Scorecard and NetResults

SpiderCache 1.5	XCache 1.4.5
SCORE: 3.75 COMPANY: SpiderCache COST: $2,999 for one CPU, increasing for more CPUs. PROS: Simple to install and use; good programming interfaces; finely detailed cache control. CONS: Administration quirks; no built-in monitoring.	SCORE: 3.3 COMPANY: Cache Technologies COST: $3,500 per server, decreases with more servers. PROS: Simple to install and use; no programming changes required; HTML text compression. CONS: Only basic cache control; limited programming language integration.
PreLoader 3.0	Dynamai 2.011GA
SCORE: 3.05 COMPANY: Chutney Technologies COST: $100,000. PROS: Fine-grain cache control via programming APIs; support for popular Java application servers. CONS: Expensive; clunky administrative interface; significant site recoding required for full caching advantages.	SCORE: 2.5 COMPANY: Persistence Software COST: $25,000 per CPU. PROS: No site recoding required; good performance monitoring; fine-grain cache control via programming. CONS: Buggy administrator interface; no compression schemes.
Scorecard SpiderCache XCache PreLoader Dynamai Performance 35% 3 3 3 3 Features 25% 4 3 4 3 Management /Administration 20% 4 3 2 1 Installation 10% 5 5 3 2 Documentation 10% 4 4 3 3 Total score 3.75 3.3 3.05 2.5
Individual category scores are based on a scale of 1 to 5. Percentages are the weight given each category in determining the total score. Scoring key: 5: Exceptional showing in this category. Defines the standard of excellence; 4: Very good showing. Although there may be room for improvement, this product was much better than average; 3: Average showing in this category. Product was neither especially good nor exceptionally bad; 2: Below average. Lacked some features or lower performance than other products, or than was expected; 1: Considerably subpar, or lacking features being reviewed.

Back to the main review

Powell is the president of PINT, a San Diego Web services firm, and the author of numerous books on Web development practices. He can be reached at tpowell@pint.com. The author wishes to thank Reuben Poon, Dave Andrews and Mark Johnston of PINT, who helped design the test cases and environment for these products.

Powell is also a member of the Network World Global Test Alliance, a cooperative of the premier reviewers in the network industry, each bringing to bear years of practical experience on every review. For more Test Alliance information, including what it takes to become a member, go to www.nwfusion.com/alliance.

Slow speed kills
Boost your Web site performance with the five Cs: caching, compression, CPU optimization, CDNs and client software.

Add some PEP to your Web site
Performance-enhancing proxies can accelerate content delivery.

Review: Use only as directed
Tread carefully before rolling out dynamic content caching products.

How we did it
Our testing methods explained.

Interactive Buyer's Guide
Includes more than 90 entries on products that can speed up your site, everything from caching hardware and software to SSL off-loaders.

The promise of FineGround
We decided to cover the Condenser separately because it takes a radically different approach to content acceleration than the other products discussed.