Chapter 1. Getting Started with Squid

In this chapter, we will have a look at how proxy servers and web caching works in general. We will proceed to download the correct Squid package for our operating system, based on the system requirements that we learned about in the Preface. We will learn how to compile and build additional Squid features. We will also learn the advantages of compiling Squid manually from the source over using a pre-compiled binary package.

In the final section, we will learn how to install Squid from a compiled source binary package, using popular package managers. Installation is a crucial part in getting started with Squid. Sometimes, we need to compile Squid with custom flags, depending on the environment requirements.

So let's get started with the real stuff.