Which network device caches pages accessed through the network to load faster and reduce bandwidth usage?

• A. Proxy Server
• B. Router
• C. Switch
• D. Firewall

Answer: (A)

A proxy server caches pages accessed through the network to load faster and reduce bandwidth usage. It sits between clients and destination servers, so when a user requests a web page, the proxy first checks its local cache. If a recent copy exists, it serves that cached version immediately, speeding up the load and reducing repeated data traveling over the network. If the cached copy isn’t fresh, the proxy fetches the page from the actual server, stores a copy, and serves it, ensuring future requests can be served from the cache. This behavior is precisely what makes proxy servers effective for speeding up web access and cutting down on bandwidth. Routers forward packets between networks, switches move frames within a local network, and firewalls monitor or filter traffic; they don’t typically cache web content to improve load times or bandwidth.