Chapter11.Understanding Client Deployment Scenarios with ISA Server 2004

Chapter 11. Understanding Client Deployment Scenarios with ISA Server 2004

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Outlining Client Access with ISA Server 2004

• Preparing an ISA Environment for the Firewall Client

• Installing the ISA Firewall Client

• Working with the ISA Firewall Client

• Summary

• Best Practices

There is much confusion about the concept of ISA clients. For many administrators, the concept of a client often conjures up images of software components that constantly need updating, overwriting operating system files, and clients requiring constant maintenance. In addition, confusion around whether a client software piece is required for ISA Server has led many organizations to shy away from deploying ISA Server.

The truth is that ISA Server itself supports three unique types of clients (excluding the VPN client), two of which do not require any software components to be installed. The fact that, by default, an ISA Server does not require any client software or client licensing plays very well in ISA Server's favor: The impact and risk of installing ISA Server into an environment is low.

Of course, the fact that ISA does not require the full Client does not mean that it is not useful in certain cases. It allows for a much greater level of control and security over an environment. The powerful ISA Client allows for user-level authentication and access control as well as complex protocol support and other advanced features.

This chapter provides an outline of the three types of ISA clients: the SecureNAT client, the Web Proxy client, and the full ISA Client. A fourth type of client, the VPN client, is briefly described. Deployment scenarios covering ISA clients are outlined and illustrated. In addition, step-by-step installation and configuration information for the ISA Software client are described.