Abstract: The invention is directed to an edge server and caching system. The edge server may have a cache, cache listing, profile data, multimedia server, and internet information server. A viewer may request a file with a specific version. The edge server may determine if the file is stored locally. If the file is not stored locally, the edge server may simultaneously cache and stream the media. If the file is available, the media may be streamed from the cache. The cache may be managed with a cache listing. The cache listing may be ordered by time of last use and may have profile data. Storage capacity may be managed by deleting the last file in the list. The profile data may be used to manage and distribute streaming media.

Abstract: The invention is directed to a network for distributing streaming media presentations. The streaming media presentations may take various forms including Windows Media™, among others. The network comprises an intranet having a management server and one or more edge servers. Content creators upload streaming media files and presentations to the management server. The management server then distributes the streaming media files to the edge servers from which the files may be broadcast to multiple viewers. The creation tool may also use a Web-based interface to configure the management server and manage edge servers. A viewer may request the media from the management server and be redirected to an edge server for retrieval of the streaming media. The edge server, if it has not cached the streaming media, may acquire the streaming media from the management server and simultaneously distribute the stream and cache the file.