Content caching

As its man page states, "AssetCache logs to the os_log(3) subsystem com.apple.AssetCache." Read the man pages for os_log and the log command. You can use log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.AssetCache"' to show past log messages and log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.AssetCache"' to monitor new ones.

You seem to be running AssetCacheManagerUtil status, not AssetCacheLocatorUtil. Run AssetCacheLocatorUtil on a Mac that is not using your content cache (not on the Mac where content caching is running), and examine the results. Posting the results here will let us help you.

John Galt wrote:

What do you think I could have done wrong?

From what you describe, absolutely nothing.

For what it's worth I haven't observed any obvious results either, and I am wondering if it even works yet. Did you investigate the Advanced Options in Sharing?

What is the AssetCache process doing in Activity Monitor? Anything?

FWIW, I had run the command line:

AssetCacheManagerUtil status

on the Mac I chose as "the server" and it show zero, zilch, nada,

nothing in terms of any activity whatsoever even though on multiple

Macs I downloaded apps as well as Apple updates?

The only thing that wasn't zero was cache allocated, oh, and the date.

It is totally useless!

Does your disk have at least a few GB of free space? Content caching doesn't do much on a nearly-full disk.

Also, what does AssetCacheLocatorUtil report? Complaining might feel good, but we can't help you without data.

Good, it finds a content cache. Is it the one you expect?

It does not find any configured public IP address ranges. That is normal if you have only one public IP address. Do you use more than one?

Is your public IP address "associated with your iTunes Store region," as specified in Content types that macOS Server caching and macOS caching support, or do any of the other exclusions listed there apply to you?

More Broccoli Please wrote:

......Run AssetCacheLocatorUtil on a Mac that is not using your content cache (not on the Mac where content caching is running), and examine the results. Posting the results here will let us help you.

here it is FWIW and BTW, haven't checked function after the supplemental update,

though it was not specifically addressed but at almost 1GB....:

2017-10-06 16:09:49.779 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] AssetCacheLocatorUtil version 71, framework version 71

2017-10-06 16:09:49.780 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Determining public IP address...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.502 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] This computer's public IP address is xxx.xx.xx.xx.

2017-10-06 16:09:50.502 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] --- Information for system services:

2017-10-06 16:09:50.502 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Checking whether there might be caching server(s) available...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.503 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There might be caching server(s) available.

2017-10-06 16:09:50.503 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting personal caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.504 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.504 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting personal caching and import...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.505 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.505 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting shared caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.505 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.505 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting personal caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.768 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.768 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting personal caching and import...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.769 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.769 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting shared caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] xxx.xxx.x.x:xxxx, rank 3, guid xxxxxx, valid until 2017-10-06 17:09:50; supports personal caching: yes, and import: yes, shared caching: yes

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Determining configured public IP address ranges...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] No public IP address ranges are configured.

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] --- Information for user 502 (results for other users may be different):

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Checking whether there might be caching server(s) available...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There might be caching server(s) available.

2017-10-06 16:09:50.770 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting personal caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.771 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.771 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting personal caching and import...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.771 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.771 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding saved servers supporting shared caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.771 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] There is no saved result. (This is not an error.)

2017-10-06 16:09:50.772 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting personal caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.970 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.970 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting personal caching and import...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.971 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.971 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Finding refreshed servers supporting shared caching...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.971 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Found 1 server

2017-10-06 16:09:50.971 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] xxx.xxx.x.x:xxxxx, rank 3, guid xxxxx..., valid until 2017-10-06 17:09:50; supports personal caching: yes, and import: yes, shared caching: yes

2017-10-06 16:09:50.971 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Determining configured public IP address ranges...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.972 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] No public IP address ranges are configured.

2017-10-06 16:09:50.972 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] Testing all found servers for reachability...

2017-10-06 16:09:50.992 AssetCacheLocatorUtil[1462:643150] This computer is able to reach all of the above caching servers.

More Broccoli Please wrote:

Good, it finds a content cache. Is it the one you expect?

It does not find any configured public IP address ranges. That is normal if you have only one public IP address. Do you use more than one?

Is your public IP address "associated with your iTunes Store region," as specified in Content types that macOS Server caching and macOS caching support, or do any of the other exclusions listed there apply to you?

Yes, No, and No.

Well, there is more to updates it seems that what Apple advertises.

It appears that after the update, Content Caching seems to be working.

I updated this morning but did not test until a moment ago. Thanks

for the log tips. Someone needs to wrap a GUI around this stuff

like Apple eliminated from Server. Mmmm.....

Anyway, I digress. went through my purchases to fin something I had

previously deleted from my Macs (replaced by a better non-app store version).

On the server, started log streaming per the command you gave (thanks again).

On Mac 1, downloaded the app from the Mac App Store. The log started

spewing a stream of stuff and sorting through it received a request cached it

and served it. On status it correctly showed additional cache used and that it stored

and served.

Then the acid test on Mac 2. Proceeded to do the same. Again log spewed, indicating

a request was received and based on the log was served from cache!!! The status function

also backed it up, not showing any additional stored from origin but showed the additional

returned to clients.

So it does seem that Apple slipped more into the Supplemental Update than stated

(pretty much had to with 1GB download size). This did not work at all previously.

So, so far so good, Will monitor closely (and maybe think about how much work it

would be to wrap something more user friendly around all this, like it used to be).

Run the command-line tool AssetCacheLocatorUtil on one of the Macs that isn't using your content cache. What does it report?

What do you think I could have done wrong?

From what you describe, absolutely nothing.

For what it's worth I haven't observed any obvious results either, and I am wondering if it even works yet. Did you investigate the Advanced Options in Sharing?

What is the AssetCache process doing in Activity Monitor? Anything?

The parents feature is for complex networks with multiple content caches. A child content cache downloads from its parent content cache(s) instead of directly from Apple. If you have only one content cache, or more than one but they're on the same subnet, you should not specify any parents.

Posting that long list of results would have been helpful. Did it report the content cache(s) you expect?

Read some articles About content caching - Apple Support

Prepare for changes to Content Caching in macOS High Sierra - Apple Support

Set up content caching - Apple Support

"those values again returned to zero"

This is just a side effect of the content cache relaunching, because those values are only since the last launch. Content caching relaunches every time the computer wakes up, for instance.

Well, I think I can pretty much say that the supplemental update

had the fix needed, at least for me.

Got a notice one of my apps were updated. On my "server", opened

up terminal and set to stream the caching log.

Updating the first Macs did as expected and downloaded over internet

and cached the file. Then up dated the 3 other Macs on my network,

and all 3 were served from cache.

So, for the time being all is well.

Content Caching is a joke and simply does not work!

I have 4 Macs, all associated with the same Apple ID on the

same network, all app and Apple update requests made from

the Mac App Store with the same Apple ID are completely and

totally ignored! No change in the amount of cache size, all Macs

continue to download directly from the app store.

Another useless or broken feature!