from the cache. Even if you don't know the exact URL but remember that you went to Yahoo!, then to "Full Coverage", then to the news story on US genetically modified crops, the article can be called up from the cache _ as long as each of the intervening pages are in the cache as well.

How long do these pages stay in the cache? As long as the URL isn't overwritten by newer content _ forever, or until your cache allocation fills up (I've set aside 100MB for this). Of course, you won't be getting the latest update of the page, but that's easy enough to obtain _ simply dial your ISP and access that page again. By the way, while NetSonic disables both Netscape's and IE's caches, it can and should still be used in tandem with your ISP's proxy server.

Consider the potential cost savings: to absolutely minimise your Internet costs, simply logon, pop your email, go to your favourite web pages or ad hoc browse interesting pages without reading them, and then immediately log off. Now, read your email and your web pages at your leisure _ they're all there, and the money meter has been turned off. Hell, read them six hours or six days from now. They're still there!

For the technically inclined with a neatness streak, you'll like the fact that NetSonic's cache combines each site it has cached into a single file. Contrast this with Netscape or IE, which download/cache each component of a page (which could conceivably contain one or more html files and multiple gif/jpg files). Currently, my NetSonic cache directory has 350 files corresponding to 350 sites and takes up about 26MB of disk space. In Netscape or IE, these files could conceivably number in the thousands.

NetSonic comes in two versions, both downloadable from http://www.web3000.com: a freeware version which has a few features disabled, and a commercial version with all the bells and whistles. The main difference between the two (besides a "nag" bar) is the availability of an automatic page updating feature. Normally, when you access a page that already exists in your cache, NetSonic will display the cached page first and then update your screen if it detects that the page has changed. In the Pro version, this updating can be done automatically. In the freeware version, you'll be notified that a change has been detected and that a manual refresh is required.

NetSonic Pro v2.5 sells for US$ 39.95, but I suggest you hold off on paying that price and use the freeware version for a while first. Why? Chances are you'll be offered a 25 percent discount after a few days of using the program.

LAN-BASED PROXY SERVERS

If your business PC is connected to the Internet via a local area network _ and therefore, through some kind of "router" _ you have the option of running your own caching proxy server on your network. If you have a lot of users, this would be a more cost effective solution than buying and installing netsonic on all of your client machines. Running your own proxy server also means that cached files canbe accessed at LAN speeds (10-100 MBIT/second) rather than through your Internet connected (probably far less than 1MBIT/second).

Some options:

a) Some software-based LAN-to-Internet access solutions such as WinGate v3.0 Standard or Pro http://www.wingate.com come with caching capabilities built-in. (Note: WinGate's Home version doesn't support caching). WinGate is priced according to the number of users, although as with most software of this genre, I wouldn't recommend it for anything but small sites.

b) If you're running Windows NT, Microsoft offers MS Proxy Server v2.0, also with content caching. A free 90 day trial version is available for downloading. MS Proxy Server requires the purchase of a server licence and separate client licences.

c) Of course, if you want the best and want it free, there's always Linux running Squid. Squid, which runs under various flavours of Unix, is used by many ISPs that are still saving their satang to buy dedicated caching hardware appliances. Due to its sheer power though, Squid is considered to be rather difficult to setup.

While I've played with WinGate a bit, I frankly haven't had any hands-on experience with either MS Proxy Server or Squid yet. This explains the shortness and the lack of hands on reports in this section. Nevertheless, both are on my to-do/to-try list this year.

MULTILINK PPP

My final speed-up suggestion is a bit different from my previous ones because it requires a greater investment, both in terms of hardware and Internet usage costs. As such, it's probably not suited for everyone.

What's Multilink PPP anyway? Multilink PPP is a protocol which allows you to bind two or more Internet sessions into a single session, combining the bandwidth. It requires installing two or more modems (hereafter, I'll just talk about two modems, although more are possible) in a single computer. The two modems must be connected to two separate telephone lines, which then dial into a single Internet account. If both of your modems are 56Kbit models and your ISP supports Multilink PPP (not all do, by the way), you should now have a connection that is 56Kbit x 2 or 112Kbit _ at least theoretically.

I say theoretically because only the link between you and your ISP is doubled; the remaining links to wherever you want to go are, of course, still the same. This is like driving from your house to the airport after the soi outside of your house has been widened. Because all of the other roads are unchanged, you'll probably get to the airport faster, but not twice as fast.

However, your costs per unit time will certainly be doubled. That's why I mentioned earlier that this may not be suitable for all applications, all the time. If you're just picking up email, this is gross overkill. Web access, while faster, should still be bottlenecked elsewhere. Also, you have to make sure that your operating system supports Multilink PPP. Windows 98 does, but I don't think the initial version of Windows 95 (Win95a) did. This might be fixable with an updated dial-up networking module though.

Under Windows 98, Multilink PPP isn't too difficult to setup. First of all, you'll need to install two modems and make sure they both work (ie, they don't cause hardware conflicts and both can dial your ISP). Next, create a Dial-Up Networking connection (DUN) with either modem.When finished, right click the DUN connection and select "Properties". Next click on the "Multilink" tab and then the "Use Additional Devices" button. Finally, click "Add" to add the second modem. Make sure the login account is the same as the first modem.

When you dial this DUN connection, the primary modem will dial first and when successfully connected, will follow with the second modem. During my tests, web pages didn't seem to display all that much faster, however, downloads showed a nice increase in speed. Downloading from my ISP, I got a transfer rate of about 8K bytes/sec. Even downloading from the likes of PC Magazine, I got a top transfer rate of about 7K bytes/sec. Both of these are about double my normal rates.

In my opinion, Multilink PPP is useful in the following situations:

a) Shared LAN access. Your LAN is connected to the Internet via a modem-equipped router and adding a 2nd or 3rd modem and bonding them together is cheaper than getting a leased line. During slow periods, you can even turn off some of the modems to reduce costs, something not possible with leased lines with their fixed monthly costs.

b) Downloading large files. You need a monster file from the Internet (eg, Star Office at 65MB) and even at double the costs, a four to five hour download is preferable to a six to seven hour download. One can always use discounted, non-peak hour ISP access and watch UBC into the wee hours.

c) Downloading files from your ISP. You want to download files which are already stored at your ISP (ie, they don't have to be retrieved from the Internet per se).

d) Two modem owners. You previously owned a 33.6Kbit modem but later bought a new 56Kbit model. Or you're fooling around with Linux and found out that your internal WinModem doesn't do Linux, so you had to buy an external model.

Warning: I don't recommend using two or more WinModems simultaneously, unless you're willing to take a significan't hit on your PCs performance.

e) The "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. You can't stand Database writing about cable modems, ADSL, satellite or ISDN and you need a speed fix to convince yourself you're not living in the stone ages.

(Thanks are due to Khun Nikorn Viravatandej of One Systems for some proofing help, but more so for his sponsorship and work on TIUG's site.)

Email: thiravud@1-sys.com