I came across an interesting article over at the Exchange Team blog, http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/10/21/452929.aspx. Basically explaining why not to place a CAS in the DMZ.
I have to agree, I have come across this request a number of times in the past while at client sites stating that they would like to place a CAS in the DMZ and I have always recommended (even when the subject doesn’t come up) to place an ISA server in the DMZ to act as a reverse proxy. ISA 2006 really gives you added benefit protecting your servers from a number of different attacks. By allowing users to authenticate at the ISA level in the DMZ your remove the opportunity for a malicious user to attack your servers. There is also the aspect that you can use ISA to load balance and perform link translation, that’s where your internal link is different than your external link.
The other added benefit? You don’t have to open your internal firewall to all the required ports Exchange will use. This would be termed swiss cheese.
So, if you’re thinking about placing a Client Access Server in the DMZ think twice, you really shouldn’t.
Thanks to the MS Exchange team for posting a reminder out there!