“…There are two main scenarios for the interoperability of Forefront TMG and BranchCache: Forefront TMG and BranchCache are deployed on the same host. For a description of this scenario, see Forefront TMG and BranchCache Hosted Cache deployed on the same host. Forefront TMG or ISA 2006 are used as the network gateway to the corporate network, and .. more »

With the RTM of Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG), David Cross tells us about what's new and gives some real-world examples of how Microsoft IT has benefited from TMG over ISA 2006.  He also discusses the following: Why TMG only utilizes Microsoft signatures with the GAPA / NIS capab. more..... more »

When you see demonstrations of DirectAccess, the bulk of the presentation always seems to be related to how cool and convenient it is for the users to connect to corporate network resources. Indeed, it is cool! The user doesn’t even need to log on to connect to the corpnet – all he has to do is start the computer. more..... more »

What a coincidence! Someone asked on the Web boards the other day about how to enable password changes on the Web boards. I thought this was an interesting question and put it on my list to find out how to do this. more..... more »

Now it’s official. Well, it was actually official as of yesterday. TMG 2010 has gone RTM and you should be able to buy it in about a month. Check out the TMG Firewall Team Blog for details on the release  -- I’ll have a lot more to say in a little bit after I get a chance to install the RTM and see what we got. http:.. more »

While there are rumors out there that TMG may have gone RTM recently, I haven’t been able to confirm those rumors, so until I hear otherwise, the RC is that way to go with TMG right now. No problems with that, since you’ll be able to upgrade your RC version to RTM when it becomes available. However, while you’re working with TMG RC, there are some t.. more »

I was writing a bit about the TMG email protection role last week and mentioned that the Exchange installation process wasn’t as integrated as it could have been. However, that’s not to say that it’s particularly difficult to get it set up. It was just more convenient when all the bits were included with the installer. However, some of the bits a.. more »

For years I said that you don’t need to install a host-based AV on the ISA or TMG firewall. The putative reason for this was that if you managed the firewall as you should, there is no reason why AV needs to be installed on the firewall. The thinking was that if you don’t need to install AV on a “hardware” firewall, there’s no reason to install it.. more »

TMG is now RTM and available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e05aecbc-d0eb-4e0f-a5db-8f236995bccd No sightings on MSDN yet. more..... more »

Stephen Elop, President of the Microsoft Business Division, joins the Tech Ed community for a discussion of the IT and generational changes impacting business and how organizations and individuals can achieve a new efficiency through IT-driven improvements in productivity, innovation and cost management. This presentation includes the worldwide .. more »

Meir Mendelovich, UAG Program Manager, at TechEd EMEA 09 tells us about some of the capabilities of UAG and then demos Direct Access and walks through the UAG Direct Access configuration via a screencast. Check it out at: http://edge.technet.com/Media/UAG-Demo-Screencast-and-PM-Interview/Default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0 HTH, Tom Thomas W Shinder, M.D., .. more »

A while ago I did a blog post on an easy way to redirect users who forget to put /exchange at the end of the path when connecting to OWA. Its a method that I’ve used in the past without any particular problems and I continue to use it. You can find that blog post over at Exchange in the Path However, Yuri Diogenes came up with a case recently wh.. more »

During the beta process, the TMG firewall installer included all the components you needed to make the email protection feature works. It was a very elegant solution and I was greatly impressed! It was a complete solution and didn’t require any special knowledge about Exchange and Exchange Server roles – just what the doctor ordered! Not only that.. more »

Ah yes – I remember the good old days of ISA 2004 firewalls when we had the SMTP Message Screener. Do you remember the SMTP Message Screener? Is was a component of the ISA 2004 firewall that allowed you to do some basic controls over email coming into your organization. You could control by keywords, from and to addresses, and a couple of other th.. more »

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft%C2%AE-Forefront-Management-Administrators-Administrators/dp/0735626383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257950650&sr=8-1 HTH, Tom Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSESr. Consultant / Technical Writer Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security SpecialistEmail: .. more »

What’s up with MDSE and performance? What’s up is that MSDE is the default logging file format for ISA firewalls. OK, it’s not so much of an issue for TMG firewall admins – but you can’t TMG yet so you’re likely and ISA firewall admin, and will likely be for awhile before TMG has a chance to get ramped up in your organization. That means you sh.. more »

Jason Jones is at TechEd Berlin now! Head on over to the Technical Learning Center and go to the Forefront area. Jason is a real ISA/TMG/IAG/UAG pro – so don’t hesitate to ask him the hard questions :) HTH, Tom Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSESr. Consultant / Technical Writer Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com PROWESS CONSULTING | Micr.. more »

Management is the holy grail for IT. A well managed network reduces overhead and give you time to do things that will help your company make more money, instead of wasting your time handling things in reactive mode. A far better way to approach things is to be proactive – and that’s what management is all about. That’s why it’s such great news to .. more »

What’s new with the Firewall client? First, it’s got a new name – the Threat Management Gateway client or TMG client. Second – it’s not the Firewall client you used to know. more..... more »

TMG firewalls introduce a new concept for creating Access Rules – called Web Access Policy. The thing about Web Access Policy rules is that they only handle HTTP and HTTPS connections. In addition to that, they are grouped, with the idea that if you group the HTTP/HTTPS rules it will be easier for you to figure out what’s going on. more..... more »