Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 DirectAccess IT Infrastructure Compatibility
This documents explains how Windows 7 DirectAccess Integrates with Existing IT Environments.
DirectAccess is an integrated part of the Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems. A DirectAccess solution provides a secure, flexible architecture for enhanced remote access and transition to IPv6. It is designed to be compatible with most existing Internet, perimeter, and intranet environments by using IPv6-inside-IPv4 tunneling and IPv6-to-IPv4 translation where necessary.
A DirectAccess solution may require IPv6/IPv4DNS and IPv6/IPv4NAT at the network perimeter to provide access to existing IPv4-only internal hosts. New IETF specifications for DNS64 and NAT64 should provide IPv6/IPv4DNS and IPv6/IPv4NAT products that are compatible with DirectAccess. The Forefront Unified Access Gateway DirectAccess server provides a comprehensive DirectAccess solution, with a compatible IPv6/IPv4DNS and IPv6/IPv4NAT, network load balancing, and high availability.
Windows® 7 DirectAccess is a solution for secure, seamless remote client connectivity. Unlike traditional remote access virtual private networks (VPNs), DirectAccess enables remote clients to have connectivity that is comparable to internal clients. IT Professionals can also use the DirectAccess solution to manage remote clients by using their existing internal management services. Finally, DirectAccess enables secure communication between remote clients.
This paper is written for IT architects, Systems Engineers, and other IT experts to:
· Describe the compatibility of DirectAccess with existing IT infrastructure, authentication systems, and applications.
· Provide an overview of the changes that are required to integrate DirectAccess into existing IT environments.
· Provide a succinct, but technical, explanation of the networking concepts that are used in DirectAccess to illustrate compatibility and integration issues.