Better Together: ISA Server 2000 at the Main and Branch Offices
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Published: July 13, 2004
Providing branch office users secure access to main office resources has traditionally been considered a daunting task. Should the branch office use a VPN connection to connect to the main office? Can Internet access control for branch office users be enforced at the main office? This report explores how to join multiple branch offices to the main office network and to each other using mesh and site-to-site VPN networks, how you can speed up Web access for branch office networks using Web Proxy chaining, how to centralize access control for branch offices using Firewall chaining, and how to optimize branch office connections to Exchange Server resources at the main office without using a VPN connection.
ISA Server 2000 optimizes and simplifies secure connections between the branch and main office networks. You can bring ISA Server 2000 into the main and branch office networks and join the networks at a fraction of what the cost would be to use a dedicated WAN link. Multiple branch offices can be connected to the main office without requiring additional hardware or user or site licenses, and you can even join all branch office networks to each other using ISA Server 2000's simple and effective Local and Remote VPN Wizards. Even for those organizations that prefer not to use a site-to-site VPN link, branch office users can benefit from ISA Server 2000 at the main or branch office to achieve highly secure and accessible connections to Exchange Server resources on the main office network.