We all know that host headers don't support SSL. And we know that SharePoint is written to support host headers, primarily. Also, some have taken the phrase “SharePoint doesn't support SSL termination” to mean that SharePoint didn't support bringing in the SSL stream directly to the WFE server.
So, please let me clear up some confusion. First, SSL is supported coming all the way into the WFE server in the farm. In fact, this is the *preferred* method of doing SSL. What is not preferred is to terminat the SSL stream at an appliance before it reaches the WFE server in the farm. While we can use the alternate portal access mappings as a workaround, we should strive to bring the SSL stream into the WFE server.
Also, there are two supported scenarios: 1) create the SSL virtual server with the IP address as All Unassigned and then use a unique port number. Doing this will enable you to create as many SSL portals in your farm as you wish. 2) Use a separate WFE server for each SSL-enabled portal and leave all the portals on 443. Either is supported, but obviously, option 1 is less costly to implement.
FrontPage 2003 does work over SSL to Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Portal Server 2003. I'm doing it right now in my office on my medium server farm. The trick is to ensure that you are not using an IP address on the SSL-enabled virtual server.
I know there are conflicting statements in the SharePoint community today about SSL, but I'm confident that each of my assertions here is correct and can be demonstrated. Perhaps I should do a Live Meeting on this in the near future.