Protocol Action: Simple Hit-Metering and Usage-Limiting for HTTP to Proposed Standard

  The IESG has approved the Internet-Draft "Simple Hit-Metering and 
  Usage-Limiting for HTTP" <draft-ietf-http-hit-metering-04.txt> as a 
  Proposed Standard. This document is the product of the HyperText Transfer
  Protocol Working Group. The IESG contact persons are Keith Moore and 
  Harald Alvestrand.                                                       
 
 
Technical Summary

  This document defines an new HTTP header to:

  o allow cache servers to report "hit counts" to origin servers.
  o allow origin servers to request that cache servers limit
    the number of times that a particular cached document is
    used
  o allow cache servers to indicate their willingness to maintain
    hit counts and/or honor usage limiting requests

  It is hoped that this extension will encourage origin servers
  to avoid "cache busting" techniques and allow more documents
  to be cached.

Working Group Summary

  There was concensus in the working group on this proposal.
  Several implementations exist or are planned.

  One person objected that this proposal decreases the efficiency
  of every HTTP transaction between a cache server and an origin
  server for marginal gain -- i.e. to obtain information of dubious
  value.  However, nothing requires either a cache server or an
  origin server to support this extension, and individual installations
  can presumably make the decision to use it or not depending on the
  perceived (or measured) cost versus benefit.  The same person also
  voiced other objections, favoring other design decisions than those
  made in this document.

  However, there were no other objections to the proposal in the
  working group.

Protocol Quality

  Keith Moore reviewed the specification for IESG.

Received on Tuesday, 21 October 1997 08:59:54 UTC