TABLE OF CONTENTS With the growing emphasis on security and firewall capabilities, it s easy to forget that ISA Server 2004 provides a second important function: performance acceleration for your network s internal and external Web users. This is done via the caching feature, and it s a feature that most of ISA Server s top competitors in the firewall market don t include with their products.
The Web is a vital part of many of today s businesses. Members of your organization may access Web sites on the Internet every day, to gather information about particular subjects, conduct research on people and things, stay on top of the news affecting your industry, and so forth. At the same time, your own Web site(s) may be one of your best vehicles for advertising and promoting your business and providing information to partners and clients.
Within most Internet-connected organizations, the amount of Web traffic has been growing consistently. Users often visit the same Web sites on a regular basis, or multiple users within the organization visit the same sites and view the same pages. In addition, overall network and Internet traffic is steadily increasing, often to the point of near saturation of available Internet bandwidth. Caching can be the solution.
It can be costly to add additional Internet bandwidth. Some ISPs charge T-1 and T-3 users on a usage basis, so reducing bandwidth usage can result in real savings to the bottom line. Even if your organization buys bandwidth on an unlimited plan, reducing usage can...
