Automatic detection settings

For ease of deployment, configure automatic detection settings to specify how Web browsers running on Firewall client computers on the network retrieve Web proxy settings. Automatic detection is supported using the following methods:

Automatic discovery. Configure Automatically detect settings to allow Web browsers on Firewall client computers to automatically discover the location of the server on which the dynamically generated configuration script for Firewall clients (Wspad.dat) is located.
Automatic detection. Configure Use automatic configuration script to specify that Web browsers on Firewall client computers should obtain settings from a configuration file in a specified location.

Automatic discovery using WPAD

When automatic discovery is enabled for Firewall clients, browsers use the Web Proxy Automatic Discovery (WPAD) protocol to obtain a WPAD entry from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Domain Name System (DNS) server. The information returned to the client contains the address of a WPAD server on which the Wspad.dat file is located. Firewall clients connect to the specified location, and retrieve the proxy settings specified in the file.

Automatic detection with a configuration script

Clients configured to use a configuration script connect to the location specified in the script to retrieve proxy settings. Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 provides a default configuration script at the location http://fqdn:8080/array.dll?Get.Routing.Script, where fqdn is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the ISA Server computer. The configuration script location can be specified in each browser or set for all clients using Group Policy. You can specify that Firewall clients should use only a configuration script, or configure it together with WPAD automatic discovery. If both settings are configured, the script location is used if WPAD detection fails.

Proxy configuration settings are applied when Firewall Client is installed on client computers. If you later change settings in ISA Server Management, ISA Server automatically updates settings each time the Firewall client computer is restarted, each time that Detect Now or Test Server is clicked in the Settings tab in the Microsoft Firewall Client for ISA Server dialog box on the client computer, and every six hours after the previous refresh. Settings are applied to all users on the Firewall client computer.

For more information about automatic detection, see Automatic Detection Concepts in ISA Server 2006 at the Microsoft ISA Server TechCenter Web site (http://www.microsoft.com).

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