Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server) is Microsoft's application-layer firewall, VPN gateway, web proxy, and cache-acceleration product. This is the firewall Microsoft uses to defend its own corporate networks and is often purchased as a pre-built appliance from Hewlett-Packard and other vendors.
Unlike its earlier versions, ISA Server 2004/2006 is now a fully-configurable EAL4+ firewall with integrated support for NAT across arbitrary physical or VPN interfaces, site-to-site IPSec VPNs with OSPF or RIPv2 route table management, RADIUS or Active Directory authentication, custom UUID-defined RPC protocols, HTTP and SMTP application-layer filtering, per-user rules for authenticated firewall traversal via WinSock, support for third-party extensions to do virus scanning and content filtering, HTTP/FTP transparent cache acceleration, forms-based authentication for Outlook Web Access, and many other capabilities that are often surprising eye-openers to those who've never seen the product before. On the other hand, this all makes the product more complex to configure correctly-- hence, this course.
In this tools-oriented course you will see how to install and configure ISA Server 2004/2006 as a firewall and caching proxy server. You'll see live on-screen demonstrations during the seminar and your courseware will contain numerous screenshots with step-by-step instructions so you can follow along. You are encouraged to install the trial version of ISA Server 2006 Standard Edition in a virtual machine on your laptop (a free download from Microsoft) but this is not required for attendance. You will also receive a CD-ROM with numerous scripts written by the instructor for managing ISA Server and Windows security. And if you are interested in how to use ISA Server for your VPN gateways, please see SANS course number 505.4: "Windows IPSec, VPNs and Wireless".
Microsoft Exchange Server administrators will be interested in the sections on RPC-Over-HTTPS, Outlook Web Access (OWA), and the RPC Filter for MAPI over the Internet. IIS and SharePoint administrators will especially like the sections on SSL bridging, hyperlink translation, and HTTP application-layer filtering. And, if you do consulting for Microsoft Small Business Server Premium Edition, the latest service pack for SBS now includes ISA Server 2004 for free!
Are you attending the Windows Track (505) or the Firewall Track (502) at the conference? Then this course would be a great addition to that training. Studying for the 70-350 exam for your MCSE:Security specialization? This course will help you prepare for it. Looking for an independent and objective assessment of what's good, bad and ugly in ISA Server 2004/2006, and you just can't trust the vendors or newsgroups to give you the full story? Then this course is for you!