In one embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus for caching data in a network, with the apparatus including a proxy cache configured to receive request for an object from a client and to fetch data blocks from a server. The proxy cache may be configured to cache the data blocks in a hierarchical relationship within the object. The object may be, for example, a data file or a directory. The data blocks that are cached in the proxy cache define an active data set which is based upon a request from a client.