Microsoft Forefront: Integrated

Published: June 11, 2006
IntegratedWin a Windows Home Server


Typically, security products integrate poorly with each other and with one’s existing IT infrastructure. This lack of synergy in the current infrastructure makes it harder to control, potentially creating gaps and inefficiencies in the security of your network.

Microsoft Forefront integrates security capabilities across the product line, with Microsoft server applications, and with your existing IT infrastructure, so that you can achieve greater efficiency and control over the security of your network

Forefront Benefits

Forefront integrates with your existing Microsoft-based IT infrastructure, such as Active Directory, Group Policy, and Windows Server Update Services, reducing barriers to deployment and ensuring your security products work better together

ISA Server 2006 features built-in integration with Active Directory, enabling you to build custom access controls for different organizational roles and job levels based on Active Directory users and groups.

Forefront Client Security integrates with Active Directory and software distribution systems, enabling you to define and manage customized configurations policies that can be easily distributed, updated, and enforced across your organization.

Tight integration between Active Directory and ISA Server 2006, supplemented by support for RADIUS OTP, DHCP, and smartcards, enables a robust “single sign-on” solution based on existing IT infrastructure.

Forefront integrates with other Microsoft security products and Microsoft server applications, leveraging their capabilities for a more complete, in-depth solution

Microsoft Antigen anti-malware products are specially tuned to integrate with and protect specific application servers such as Exchange, SharePoint, and Instant Messaging from targeted threats.

Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 seamlessly integrates with specific Microsoft applications to provide sophisticated application-layer data inspection and content security for critical servers.

Forefront uses existing platform and management infrastructure, reducing the cost of training and management and freeing up time and resources used today to analyze and maintain disparate systems.

All Forefront products utilize a common foundation of SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting and Analysis Services to ensure a single repository for event storage and analysis, avoiding unnecessary and costly redundancies in the management and reporting infrastructure.

Forefront Server Security Management Console, Forefront Client Security Management Console, and Microsoft Antigen Enterprise Manager all integrate with standard management tools such as MOM, SMS, and WSUS, leveraging pre-existing solutions and processes while reducing deployment and training costs.

ISA Server Management Pack provides tight integration between ISA Server 2006 and Microsoft.

Forefront integration with third-party security solutions provides greater coverage of your network.

Microsoft is working with its ecosystem partners to build support for standards such as WS-Management that will enable a high degree of interoperability for standards-compliant products.

ISA Server 2006 supports RADIUS OTP, LDAP and Kerberos though Active Directory, and third-party smartcard products such as SecurID, enabling single sign-on solutions.

ISA Server 2006 supports VPN and networking standards such as IPSec, enabling secure and heterogeneous connectivity to standards-compliant products.


Top of pageTop of page