In order to use our available bandwith more efficiently, we installed mod_gzip as Apache module a while ago. The mod_gzip module allows certain HTTP traffic to be compressed at server-side and decompressed again at client-side, all on-the-fly.

I have been testing this feature for a while now and tests have always been inconclusive as to whether the traffic was actually getting compressed or not. Not all browsers support compression - or rather content-encoding - but even when using the same browser all the time it gave me erratic results. HTTP 1.1 support is required for content-encoding.

Until detailed tracing gave me some valuable hints. Most proxy servers block/do not pass HTTP 1.1. content-encoding in which case all pages get transferred uncompressed. However MSIE 4+ has the option to explicitly enable HTTP 1.1 compliant traffic over proxies.

So if you are using a proxy server to connect baanboard and you would like to see a speed increase in load times, then make sure you have the following options enabled:

Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > HTTP 1.1. settings > (see picture)

This should work with all version of MSIE 4+ and Opera.

If you want to test if mod_gzip is working for you in MSIE than you can check the forum home (http://www.baanboard.com) page size through the File > Properties menu. If the size is around 70K then it's uncompressed, if the page size is 7K then mod_gzip is saving bandwith for you :)

Try and let me know your experiences!

If you are using Mozilla 1.x, then check following configuration:

Edit > Preferences > Advanced > HTTP Networking > (see picture)

Works exactly as you describe. I am sitting here watching the properties on one pc showing a 6k size, and a 60k size on another one.
I tried both proxies that are available to me through the intranet and neither one supports the compression apparantly.

Pretty neat feature though :)

Francesco,

Unfortunately, the behaviour depends on the proxy used. At home, the proxy used by my cable ISP will work with the above HTTP 1.1 settings. At the office, it doesn't work. In both cases I use either MS IE 5.5 or Mozilla 1.0

Strange - after making the suggested change and restarting the browser the page loading appears (is) much quicker but I still get a 70k www.baanboard.com page ?

Hi Rupert,

That happens to me too sometimes. Try refreshing the page several times and check the size again. In any case, if you notice a considerable difference then I would not count 100% on what IE reports.