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Summary
ISA Server 2004 is loaded with features. This chapter discussed the completely revamped graphical user interface, which is one of the most obvious changes that has been made to the ISA Server software. With ISA Server 2004, Microsoft has taken another big step away from Proxy Server and into the arena of serious firewall products. Although it is built on the shoulders of ISA Server 2000, ISA Server 2004 is, in many ways, a completely new product rather than a version upgrade. The emphasis is, more than ever, on security.
ISA Server 2004 still retains many of the same features that were available in ISA Server 2000, but most of them have been improved or enhanced. From more functional wizards to greater configuration flexibility to entirely new ways to perform old familiar firewall administration tasks, ISA Server has seen a lot of changes.
Microsoft has also added some brand new features to ISA Server 2004. The most extensive and perhaps the most welcome new feature is multi-networking support, which extends ISA Server 2004's ability to function as the firewall of choice in large, complex networking environments. New Application Layer Filtering (ALF) features give ISA Server 2004 even more of an edge when it comes to such functions as front-line defense against spam, and VPN quarantine control gives administrators a powerful way to ensure that remote VPN clients must meet the same standards in regard to security configurations as do the clients on the Internal network.
In this chapter, we did not attempt to cover every single feature that has been improved or added to ISA Server. We did attempt to give you a good idea of some of the differences between ISA Server 2004 and its predecessor. This chapter didn't go into details on how to use all of these new and improved features, but we introduced you to many of them and will provide step-by-step instructions for their use in later chapters of the book.
We also took a moment to mourn a few dearly departed friends: features we had grown to love (or in some cases, not love) in ISA Server 2000 that didn't make it into ISA Server 2004. Overall, we think ISA Server 2004's feature set is a solid one, and we find it much easier to set up and administer. The extent of our faith in ISA Server 2004 can be illustrated by the fact that we currently have multiple ISA Server 2004 machines protecting our own network. Feature-for-feature, we believe ISA Server is one of the best firewall/caching solutions available for the money. In the next chapter, we'll compare it to some of its competitors and show you why we think it stacks up.
