This section provides an overview of WCCP. WCCP Version 1 was originally implemented on Cisco routers, multilayer switches, and Web caches to redirect HTTP requests to local Web caches.

WCCP Version 2, which SteelHeads support, can redirect any type of connection from multiple routers to multiple WCCP clients (also referred to as caches or engines). SteelHeads deployed with WCCP can interoperate with remote SteelHeads deployed in any way, such as WCCP, PBR, in-path, and out-of-path.

WCCP requires either a Cisco router or a Cisco switch.

The most important factors in a successful WCCP implementation are the Cisco hardware platform and the IOS revision you use. There are many possible combinations of Cisco hardware and IOS revisions, and each combination has different capabilities.

Cisco platforms and IOS do not support all assignment methods, redirection methods, use of ACLs to control traffic, and interface interception directions. You can expect the Cisco minimum recommended IOS to change as WCCP becomes more widely used and new IOS technical issues are discovered.

Cisco recommends the following minimum IOS releases for specific hardware platforms.

Regardless of how you configure a SteelHead, if the Cisco IOS version on the router or switch is below the current Cisco minimum recommendations, it might be impossible to have a functioning WCCP implementation or the implementation might not have optimal performance.