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A '''web accelerator''' is a [[proxy server]] that reduces [[web site]] [[access time]]s. Web accelerators may use several techniques to achieve this reduction:
* They may [[web cache|cache]] recently or frequently accessed [[electronic document|documents]] so they may be sent to the [[client (computing)|client]] with less [[latency]] or at a faster [[transfer rate]] than the remote [[server (computing)|server]] could.
* They may freshen objects in the cache ensuring that frequently accessed content is readily available for display.
* They may [[link prefetching|prefetch]] documents that are likely to be accessed in the near future.
* They may [[data compression|compress]] documents to a smaller size, for example by reducing the quality of [[digital image|images]] or by sending only what's changed since the document was last requested.
* They may [[filter (software)|filter]] out ads and other undesirable objects so they are not sent to the client at all.
* They may maintain persistent [[Transmission_Control_Protocol|TCP]] connections between the client and the proxy server.
Web accelerators may be installed on the client (browsing) computer or on ISP hosted servers or both. Accelerating delivery through compression requires some type of host based server to collect, compress and then deliver content to a client computer.
As of June 2005, these applications generally serve to improve [[dial-up]] and other low speed connections. Many users can achieve a 2 to 3 times speed increase in average browsing experience, while some report a 5 to 10 times speed increases for specific web pages.
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