Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
Internet connectivity offers many benefits to education, but also presents many challenges to institutions. Bandwidth needs to be managed, external security threats must be dealt with, and access to appropriate and sensitive content must be assured in both directions. These issues are at the heart of ensuring a duty of care to students, and giving adequate support to teaching staff. Microsoft® Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 is an advanced, stateful packet and application-layer inspection firewall, virtual private network (VPN), and Web cache solution.
A key component of the Learning Gateway framework, ISA Server 2004 helps maximise ICT investment in education by improving network security and performance. It supports fine-tuned access control over incoming and outgoing data through virtually all Internet protocols, and high-performance caching and secure offsite access. This integrated approach helps administrators consolidate firewall and Web proxy components into a single, centrally-managed hardware and software solution. Capital-intensive investments are protected, while providing staff and students with safe, convenient Internet access.
Five Reasons to Deploy ISA Server 2004
| • | Deliver fast, secure remote access to campus e-mail and educational resources. |
| • | Safeguard network resources, users, and sensitive internal data from malicious traffic. |
| • | Accelerate access to frequently used Web sites with advanced caching. |
| • | Protect learners from unsuitable Web content and improve productivity using site blocking as well as content filtering. |
| • | Stateful packet filtering and application-layer traffic shaping help you get the most from your bandwidth. |
Benefits for Stakeholders
Institutions
Compliance with legal requirements is of vital importance in education. An institution’s responsibilities include student security, information contained within an institution’s network, and its users’ actions. ISA Server prevents unauthorised Internet traffic, to ensure access by the right people to the resources they need, and prevent the transfer of inappropriate material.
Detailed logging and reporting functions offer comprehensive analysis of network usage to meet record-keeping guidelines, and improve administration decisions. Ease-of-use is ensured with templates, wizards, and a range of management tools. Finally, the combined-server solution, seamless integration with other Microsoft products, and compatibility with existing firewall and VPN configurations means deployment and upkeep is a fast, simple process.
Students, Parents and Teachers
ISA Server 2004 ensures secure access to e-mail and teaching resources from any Internet-enabled appliance, including computers, PDAs, and mobile devices. The intelligent Web-caching means less waiting around for Web sites to load. Web filtering means parents can rest assured that their children are shielded from inappropriate Web content, and teachers can be confident students are making the most of their ICT time. Packet-shaping means users of the network cannot take more than their fair share of available Internet bandwidth, resulting in more consistent performance for all.
System requirements
More information and FAQs
Microsoft Internet Security & Acceleration home page
