Summary

ISA Server 2004 was written to perform well without regular fine-tuning. Indeed, these capabilities are almost too good, as many ISA servers subsequently become neglected in favor of other "squeaky wheels" in an IT organization. For the best reliability and security of an ISA environment, however, it is important to follow best practice maintenance guidelines to ensure that ISA continues to provide for the best performance.

Maintaining a checklist of ISA maintenance daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly procedures, and integrating these tasks into an overarching maintenance plan for an IT environment, can go a long way to achieving the goal of a well run and well behaved environment.