- On a domain controller, open the Group Policy Management Console.
- In the Group Policy Management Console, expand the following path: Forest ➢ Domains ➢ Group Policy Objects. Make sure the domain you choose contains the BranchCache Windows 7/Windows 8 client computer accounts that you want to configure.
- In the Group Policy Management Console, right- click Group Policy Objects and select New. Name the policy BranchCache Client and click OK. Right- click BranchCache Client and click Edit. The Group Policy Management Editor console opens.
4. In the Group Policy Management Editor console, expand the following path:
Computer Configuration ➢ Policies ➢ Windows Settings ➢ Security Settings ➢ Windows Firewall With Advanced Security ➢ Windows Firewall With Advanced Security – LDAP ➢ Inbound Rules.
5. Right- click Inbound Rules and then click New Rule. The New Inbound Rule Wizard opens.
6. On the Rule Type screen, click Predefined, expand the list of choices, and then click BranchCache – Content Retrieval (Uses HTTP). Click Next.
7. On the Predefined Rules screen, click Next.
8. On the Action screen, ensure that Allow The Connection is selected and then click Finish. You must select Allow The Connection for the BranchCache client to be able to receive traffic on this port.
9. To create the WS- Discovery firewall exception, right- click Inbound Rules and click New Rule. The New Inbound Rule Wizard opens.
10. On the Rule Type screen, click Predefined, expand the list of choices, and then click BranchCache – Peer Discovery (Uses WSD). Click Next.
11. On the Predefined Rules screen, click Next.
12. On the Action screen, ensure that Allow The Connection is selected and then click Finish.
13. In the Group Policy Management Editor console, right- click Outbound Rules and then click New Rule. The New Outbound Rule Wizard opens.
14. On the Rule Type screen, click Predefined, expand the list of choices, and then click BranchCache – Content Retrieval (Uses HTTP). Click Next.
15. On the Predefined Rules screen, click Next.
16. On the Action screen, make sure that Allow The Connection is selected and then click Finish.
17. Create the WS- Discovery firewall exception by right- clicking Outbound Rules and then clicking New Rule. The New Outbound Rule Wizard opens.
18. On the Rule Type screen, click Predefined, expand the list of choices, and then click BranchCache – Peer Discovery (Uses WSD). Click Next.
19. On the Predefined Rules screen, click Next.
20. On the Action screen, make sure that Allow The Connection is selected and then click Finish. Close the Group Policy Management console.
Now that you have looked at the distributed cache mode configuration, let’s take a look at the hosted mode configuration.
Hosted Mode Requirements
To set up a hosted mode BranchCache configuration, you must first set up a Windows Server 2022 hosted cache server at the main and branch offices. You also need to be running Windows 7 or above (except for home versions) at the branch offices.
The Windows client machines download the data from the main cache server, and then the hosted cache servers at the branch offices obtain a copy of the downloaded data for other users to access.
Your network infrastructure must also allow for physical connections between the main office and the branch offices. These connections can be VPNs or some type of WAN links. After these requirements are met, your cache server must obtain a server certificate so that the client computers in the branch offices can positively identify the cache servers.
Exercise 11.17 walks you through the process of installing the BranchCache feature on a Windows Server 2022 machine. To begin this exercise, you must be logged into the Windows Server 2022 machine as an administrator.
EXERCISE 11.17
Installing BranchCache on Windows Server 2022
- Open Server Manager by clicking the Server Manager icon or by running server manager.exe.
- Select Add Roles And Features.
- Click Next in the Before You Begin pane (if shown).
- Select role- based or feature- based installation and click Next to continue.
- Select the Select A Server From The Server Pool option and click Next.
- At the Select Server Roles screen, click Next.
- At the Select Features screen, click the check box for BranchCache (see Figure 11.26). Then click Next.
FIGURE 11.26 BranchCache option
8. Check the Restart The Destination Server If Required option and then click Install. If a dialog box appears about restarting, click Yes. The system should restart.
9. After the system restarts, log in as the administrator.
