As the use of the Internet continues to expand, so do the security and performance challenges. Organizations need to control the flow of information from the Internet to internal networks and resources and back again. They also need to deal with the increasing bandwidth consumption that impacts client response time and network resources.

Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2000 provides powerful security and network acceleration. It is an extensible enterprise firewall and Web cache server featuring the best integration with the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system for policy-based security, acceleration, and management of internetworking.

Benefits

• Unified Management of Network Security and Acceleration Services... Microsoft ISA Server delivers secure, fast, manageable Internet connectivity. By combining enterprise firewall and high-performance Web cache functions, ISA Server provides a common management infrastructure that reduces network complexity and costs. Whether opting to deploy as an integrated system or as a separate firewall and cache, organizations get the power and flexibility they want. Flexible management tools offer multi-level policy for users, applications, destinations, schedules, and content types. ISA Server is tightly integrated with Windows 2000 security, directory, virtual private networking (VPN), and bandwidth control with Quality of Service (QoS), simplifying management tasks.
• Smart Security... ISA Server includes an extensible, multi-layer enterprise firewall featuring dynamic packet filtering, SecureNAT for transparency, "smart" data-aware application filters, system hardening, and built-in intrusion detection.
• Smart Caching... The ISA Server high-performance cache accelerates Web access while saving network bandwidth, and with Windows 2000 Advanced Server, scales for efficient, dynamic load balancing. ISA Server studies data usage patterns and actively caches popular content.
• Customize and Extend... Microsoft ISA Server includes a comprehensive Software Development Kit (SDK) and application programming interfaces (APIs) for administration, application filters, Web filters, and cache control. A rich platform for extension and customization, ISA Server lets organizations extend their security and caching solution.

Features

• Multilevel firewall
  Maximize security with packet-level, circuit-level, and application-level traffic screening.
• High-performance Web cache
  Provide users with accelerated Web access and save network bandwidth.
• Stateful inspection
  Examine data crossing the firewall in the context of its protocol and the state of the connection.
• Virtual private networking
  Provide standards-based secure remote access with the integrated Virtual Private Networking services of Windows 2000.
• Detailed rules for managing traffic and enforcing policy
  Control network and Internet access by user, group, application, content type, schedule, and destination.
• Broad application support
  Integrate with major Internet applications using dozens of predefined protocols.
• Transparency for all clients
  Compatibility with clients and application servers on all platforms, with no client software required.
• Smart application filters
  Control application-specific traffic, such as e-mail and streaming media, with data-aware filters that block only certain types of content.
• Smart caching
  Ensure the freshest content for each user through proactive caching of popular objects, and pre-load the cache with entire Web sites on a defined schedule.
• Windows 2000 integration
  Manage ISA Server users, configuration, and rules with Windows 2000 Active Directory service. Authentication, management tools, and bandwidth control extend Windows 2000 technologies.
• Scalability
  Add servers to scale up your cache easily and efficiently with dynamic load balancing and the Cache Array Routing Protocol (CARP). Maximize network availability and efficient bandwidth use with distributed and hierarchical caching.
• Rich administration tools
  Take advantage of powerful remote management capability, detailed logging, customizable alerts, and graphical task pads to simplify security and cache management.
• Distributed and hierarchical caching
  Maximize availability and save bandwidth for efficient network utilization, with multiple and backup routes.
• Integrated bandwidth control
  Prioritize bandwidth allocation by group, application, site, or content type.
• Secure publishing
  Protect Web servers and e-commerce applications from external attacks.
• Efficient content distribution
  Distribute and cache Web sites and e-commerce applications, bringing Web content closer to users, improving response times and cutting bandwidth costs.
• Integrated intrusion detection
  Identify common denial-of-service attacks such as port scanning, "WinNuke," and "Ping of Death."
• Built-in reporting
  Run scheduled standard reports on Web usage, application usage, network traffic patterns, and security.
• Dynamic packet filtering
  Reduce the risk of external attacks by opening ports only when needed.
• System hardening
  Secure the operating system with multiple levels of lockdown.
• Streaming media support
  Save bandwidth by splitting live media streams on the firewall.