14 DAY TRIAL // In mid-June 2009 I told you that Microsoft was gearing up to make available for download the second Beta for Forefront Unified Access Gateway. Well, as of July 13th, 2009, customers already testing the edge security solution from the Redmond company, as well as new users, can access and download Forefront Unified Access Gateway Beta 2 completely free of charge. UAG has been designed as a secure application gateway. Customers running the security solution will be able to not only manage, but also control, and optimize access to a corporate network and its associated resources and applications, in remote scenarios. In this regard, the Redmond company emphasized the flexibility advantage for end users, who could still enjoy access independent of whether they connected via managed or non-managed endpoints.
UAG “brings together a variety of remote access technologies such as DirectAccess, SSL VPN, Remote Desktop, web publishing, etc. under one roof and one user/admin experience. This way, administrators can easily roll out access to every type of user (employees, partners, etc) from virtually every location (corporate laptop, home PC, borrowed PC, kiosk, PDAs, etc). Users, in turn, get a simple and straightforward experience that adapts to the level of security of device they are using,” revealed Uri Lichtenfeld, product manager, UAG.
Still, UAG is capable of streamlining access for remote workers, providing full connectivity, via either DirectAccess or down-level PCs - SSL VPN, but only when the connection is performed from a corporate machine. For computers deemed unsafe, UAG can limit connectivity, by blocking uploads to the corporate network. Administrators will be able to take advantage of an extended list of policy options with administrative wizards offering guidance for the configuration of technologies including SharePoint, Exchange, DirectAccess, Terminal Services, etc.
"The features I’m most excited about in UAG are our enhancements for DirectAccess. DirectAccess is really the next step of remote access and provides the best user experience possible. Wherever you may roam, you are simply connected, always-on, to corpnet. There is no need to open a VPN client, wait for connectivity, etc… You simply login and you are connected! What UAG brings to the table is a variety of capabilities to help simplify deployment and management, extend access to older servers and clients and grow the scale of the deployment. If you’re not yet looking at DirectAccess for your organization, you should…. And if you’re looking at DirectAccess you should look at UAG,” Lichtenfeld added.
Forefront Unified Access Gateway Beta 2 is available for download here.