Microsoft Proxy Server 2 on Site with Cdrom
Authors: Kevin Schuler
Venue:  (1998)

From the Book: Introduction Introduction Everyone from large corporations to small offices and home offices (SOHOs) are rushing to connect their users to the Internet. Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 offers a secure, high-performance, reliable solution to this business and security challenge. The industry reviews are outstanding: Microsoft Proxy Server is the clear winner on the Windows NT platform. Proxy Server does much more than its name implies. New with Proxy Server 2.0 are industrial strength firewall features to protect your organizations private network. When configured appropriately, Proxy Server is a flexible, high performance product with powerful tools for administration and management. In fact, Microsoft Corporation itself uses Proxy Server to connect its thousands of employees to the Internet. This book will teach you how to properly implement Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 for your organization. While you will have peace of mind because your private network is safe and secure, your user community will enjoy a high-performance and reliable connection to the Internet. This books content is designed to help you realize Proxy Servers role as a secure, high-performance gateway between your private network and the public network of the Internet. Who Should Read This Book This book is for systems professionals, network administrators, and SOHO power users who want an in-depth understanding of Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0. Filled with procedures, decision trees, illustrations, and clear explanations of its background technology, this book will help you accelerate your understanding of Proxy Servers technical details. Just learning how Proxy Server works is not enough; youll also need to know how to assess Internet access needs and requirements of your user community. You will learn how to do this by bringing the persons who will be accessing the Internet into the planning process early on. Therefore, the Proxy Server is implemented more effectively, and the rollout is more likely to be viewed as a success. Try this process once, and you will appreciate how important it is and how well it works. How This Book Is Organized I organized this book into four major parts:  The Product  Understanding Your Internet And Security Needs  Planning And Installing  Administering The Server, Clients, And Security The organization of the book guides you through a truly effective implementation of Proxy Server. First, by understanding the products features and architecture you will be able to communicate the possibilities of the technology. Then, you learn how to map the Internet access and security needs of your organization to the capabilities of the product. Next, you learn how to plan and install Proxy Server 2.0. Finally, your Internet needs will change over time, so youll learn about administering the server, clients, and security. Additionally, in the appendixes, youll find great information about troubleshooting, TCP/IP, and additional resources to further your knowledge. The following is a brief tour of the book. Part I: The Product Part I explains the basics of Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 and why this product is such a significant technology. Internet access is more than important for todays organizationsit is crucial. Proxy Server has numerous features and benefits that make Internet access secure, convenient, and fast. Chapter 1 furnishes the basic, high-level understanding of Proxy Servers features that is critical to its proper implementation. Its also important to understand the architecture of the three major proxy services that comprise Microsoft Proxy Server: The Web Proxy service, WinSock Proxy service, and SOCKS Proxy service. Chapter 2 explains how each of these services plays a distinct and important role in Internet access for your organization. Understanding these lower-level details about Proxy Servers underpinnings will help you create the appropriate Proxy Server configuration for your organization. Part II: Understanding Your Internet And Security Needs Part II guides you through the initial parts of a successful Proxy Server Implementation Plan: needs assessment and security assessment. A well-functioning private network infrastructure has long been a critical factor in the attainment of business objectives. Now, Proxy Server allows you to expand the reach of your organizations private network to the worldwide public arena of the Internet. Chapter 3 illustrates how you use the needs of your business and user community to drive the implementation process. Security is a huge issue when connecting your private network to the public Internet. What are the threats to your network? How do you determine the security objectives of your organization and create security policies? Chapter 4 furnishes the clear instructions you need to perform a security assessment that will help you plan the network security for your organization. Also, Microsoft Proxy Server combines with and enhances the native Windows NT security. This chapter explains the critical parts of the Windows NT Security model as it relates to Proxy Server and offers a checklist to guide your configuration of Proxy Server security. Part III: Planning And Installing Part III guides you through the planning and hands-on implementation of Proxy Server. First, you learn how to plan the implementation. In Chapter 5, youll learn not only the hardware requirements for Proxy Server, but also the breadth of your Internet connectivity options. The strengths and weaknesses of modems, ISDN, T1 and T3 lines, and more are discussed. Additionally, in this chapter youll learn how to organize an effective Proxy Server rollout plan for your organization using the information you garnered from your needs and security assessments. Chapter 6 takes you systematically through a Proxy Server installation. As most of your planning was done up front, this process is swift and straightforward. Starting with configuring Windows NT through installing Proxy Server itself, youre taken completely through each option of the setup process. Configuring the cache, the Local Address Table (LAT), access control, and more are explained in this chapter. Part IV: Administering The Server, Clients, And Security Once set up, youll enjoy learning about Proxy Servers administrative features. The remaining chapters feature an in-depth examination of the procedures and options available for administering the server, clients, and even administering Proxy Server in multi-server environments. In Chapter 7, youll learn how to administer Proxy Server 2.0 from the command line or from menu-based utilities. Both methods and their options are discussed in detail. Youll also learn how to create custom HTML error messages, configure Auto Dial, configure the cache, and more. However, just learning how to administer the server is not enough, so in Chapter 8 youll learn how to administer Proxy Server clients. Youll master the details of the client configuration file, youll learn what actions the command entries perform, and youll learn when to make changes. In Chapter 9, youll also learn how to administer Proxy Server security. For example, using Proxy Server Access control allows you to be able to determine exactly which Internet services are available to the entire organization, members of specific groups, or individual users. In addition, youll learn how to use security enhancements normally found only in full-featured Internet firewall products. Youll be able to automatically filter packets, setup security alerts, and create logs. Finally, in Chapter 10 youll learn how to create Proxy Server Arrays, chains of Microsoft Proxy Servers, or a Microsoft Proxy Server chained with 3rd party CERN-based proxy servers or other firewall products. Youll even be able to configure Proxy Server to listen and respond on behalf of Web servers or other servers, such as Microsoft Exchange, that are located behind the Proxy Server. Appendixes The appendixes contain important, real-world information to make Proxy Server work for you. Appendix A contains valuable information about troubleshooting Proxy Server. Included with Proxy Server is a utility that helps you detect and diagnose common configuration problems. I explain troubleshooting by using this utility, along with the various logs that Proxy Server creates. Appendix B is a basic guide to TCP/IP. This appendix gives you detailed information about TCP/IP that you need to know to implement and administer Proxy Server. If youve ever wondered about the intricacies of TCP/IP addressing, UDP and TCP ports, and "well-known ports," youll find this appendix most helpful. Appendix C is a detailed listing of the Windows Sockets API calls supported by Proxy Server. Its a useful guide if you need to implement custom WinSock applications. Appendix D contains a wealth of information about Proxy Server third-party plug-ins, relevant URLs, and books to further your knowledge about Internet security. Contacting The Author I appreciate you buying this book. While writing it, I worked hard to make it useful and easy to read. What do you think? I really would like to hear from you. You can send your comments or suggestions to me at kevins@indepth-tech.com. Also, drop by www.indepth-tech.com for the latest information about Proxy Server and other projects of interest. Now, lets start unraveling the mysteries of Proxy Server 2.0.