Using browser cache management

Use browser cache management to improve client side performance and security of IBM® iNotes® sessions on Internet Explorer by controlling which entries are stored in the cache and which are removed when the iNotes session ends.

About this task

Many organizations restrict files that remain in the browser cache for security reasons but for lower-end machines, loading iNotes for each session may adversely impact performance. So, for example, assume you want to leave iNotes design elements in the cache for performance reasons, but remove everything retrieved from mail files for security reasons.

You can set the cache scrubbing level to remove all cache entries or only those related to the user's mail file. Browser cache management improves client side performance, for example, by archiving static design elements of iNotes locally, and then restoring them to the cache the next time the browser is accessed. This is particularly useful when iNotes is accessed via a lesser bandwidth connection.

Setting up browser cache management

About this task

Set up browser cache management in the iNotes server's configuration settings document. Once you have enabled this feature, you can choose whether to install it on iNotes clients automatically, or to give users the option of installing it. If you install it automatically, the first time a user accesses iNotes, a browser cache management system confirmation displays, prompting the user to close all browser windows for browser cache management to take effect.

If you enable browser cache management but do not install it automatically, users can install and uninstall it using an iNotes preference (Preferences - Logout). If you have not enabled browser cache management, this preference is not visible. As an additional security measure, you can prevent users who have not installed browser cache management from adding or accessing email attachments.

Once the browser cache management feature is installed on a user's system, the cache cleanup occurs based on the cache scrubbing level set in the server's configuration settings document. The user cannot change this. However, if it has not been installed, users can manually clear the cache at logout by clearing the history, and selecting one of these logout options:
  • Secure -- Deletes all entries in the cache except iNotes design elements, which are archived locally when the last instance of Internet Explorer is closed, and restored back into the browser cache when the next instance of Internet Explorer is opened.
  • More Secure -- Deletes all entries in the cache.