[193421] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Apple Caching Server question
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Pete Mundy)
Mon Jan 16 18:23:02 2017
X-Original-To: nanog@nanog.org
From: Pete Mundy <pete@fiberphone.co.nz>
In-Reply-To: <ad63a5b7-47a8-17f3-b77d-51c09fbe3560@ispn.net>
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2017 12:20:53 +1300
To: NANOG <nanog@nanog.org>
Errors-To: nanog-bounces+nanog.discuss=bloom-picayune.mit.edu@nanog.org
> On 14/01/2017, at 6:25 am, Blake Hudson <blake@ispn.net> wrote:
>=20
> lane.powers@swat.coop wrote on 1/13/2017 7:43 AM:
>> I saw the apple caching server mentioned on an earlier thread. Is =
this appropriate/functional/scaleable enough to implement as an ISP? It =
is an intriguing idea. =46rom the docs I could find, I couldn't tell if =
it was only geared towards home / small business or if it could scale up =
to handle ISP level traffic.
>>=20
>> thanks,
>> Lane
>=20
> I have no experience with the Apple caching service specifically, but =
I have used Apple products (including some of their server software) for =
decades. Apple used to make mac mini models exclusively for server use. =
Their low power draw and relatively high density makes them an =
interesting choice for those that don't mind using "desktop grade" =
hardware for a project. There are some folks that even make rack-mount =
solutions for the Mac mini and Mac pro (search for RackMac). That said, =
my experience with several mac minis is that you will have at least one =
fault that will put them out of production (dead PSU, faulty HDD, dead =
mainboard) in a 2-3 year period when ran 24/7.
>=20
> With Unix OS, a gigabit ethernet port, SSD, and i5 or i7, I would =
expect a mac mini to be as fast or faster than most other network =
appliances one might purchase. If one wanted something beefier, a mac =
pro would probably offer some expandability (on board dual 1gbps NICs + =
six 20Gbps thunderbolt 2 ports).
>=20
> I would see why one might be curious, especially if this could cache =
the IOS updates used for all those tablets and other iDevices folks =
purchase from Apple.
Those dual Mac Mini 1U rack-mount cases are great! Two of the quad-core =
'server' versions of the Minis gave quite a bit of punch for only 1RU @ =
300mm deep.
I have a couple of these types of builds deployed for VoIP services in =
different DCs, both with auto failover from one Mini to the other. But =
in the 6 years they've been operation we've never had any failure =
requiring use of the failover machines :)
Re the Apple Caching Server - I don't believe that will work at the ISP =
level. My understanding is that the clients requesting their updates are =
redirected (by Apple's own servers) to the caching server only if the =
caching server and the requesting client both appear (from Apple's =
perspective) to originate from behind the same (NAT'd) public IP =
address.
Pete
