Re: [squid-users] refresh_pattern configuration

Muhammad Sharfuddin wrote:
> Squid Cache: Version 2.5.STABLE12
> and
> Squid Cache: Version 2.7.STABLE5
>
> I am using following refresh_patterns and never encounter any problem.
> e.g once I visit a website, on next visit usually squid serves it from
> cache, and TCP_HIT or TCP_MEM_HIT or TCP_REFRESH_HIT etc are so common
> in '/var/log/squid/access'
>
> But a person(who I beleive is a Linux/Squid Guru) critcize on the
> refresh_pattern I am using in squid.

(One of my posts or someone else?).

>
> So please pass your comments and corrections on the following configs
>
> #Suggested default:
> refresh_pattern ^ftp: 1440 20% 10080
> refresh_pattern ^gopher: 1440 0% 1440
> ####refresh_pattern . 0 20% 4320
>
> refresh_pattern -i \.ico$ 43200 100% 43200 override-lastmod
> override-expire ignore-reload

The problem with these commonly used patterns is that websites are now
obfuscating the URL with query strings more and more often. Not always
intentionally.

Example; the above pattern will not match any website with:
   http://example.com/some.ico?sid=user-session-id&track=fukn-cookie-id

changing the hard $ to softer (\?.*)?$ catches all of those websites
and keeps Squid doing what you meant to configure.

Other than that the only thing to draw real criticism is the use of
non-compliant override options. It's not nice netizen behaviour, ... but
... "everyone else does it".

[warning rant ahead: (not your fault I know)]

Personally as a webmaster I set realistic expiry info on every website I
touch in order to maximize speed and cacheability, particularly since
getting to now Squid. It really annoys me that admin like yourself are
forced to do this by a horribly large amount of clueless websites and
CMS software developers.
Such rules will in fact _decrease_ the cacheability times and benefits
for many of the websites I and other clued-on people setup. We are
forced to cope by changing filenames and sometimes URL links on every
single edit, no matter how trivial.
I'm sick of people complaining "why can Y see their user icon in forum X
but I can't? ... what?! cant fix it till next month just because I live
in country/ISP X?" always the webmaster to blame, never the browser
author or transparent proxy admin.
/rant

Amos

-- 
Please be using
   Current Stable Squid 2.7.STABLE6 or 3.0.STABLE18
   Current Beta Squid 3.1.0.13