Systems, software, and methods are provided for providing simpler and more secure ARSs that operate to separate and isolate configuration details from connecting systems by: moving most of the connection information to the easily secured ARS; requiring endpoints to initiate outbound connections to that server instead of exposing the systems to inbound connections from the internet; consolidating policy enforcement and routing decisions from the individual endpoints to an ARS; and consolidating network packet traffic filtering and monitoring in an ARS. The present invention substantially reduces the complexity of endpoint configurations by offloading most of the connection and endpoint validation, policy enforcement, information leakage management, and routing decisions from the endpoints to an ARS.