ISA Server 2006 Enterprise Edition components are described in the following table.

Component Description

Configuration Storage server

The Configuration Storage server stores the configuration information for all of the arrays in the enterprise. The Configuration Storage server uses Active Directory® Application Mode (ADAM) for storage. When you install the Configuration Storage server, you also automatically install ADAM on the computer. When you configure arrays in the enterprise, you are changing the information in the Configuration Storage server. ISA Server 2006 Enterprise Edition computers access the Configuration Storage server to check whether there is any configuration change, and update their local storage (registry based) to reflect the recent changes in the enterprise.

There can be multiple Configuration Storage servers in the enterprise, each holding an exact replica of the enterprise configuration.

Each array points to a specific Configuration Storage server from which it gets the updated configuration. You can also specify an alternate Configuration Storage server, which is used if the first Configuration Storage server fails.

ISA Server services

This is the computer that runs the firewall, virtual private network (VPN), and caching functions of ISA Server. The computer running ISA Server services is connected to a Configuration Storage server, which stores the configuration information. Each ISA Server Enterprise Edition computer will be a member of an array.

Array

An array represents one or more ISA Server 2006 Enterprise Edition computers running ISA Server services that are physically connected and share the same configuration.

ISA Server Management

ISA Server Management is the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in through which the administrator manages the enterprise. Using ISA Server Management, the administrator connects to a specific Configuration Storage server to manage the enterprise.

Note:
All of these components can be installed on one computer. The Configuration Storage server stores the configuration information for multiple arrays. Each array member is required to communicate with the Configuration Storage server, to check if any changes have been made since the last check. Also, the Configuration Storage server needs to be available to install an array member. This is because each array member and ISA Server Management retrieve configuration information from a Configuration Storage server. Due to the importance of the Configuration Storage server to an ISA Server 2006 Enterprise Edition deployment, we recommend that the Configuration Storage server and array members be installed on separate servers in production.If ISA Server services cannot communicate with the Configuration Storage server, the ISA Server 2006 computer will continue to provide firewall, VPN, and proxy services based on the last known configuration it received from the Configuration Storage server. However, you will not be able to monitor or change its configuration until the Configuration Storage server is restored.