In this article we discuss monitoring ISA server with Monitis using a custom monitor that you can add to the Monitis dashboard. Microsoft provides the ISA Server Performance Monitor tool to analyze ISA Server performance. The ISA Server Performance Monitor is installed when you install ISA Server, but if you are already monitoring a number of servers in your environment the Monitis dashboards offers an integrated solution to monitor ISA server together with your other monitored systems.

This is the third article in our series “Protecting Your Network”. We previously discussed common firewall best practices and compared some of the most popular products to manage your network security. In this article we’ll focus on best practices specifically to Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server.

In our previous article “Firewall Best Practices” we discussed some basic firewall information and best practices for managing your network security. In this article we’ll discuss the network firewall products that we mentioned in somewhat more details and explain of the differences between each of them and how they allow you to secure your network.

But first let’s talk about some of the main terminology common to firewall products to get a better understanding of differences between these products.

This article is the first of a series in which we discuss protecting your network using  network monitoring and firewall management. In the other articles in this series we’ll discuss:

- Popular Firewall Products
- ISA Server Best Practices & Performance Monitoring
- Monitoring ISA Server with Monitis

While the last two articles focus on Microsoft ISA Server specifically, in this article we’ll talk about some common best practices for managing network security and setting up and managing your network firewall.