During installation, you can select to deploy Forefront TMG Enterprise in a domain environment, or in a workgroup environment. This topic is designed to help you select your deployment environment, based on the following considerations:
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These considerations are also relevant for computers where Forefront TMG Standard is installed that are joined to an Enterprise Management Server (EMS). |
General considerations
You should consider the following when selecting a domain or workgroup deployment:
- Enterprise deployments and array deployments
in a workgroup environment require additional preparation steps
that aren’t required in a domain environment, and require
maintaining mirrored accounts on Forefront TMG computers for
management purposes.
- EMS replication is not supported in a
workgroup environment.
- Automatic Web proxy detection is not
supported in a workgroup environment. For information, see Planning automatic Web
proxy detection.
- In a workgroup environment, a server
certificate must be installed on the Forefront TMG computer. For
more information, see Planning for server
certificates.
- You can configure VPN client user mapping to
map users of operating systems other than Microsoft Windows to
domain user accounts. User mapping is only supported when Forefront
TMG is installed in a domain.
- In a domain, you can lock down the Forefront
TMG server using Group Policy, rather than by configuring just a
local policy.
- In a domain environment, if Active Directory
Domain Services (AD DS) is compromised for example by an internal
attack, the firewall could also be compromised because a user with
Domain Administrator rights can administer every domain member,
including the server running Forefront TMG. Similarly, if the
firewall is compromised, the domain in which Forefront TMG is
located is also at risk. By default, the Domain Admins group is in
the Administrators group on the Forefront TMG server.
- If you are planning to enable HTTPS
inspection, automatic deployment of the HTTPS inspection trusted
root certification authority (CA) certificate to client computers
is not supported in a workgroup environment.
Network topology considerations
Forefront TMG is commonly used in the following network topology configurations:
- Edge configuration
- Forefront TMG protecting the edge, with one
adapter connected to the Internal network and the other connected
to the External network.
- A back-to-back configuration, with Forefront
TMG as the front firewall protecting the edge, with an adapter
connected to the External network and an adapter connected to a
perimeter network. A back-end firewall (which may be Forefront TMG
or a third-party product) is configured between the perimeter
network and the Internal network.
- A three-legged configuration, with Forefront
TMG configured with three network adapters connected to the
Internal network, the External network, and a perimeter
network.
- Forefront TMG protecting the edge, with one
adapter connected to the Internal network and the other connected
to the External network.
- Internal configuration
- Forefront TMG at the back end in a
back-to-back scenario. A typical scenario, with a Forefront TMG
server installed at the edge and a second Forefront TMG server
installed at the back end, is to install the front-end Forefront
TMG server in workgroup mode and the back-end server as a domain
member. Installing the back-end server as a domain member enables
you to authenticate requests against AD DS. In addition, you can
harden the internal Forefront TMG computer using Group Policy for
ease of management.
- Forefront TMG configured with a single
network adapter. In this scenario, Forefront TMG functions as a Web
proxy or caching server. The main advantage of installing the
Forefront TMG computer as a domain member in this scenario, is the
ease of use for authenticating users against AD DS.
- Forefront TMG at the back end in a
back-to-back scenario. A typical scenario, with a Forefront TMG
server installed at the edge and a second Forefront TMG server
installed at the back end, is to install the front-end Forefront
TMG server in workgroup mode and the back-end server as a domain
member. Installing the back-end server as a domain member enables
you to authenticate requests against AD DS. In addition, you can
harden the internal Forefront TMG computer using Group Policy for
ease of management.
Authentication considerations
You should consider the following authentication issues when selecting a domain or workgroup deployment:
- When access rules require internal clients to
authenticate for outbound access, Forefront TMG can authenticate
domain user accounts against AD DS. Web proxy requests in a
workgroup environment can be authenticated against a RADIUS
server.
- Firewall client requests automatically
include user credentials. To authenticate these requests, Forefront
TMG should belong to a domain. In a workgroup environment, you can
authenticate requests with user accounts that are mirrored to
accounts stored in the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) on the
Forefront TMG server, although this requires some administrative
overhead for secure management.
- To authenticate inbound requests to internal
Web servers using domain account credentials or certificate
authentication, Forefront TMG must belong to a domain. In a
workgroup environment, a RADIUS or SecurID server can be used for
authentication.
- To authenticate virtual private network (VPN)
requests using domain account credentials or certificates,
Forefront TMG must belong to a domain. In a workgroup environment,
a RADIUS server can be used for authentication.