>I was responding to the phrase: "ANY caching ..."
>
>MS seems to be referring to "buffers" as "cache" ("an intermediate storage mechanism"), and the process of "caching" as "buffering". At the same time, MS is very specific about when it is actually talking about "onboard" or "drive" (ie. "HD controller") caches.
>
>It is obvious to me that I am able to write "through the cache" on the server (as MS puts it) from a client machine using FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH (just like SQL Server does).

No, not quite. SQL Server completely by-passes the API and deals with the BIOS. While it does require Windows NT, the file I/O portion isn't used.