Vinyl HTTP Cache – high-performance caching HTTP reverse proxy

Vinyl HTTP Cache, formerly Varnish Cache, is a high-performance HTTP reverse proxy designed to accelerate websites and web applications. It sits between clients and origin servers, storing reusable HTTP responses so that subsequent requests can be served without repeatedly contacting the backend.

The software is particularly suited to websites with high traffic volumes, frequently requested content or expensive application processing. By handling cacheable requests independently, Vinyl reduces backend workloads, network traffic and response times.

Its behaviour is controlled through Varnish Configuration Language (VCL), which lets administrators define caching policies, select backend servers and customise request and response processing. This offers considerably more flexibility than a cache controlled solely through configuration directives.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• HTTP reverse-proxy caching – stores reusable responses and delivers them without contacting the origin server.
• Varnish Configuration Language (VCL) – defines custom caching, routing and request-handling policies.
• Configurable cache lifetimes – controls freshness, grace periods and retention of cached objects.
• Stale-content delivery – serves expired objects when appropriate, including during backend failures or cache revalidation.
• Backend health checks – monitors origin servers and adjusts request handling according to their availability.
• Load balancing – distributes requests across multiple backend servers using configurable directors.
• Cache invalidation – supports purging and VCL-controlled banning of cached objects.
• Edge Side Includes (ESI) – assembles responses from independently cacheable fragments.
• Vinyl Modules (VMODs) – extends VCL functionality through additional modules.
• HTTP streaming – forwards eligible responses while data is being retrieved from the origin.
• Shared-memory logging – provides detailed request and response information through the VSL logging system.
• Command-line management – supplies tools for administration, statistics, logging and configuration inspection.
• Compression support – handles gzip-compressed HTTP responses.
• PROXY protocol support – preserves client connection information when operating behind compatible proxies.

Website: vinyl-cache.org
Support:
Developer: Vinyl Cache project
License: BSD 2-Clause ‘Simplified’ License

Vinyl is written in C. Learn C with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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