A birth–death model for Web cache systems: Numerical solutions and simulation

In this paper, we study Web cache hit rates by introducing a birth–death model. A system consisting of a single Web server with a single cache stores Web pages that are classified as hot pages (popular pages) and cold pages (less popular pages). Given requested probabilities for each class, the stochastic model provides the mean hit rate for a random replacement algorithm and the upper and low bounds for other algorithms. Numerical results from the analysis are validated using the output of simulation programs that utilize the LRU algorithm.