What is the term for storage of data in a network device to speed future access?

What is the term for storage of data in a network device to speed future access?

• A. Caching Engine
• B. RAM
• C. Cache
• D. Buffer

Answer: (A)

Caching is storing copies of data so future requests can be served faster. In a network device, the data kept for this purpose is called the cache. The term “cache” refers to the storage itself, while a caching engine is the software or component that manages that storage and decides what to keep or evict. RAM is general memory, not specifically the caching storage, and a buffer is temporary I/O storage, not the long-term speed-up mechanism. So, the precise term for the storage that speeds future access is cache; the caching engine is the mechanism that operates it.

Caching is storing copies of data so future requests can be served faster. In a network device, the data kept for this purpose is called the cache. The term “cache” refers to the storage itself, while a caching engine is the software or component that manages that storage and decides what to keep or evict. RAM is general memory, not specifically the caching storage, and a buffer is temporary I/O storage, not the long-term speed-up mechanism. So, the precise term for the storage that speeds future access is cache; the caching engine is the mechanism that operates it.