How Good Is the Windows Server 2003 Basic Firewall?

March 8, 2008 – 2:49 PM

I recently spent a few weeks testing Windows Server 2003 by using the Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 release candidate (RC). One of my goals was to evaluate the efficacy of the RRAS firewall. The basic firewall is a new component in Windows 2003 that uses an enhanced version of the firewall software that Microsoft first shipped in Windows XP. My test system had two network adapters, one for the internal network and one for the Internet connection. I enabled the RRAS basic firewall on the network adapter that’s connected to the Internet and configured the server to accept incoming and outgoing SMTP mail, to permit secure and nonsecure browser access to the internal Web site and to the Remote Web Workplace, and to accept incoming VPN PPTP and Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) connections.

http://www.winnetmag.com/WindowsServer2003/Index.cfm?ArticleID=40328