
Web Publishing and Server Publishing
You can use publishing to make content available to groups of users or to all users, typically from an Internal network or perimeter network (also known as a DMZ, demilitarized zone, or screened subnet) server. Choose Web publishing or server publishing based on what content you are publishing. Web publishing rules are configured to make HTTP and HTTPS content available on Web servers, such as servers running Internet Information Services (IIS). Server publishing rules are configured to make content available using other protocols. Server publishing publishes an entire server through a protocol, and enables you to restrict access to specific computers or networks. You cannot publish HTTP content using server publishing rules.
Web publishing provides you detailed control over access to content. Web publishing rules are rich in features, including the following:
- Mapping requests to specific internal paths. You can limit the portions of your servers that can be accessed.
- Restricting access to specific users, computers, or networks. You can restrict access, to further improve security.
- Requiring user authentication. User authentication can be passed through to the Web server, eliminating the need to reauthenticate at the Web server.
- Providing link translation. You can handle links to internal servers.
- Providing SSL bridging. You can encrypt traffic between the ISA Server computer and the Web server.
Web Listeners
By default, all incoming Web requests must be received by a Web listener. A Web listener may be used in multiple Web publishing rules.
When you configure a Web listener, you are specifying:
-
The network corresponding to the network adapter on the ISA Server computer that will listen for incoming Web requests. The Web listener can listen on all the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses associated with a network or on specific IP addresses.
-
The port number that will listen for incoming Web requests on the selected network IP addresses.
-
Client authentication methods (optional).
Selecting Web listener networks (IP addresses)
The Web listener network, or networks, that you select depend on the networks from which clients will connect to the published Web server. For example, if the website you are publishing allows client requests from the Internet (External network), you should select the External network for the Web listener. By selecting the External network, you are selecting the IP addresses on the ISA Server computer that are associated with the External network adapter. If you do not limit the IP addresses, all the IP addresses associated with the selected network adapter will be included in the listener configuration.
Specifying the listener port
By default, ISA Server listens on port 80 for HTTP requests. However, if connecting clients are expected to use a different port, you should change the port number accordingly. You can also enable the Web listener to listen for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) requests (the default is port 443). If you choose SSL, an appropriate certificate must first be installed on the ISA Server computer. You must select a server certificate to be used by the Web listener, so that the ISA Server computer can authenticate itself to the client.
Defining client authentication methods
After defining a Web listener, you can edit the Web listener properties to define authentication methods for Web requests.
Note: |
|---|
|
You can configure Integrated Windows authentication on the ISA Server computer or on the Web server, but not both. If you choose to authenticate only on the Web server, ISA Server uses pass-through authentication (Kerberos cannot be used.) For more information see KB article 886996.
|
Original Host Headers
By default, ISA Server substitutes a host header that it uses to refer to the internal Web server, rather than sending the original host header that ISA Server received. Select Forward the original host header instead of the actual one on the Define Website to Publish page of the New Web Publishing Rule Wizard if your website has specific features that require the original host header.
Rule Elements
An ISA Server rule element is an object that you can use to refine ISA Server rules. For example, a subnet rule element represents a subnet within a network. You can create a rule that applies only to a subnet, or a rule that applies to a whole network exclusive of the subnet.
Another example of a rule element is a user set, representing a group of users. By creating a user set and making use of it in an ISA Server rule, you can create a rule that applies only to that set of users.
You can see the rule elements that are available to you by expanding the ISA Server computer node, clicking Firewall Policy, and selecting the Toolbox tab in the task pane. There are five types of rule elements:
- Protocols. This rule element type contains protocols that you can use to limit the applicability of access rules. For example, you can allow or deny access on one or more protocols, rather than on all protocols.
- Users. In this rule element type, you can create a user set to which a rule will be explicitly applied, or which can be excluded from a rule.
- Content types. This rule element type provides common content types to which you may want to apply a rule.
- Schedules. In this rule element type, you can designate hours of the week during which the rule applies.
- Network objects. In this rule element type, you can create sets of computers to which a rule will apply, or which will be excluded from a rule.
You may want to use rule elements in your Web publishing rules, to make the rules more specific. Creation of rule elements is described in Appendix B: Creating Rule Elements in this document.