The second IRCache cache-off for Web caching proxies is scheduled for January 17th, 2000. We invite all caching vendors to participate in this exciting event: Your potential customers demand high quality performance data, and you really do not want your competitors to fake your performance numbers.

Below you will find the registration deadlines and other details. For more information, please contact <Polyteam at ircache dot net> .

The second cache-off is held in Houston, Texas. A 50,000 ft² facility for the event was gratuitously provided by Compaq Corporation.

We will have about 10 testing benches, running tests for two or three weeks, depending on the number of participants.

The registration deadline is November 25, 1999. After November 25th, additional registration requests may be honored only if we have enough time and other resources to accommodate new entries. The cache-off will start on January 17, 2000.

For up-to-date deadlines, see our deadlines page.

To register for the event, please e-mail us the following information:

1. Vendor name (e.g., InfoLibria or Zerowait).

2. The exact short name of the caching product as it should appear in the results (e.g., ICS-130C or CE-505). If a product is a cluster of caches, please specify the number of caches in the cluster (e.g., two NC-760 or five CF-525).

3. Contact person for the product with e-mail and phone number (e.g., Alan Smithee <smithee@bestproxy.net>, (800)347-2633 ).

4. Approximate peak request rate using PolyMix-2 workload or any other workload if PolyMix-2 results are not available (e.g., 100 req/sec or 6200 req/sec).

Each product requires a separate registration e-mail even if a vendor wants to register more than one cache. If the name of the product does not define such details as hardware and software base, we may ask you for additional information.

Product specifications and request rates are kept confidential until the beginning of the cache-off.

The registration e-mail must be followed by a non-refundable deposit (see below). Registrations will be confirmed and processed in the order the deposits are received.

By registering, you agree to abide by the rules of the cache-off described in this Call For Participation and elsewhere. Registered cache-off participants are announced on our Web site.

We reserve the right to deny any request for participation.

Registration must be accompanied by a non-refundable deposit of $2,000. The deposit counts towards the participation fee, but is not refunded if a product does not show up for the tests. We regret having to collect deposits, but test equipment must be reserved and paid for in advance.

The participation fee will be around $2,000 per client machine. The number of client machines in a test bench is determined by the peak request rate specified by the cache-off participant. A client machine can generate at least 400 requests per second. For example, if a participant wants to test their product at 650 req/sec, they would need to pay about $4,000 (two client machines).

The final fees will be determined shortly after November 25th, when the approximate number of participants and the duration of the event are known. Full participation fees are due December 17th, 1999.

Please contact us for payment information.

We will use Web Polygraph 2.2.5 or later running on FreeBSD 3.1. See our test page for a list of tests and the rules page for the regulations enforced during the cache-off.

We anticipate no limits on the number of cache-off entries. Each participant will be semi-randomly assigned a four day testing slot (accounting for space and equipment requirements).

The results of the cache-off will be published around March in the Network World magazine and will also be available on our Web site. Selected results may also appear in other industry journals.

Questions? E-mail <Polyteam at ircache dot net> .