miscellaneous

MISCELLANEOUS

This section covers configurations that could not be explicitly bundled in with any of the previous categories. Examples of features covered here are limiting the growth of log files, displaying customized information to clients upon error conditions or access denial, defining memory pools for Squid, network management by enabling SNMP, co-ordination with neighbor caches by enabling WCCP, directing the requests either to the origin server or to the neighbor cache, etc.

dns_testnames

logfile_rotate

append_domain

tcp_recv_bufsize

error_map

err_html_text

deny_info

memory_pools

memory_pools_limit

via

forwarded_for

log_icp_queries

icp_hit_stale

minimum_direct_hops

minimum_direct_rtt

cachemgr_passwd

store_avg_object_size

store_objects_per_bucket

client_db

netdb_low

netdb_high

netdb_ping_period

query_icmp

test_reachability

buffered_logs

reload_into_ims

always_direct

never_direct

header_access

header_replace

icon_directory

global_internal_static

short_icon_urls

error_directory

maximum_single_addr_tries

retry_on_error

snmp_port

snmp_access

snmp_incoming_address

snmp_outgoing_address

as_whois_server

wccp_router

wccp2_router

wccp_version

wccp2_rebuild_wait

wccp2_forwarding_method

wccp2_return_method

wccp2_assignment_method

wccp2_service

wccp2_service_info

wccp2_weight

wccp_address

wccp2_address

logfile_daemon

netdb_filename

update_headers

zph_mode

zph_local

zph_sibling

zph_parent

zph_option


TAG NAME dns_testnames

Description

This points to a number of hosts that Squid can use to test if DNS service is working properly on your network

Build Option

Default

Usage

dns_testnames url

Default

dns_testnames netscape.com internic.net nlanr.net microsoft.com

Synopsis

If DNS isn't working properly, Squid will not be able to service requests, so it will refuse to start, with a brief message regarding why in the cache.log. It is recommended that you select two or more host names on the internet and one or two host names on your intranet, assuming you have one and Squid is expected to service it. By default, the dns_testnames directive checks a few well known and popular sites: netscape.com, internic.net, nlanr.net, and microsoft.com.

Arguments

url

Sites on which DNS test to be done

Example(s)
dns_testnames visolve.com
TAG NAME logfile_rotate

Description

Used to specify the number of old rotated log files Squid will keep

Build Option

Default

Usage

logfile_rotate number

Default

logfile_rotate 10

Synopsis

The value in this tag defines number of rotated log files to be generated. This defaults to 10, which means Squid will keep 10 old log files before overwriting the oldest. Squid -k rotate is the command line usage to implement this function.

Arguments

number

Number of rotations

Example(s)
logfile_rotate 5
TAG NAME append_domain

Description

The domain that Squid will append to requests that are not possibly fully qualified domain names (more precisely,
those that have no dots in them)

Build Option

Default

Usage

append_domain domainname

Default

none

Synopsis
Using this tag, you can append the domain names to the requests that are not fully qualified domains names.
Note: append_domain must begin with a period.

Arguments

dimainname

Domain name to be appended

Example(s)
append_domain .cgi.com
TAG NAME tcp_recv_bufsize

Description

Defines the size of the buffer used for TCP packets being received

Build Option

Default

Usage

tcp_recv_bufsize bytes

Default

tcp_recv_bufsize 0 bytes

Synopsis

When defined to a non-zero value, this determines the TCP packets receiving buffer size. By default Squid uses whatever the default buffer size for your operating system is. This is done by setting its value to zero.

Arguments

bytes

Buffer size

Example(s)
tcp_recv_bufsize 500 bytes
TAG NAME error_map

Description

Map errors to custom messages

Build Option

Default

Usage

error_map message_url http_status...

Default

none

Synopsis
Use in accelerators to substitute the error messages returned by servers with other custom errors.

In Addition the following headers are forwarded from the client request:
User-Agent, Cookie, X-Forwarded-For, Via, Authorization,Accept, Referer

And the following headers from the server reply:
Server, Via, Location, Content-Location

The reply returned to the client will carry the original HTTP headers from the real error message, but with the reply body of the configured error message.

Arguments

message_url

The received HTTP status code (i.e. 404)

http_status

The requested URI where the error occurred

Example(s)
error_map https://visolve.com/error/404.shtml 404
TAG NAME err_html_text

Description

Provides a means to automatically add some extra information to Squid's error pages

Build Option

Default

Usage

err_htmal_text text

Default

none

Synopsis

You can add HTML or plain text comments or links here, which will be added to the error messages displayed to clients. To include this in your error messages, you must rewrite the error template files (found in the "errors" directory). Wherever you want the err_html_text line to appear, insert a %L tag in the error template file.

Arguments

text

Message to be displayed

Example(s)
err_html_text squid@visolve.com

Consider you want to display this mail Id when access denied error occurs, then edit the corresponding file (ERR_ACCESS_DENIED in '$prefix/etc/errors' directory) with %L where this mail Id should be displayed.
TAG NAME deny_info

Description

Used to define a customized error page for the requests which gets denied by http_access rules

Build Option

Default

Usage

deny_info err_page_name acl
deny_info link acl

Default

none

Synopsis

You might have defied certain rules which filters access to certain domains. While accessing those domains, Squid normally displays a default error page. Using this tag, we can define a customized error page.

Arguments

err_page_name

Customized error page to be displayed

acl

acl for which the page to be displayed

link

Link to be displayed on deny access

Example(s)
acl test1 urlpath_regex -i .index.html
http_access deny test1
deny_info https://www.google.co.in test1
On satisfying http_access, instead of the default error page, the site google will be loaded.
TAG NAME memory_pools

Description

This allows Squid to keep memory that it has allocated (but no longer needs), so that it will not need to reallocate
memory in the future

Build Option

Default

Usage

memory_pools on|off

Default

memory_pools on

Synopsis

Memory pools can improve performance to a small margin by allocating memory, but may need to be turned off if memory is at a premium on your system. This option defaults to on.

Arguments

on/off

Enable or disable memory pool feature
TAG NAME memory_pools_limit

Description

The amount of memory Squid will keep allocated, assuming the Keep memory for future use option is turned on

Build Option

Default

Usage

memory_pools_limit bytes

Default

none

Synopsis

Any non-zero value to this tag will instruct Squid not to keep more than that amount allocated, and if Squid requires more memory than that to fulfill a request, it will use your system's malloc library. Squid does not pre-allocate memory, so it is safe to set this reasonably high. If your Squid runs on a dedicated host, it is probably wisest to leave it to its default of unlimited. If it must share the system with other server processes (like Apache or Sendmail) then it might be appropriate to limit it somewhat.

Arguments

bytes

Memory pool limit size

Example(s)
memory_pools_limit 50 MB
TAG NAME via

Description

Enable/disable via header

Build Option

Default

Usage

via on|off

Default

via on

Synopsis
If set (default), Squid will include a Via header in requests and replies as required by RFC2616.

Arguments

on/off

Enable/disable via header
TAG NAME forwarded_for

Description

This option allows you to choose whether Squid will report the host name of the system that originally made the
request to the origin server

Build Option

Default

Usage

forwarded_for on|off

Default

forwarded_for on

Synopsis
If set, Squid will include your system's IP address or name in the HTTP requests it forwards. By default it looks like this: X-Forwarded-For: 192.1.2.3

If you disable this, it will appear as X-Forwarded-For: unknown

Arguments

on/off

Enable or disable forwarding
TAG NAME log_icp_queries

Description

Dictates whether Squid will log ICP requests

Build Option

Default

Usage

log_icp_queries on|off

Default

log_icp_queries on

Synopsis
When you fell if ICP loads are very high, you can disable it otherwise you can enable for logging ICP requests.

Arguments

on/off

Enable or disable logging ICP queries
TAG NAME icp_hit_stale

Description

Enable/disable to return ICP_HIT for stale cache objects

Build Option

Default

Usage

icp_hit_stale on|off

Default

icp_hit_stale off

Synopsis
If you want to return ICP_HIT for stale cache objects, set this option to 'on'. If you have sibling relationships with caches in other administrative domains, this should be 'off'. If you only have sibling relationships with caches under your control, then it is probably okay to set this to 'on'. If set to 'on', then your siblings should use the option "allow-miss" on their cache_peer lines for connecting to you.

Arguments

on/off

Enable or disable icp stale hit
TAG NAME minimum_direct_hops

Description

Define minimum number of direct hops after which it directs Squid to do direct fetches

Build Option

Default

Usage

minimum_direct_hops number

Default

minimum_direct_hops 4

Synopsis

When using ICMP pinging features of Squid to determine distance to peers and origin servers, this configures when Squid should prefer going direct over a peer. This parameter plays a role in deciding latency.

Arguments

number

Number of hops

Example(s)
minimum_direct_hops 10
TAG NAME minimum_direct_rtt

Description

Defines minimum rtt after which it directs Squid to do direct fetches

Build Option

Default

Usage

minimum_direct_rtt timeunits

Default

minimum_direct_rtt 400

Synopsis
If using the ICMP pinging stuff, do direct fetches for sites which are no more than this many rtt milliseconds away.

Arguments

timeunits

Round Trip Time

Example(s)
minimum_direct_rtt 200
TAG NAME cachemgr_passwd

Description

Specify passwords for cachemgr operations

Build Option

Default

Usage

cachemgr_passwd password action action ...

Default

none

Synopsis
By using this we can have secured administration over the Squid.

Actions:

5min, 60min, asndb, authenticator, cbdata, client_list, comm_incoming, config *, counters, delay, digest_stats, dns, events, filedescriptors, fqdncache, histograms, http_headers, info, io, ipcache, mem, menu, netdb, non_peers, objects, offline_toggle *, pconn, peer_select, redirector, refresh, server_list, shutdown *, store_digest, storedir, utilization, via_headers, vm_objects.

* Indicates actions which will not be performed without a valid password, others can be performed if not listed here.

To disable an action, set the password to "disable". To allow performing an action without a password, set the password to "none".

Use the keyword "all" to set the same password for all actions.

Arguments

password

Password for the action

action

Action as described above

Example(s)
cachemgr_passwd secret shutdown
TAG NAME store_avg_object_size

Description

Average object size, used to estimate number of objects your cache can hold.

Build Option

Default

Usage

store_avg_object_size size(Kbytes)

Default

store_avg_object_size 13 KB

Synopsis
To Estimate the number of objects your cache can hold: NUM_OBJ = cache_swap / store_avg_object_size where, cache_swap is the size of the cache.

Arguments

size

Size of the object

Example(s)
store_avg_object_size 100 KB
TAG NAME store_objects_per_bucket

Description

Defines the number of objects in each store hash table

Build Option

Default

Usage

store_objects_per_bucket number

Default

store_objects_per_bucket 20

Synopsis
Target number of objects per bucket in the store hash table. Lowering this value increases the total number of buckets and also the storage maintenance rate.

Arguments

number

Number of objects

Example(s)
store_objects_per_bucket 50
TAG NAME client_db

Description

Allows you to choose whether Squid will keep statistics regarding each individual client

Build Option

Default

Usage

client_db on|off

Default

client_db on

Synopsis
If you want to disable collecting per-client statistics, then turn off client_db here.

Arguments

on/off

Enable or disable collecting client statistics
TAG NAME netdb_low, netdb_high

Description

Defines low and high water marks for the ICMP measurement database

Build Option

Default

Usage

netdb_low number
netdb_high number

Default

netdb_low 900
netdb_high 1000

Synopsis

These measurements are counts and not percentage. The defaults are 900 and 1000. When the high water mark is reached, database entries will be deleted until the low mark is reached.

Arguments

number

Number of entries

Example(s)
netdb_low 500
netdb_high 800
TAG NAME netdb_ping_period

Description

Defines minimum period for measuring a site

Build Option

Default

Usage

netdb_ping_period timeunits

Default

netdb_ping_period 5 minutes

Synopsis
When this is defined, there will be at least this much delay between successive pings to the same network. The default is five minutes.

Arguments

timeunits

Time period between successive pings

Example(s)
netdb_ping_period 15 minutes
TAG NAME query_icmp

Description

Enabling this option, makes Squid to ask your peers to include ICMP data in their ICP replies

Build Option

--enable-icmp

Usage

query_icmp on|off

Default

query_icmp off

Synopsis

If your peer has configured Squid (during compilation) with '--enable-icmp' then that peer will send ICMP pings to origin serve