Appendix: ISA Server 2000 Fast Track

This Appendix will provide you with a quick, yet comprehensive, review of the most important concepts covered in this book.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Microsoft ISA Server

Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) provides two very different sets of functionality. Consequently, some organizations use ISA primarily for its security function. For others, speeding up Web access via the acceleration function could be more important. Of course, many organizations benefit from both features.
Proxy servers have been around for quite a while. Despite its new, somewhat esoteric name, ISA Server is a proxy server, albeit a very full-featured one.
Proxy servers stand in between the computers on a LAN and those on the public network outside.
ISA Server performs the functions of a full-featured dedicated firewall.
The advantage of Microsoft s ISA Server is that it combines these components proxy, NAT, and firewall into one package. This makes it easier to deploy and administer than separate software programs and/or hardware devices.
ISA is not only an Internet security server; it is also an Internet acceleration server. This means faster access to frequently viewed Web sites and less internetwork traffic.
Because Web caching reduces Internet traffic, it can also reduce your bandwidth cost.
H.323 is a standard of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which was approved in 1996 (version 2 was approved in 1998) to provide a foundation for audio, video, and data communications across IP-based networks such as the global Internet.
The ISA Server Standard Edition is appropriate for small business...