Microsoft Edge users will soon enjoy improved performance and a reduced storage footprint while browsing. This has been possible because starting Edge version 102, the browser will automatically compresses disk caches.
Microsoft has announced this in an official blog post. The compression of Disk cache will not only enable saving of disk space it will also allow quicker fetching of required browser resources. Disk caching is not a new technology and is widely used by sites. It is good to see Microsoft bringing a basic usability improvement that will result in overall faster browsing experience.
One such example is the use of disk cache that is used by browsers to store resources fetched from the web so that they can be accessed quickly later if needed. The larger the size of the cache, the larger the likelihood that the resource being requested can be fetched from the disk which is often faster than fetching the same resource from the network.
On the other hand, we need to carefully manage the size of the cache especially on devices with low disk space, since an unbounded cache can lead to the system running out of disk space. To prevent the browser cache from consuming all available disk space, browsers already moderate disk cache use based on available space. This issue becomes critical especially on systems with low disk space
One way we can maximize cache usage while minimizing disk usage is by leveraging compression to save disk space for the cached content. Since the contents in these cache(s) are often
Beginning with Microsoft Edge 102 on Windows, Microsoft Edge automatically compresses disk caches on devices that meet eligibility checks, to ensure the compression will be beneficial without degrading performance. This ensures compression of these caches largely improves performance and overall user experience.
