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You're reading from Squid Proxy Server 3.1: Beginner's Guide Reduce bandwidth use and deliver your most frequently requested web pages more quickly with Squid Proxy Server. This guide will introduce you to the fundamentals of the caching system and help you get the most from Squid.

Product type Paperback

Published in Feb 2011

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781849513906

Length 332 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Languages

C++

Tools

Squid Proxy

Concepts

Servers

Table of Contents (20) Chapters

Squid Proxy Server 3.1 Beginner's Guide

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

www.PacktPub.com

Preface

1. Getting Started with Squid

2. Configuring Squid FREE CHAPTER

3. Running Squid

4. Getting Started with Squid's Powerful ACLs and Access Rules

5. Understanding Log Files and Log Formats

6. Managing Squid and Monitoring Traffic

7. Protecting your Squid Proxy Server with Authentication

8. Building a Hierarchy of Squid Caches

9. Squid in Reverse Proxy Mode

10. Squid in Intercept Mode

11. Writing URL Redirectors and Rewriters

12. Troubleshooting Squid

Pop Quiz Answers

Index

Time for action – identifying the right version

A list of available versions of Squid is maintained at http://www.squid-cache.org/Versions/. For production environments, we should use versions listed under the Stable Versions section only. If we want to test new Squid features in our environment or if we intend to provide feedback to the Squid community about the new version, then we should be using one of the Beta Versions.

As we can see in the preceding screenshot, the website contains the First Production Release Date and Latest Release Date for the stable versions. If we click on any of the versions, we are directed to a page containing a list of all the releases in that particular version. Let's have a look at the page for version 3.1:

For every release, along with a release date, there are links for downloading compressed source archives.

Different versions of Squid may have different features. For example, all the features available in Squid version 2.7 may or may not be available in newer versions such as Squid 3.x. Some features may have been deprecated or have become redundant over time and they are generally removed. On the other hand, Squid 3.x may have several new features or existing features in an improved and revised manner.

Therefore, we should always aim for the latest version, but depending on the environment, we may go for stable or beta version. Also, if we need specific features that are not available in the latest version, we may choose from the available releases in a different branch.

What just happened?

We had a brief look at the pages containing the different versions and releases of Squid, on Squid's official website. We also learned which versions and releases that we should download and use for different types of usage.

Methods of obtaining Squid

After identifying the version of Squid that we should be using for compiling and installation, let's have a look at the ways in which we can obtain Squid release 3.1.10.

Using source archives

Compressed source archives are the most popular way of getting Squid. To download the source archive, please visit Squid download page, http://www.squid-cache.org/Download/. This web page has links for downloading the different versions and releases of Squid, either from the official website or available mirrors worldwide. We can use either HTTP or FTP for getting the Squid source archive.

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