News
Microsoft Offers Web Caching with ISA 2000
- By Scott Bekker
- 09/26/2000
Microsoft
Corp.’s Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 addresses two of
Microsoft’s primary platform foci – network infrastructure and Web
infrastructure. ISA 2000 covers security and performance in a single product.
ISA is an
update of Microsoft Proxy Server, but since it has more diverse and,
presumably, more robust functionality, in many ways it is a first generation
product.
The outer
reaches of an enterprise network have begun to see applications designed to
give outside users only the information they want to see. Caches serve up
information closer to the user than traditional servers, while firewalls and
network address translation keep malicious users from learning too much about
the networks.
ISA
performs cache management duties, moving content from the Web servers out to
dedicated cache servers. Microsoft calls the caching technique “secure Web
publishing,” since it reduces the need for users to access servers within the
firewall. But Microsoft has thrown in additional security features as well.
Like its
predecessor, ISA has proxy server and firewall features, obscuring the guts of
the network to outside users. It offers NAT to hide the IP address of users and
servers.
ISA was
unveiled in June at Microsoft TechEd in Orlando, Florida. A release candidate
has been available to testers as a download on Microsoft’s Web site. – Christopher McConnell
Read
ENT’s review of ISA 2000 (Sept. 20 issue)
Microsoft
Adds Firewall and Caching product to Windows DNA (June 28 issue)
For
Microsoft’s overview of ISA 2000, see www.microsoft.com/isaserver.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.