Disk caching in Microsoft Edge

[Guest Microsoft Edge Team]

Beginning with Microsoft Edge 102 on Windows, Microsoft Edge now automatically compresses disk caches for improved performance and a reduced disk footprint. Our goal on the Microsoft Edge team is to deliver the best performing browser possible on Windows and other platforms. When a browser uses too many resources, it not only impacts the browsing experience but can also slow down the entire system. However, when it comes to performance optimizations, we often need to balance optimizing for the entire system, since optimizing for one resource can often come at a cost increasing the use of another resource. One such example is the use of disk cache that is used by browsers to store resources fetched from the web so that they can be accessed quickly later if needed. The larger the size of the cache, the larger the likelihood that the resource being requested can be fetched from the disk which is often faster than fetching the same resource from the network. On the other hand, we need to carefully manage the size of the cache especially on devices with low disk space, since an unbounded cache can lead to the system running out of disk space. To prevent the browser cache from consuming all available disk space, browsers already moderate disk cache use based on available space. This issue becomes critical especially on systems with low disk space. One way we can maximize cache usage while minimizing disk usage is by leveraging compression to save disk space for the cached content. Since the contents in these cache(s) are often highly compressible, compression results in increasing the likelihood that the requested resource can be fetched from the disk. Beginning with Microsoft Edge 102 on Windows, Microsoft Edge automatically compresses disk caches on devices that meet eligibility checks, to ensure the compression will be beneficial without degrading performance. This ensures compression of these caches largely improves performance and overall user experience. We would love to hear more about your experience with Microsoft Edge. Please continue to join us on the Microsoft Edge Insider forums or Twitter to discuss your experience and let us know what you think! We hope you enjoy the changes and look forward to your feedback.

 

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