All posts tagged Network Access Protection

Always On VPN and the Future of Microsoft DirectAccess

Windows 10 Always On VPN hands-on training classes now forming. Details here.

Since the introduction of Windows Server 2012 in September of 2012, no new features or functionality have been added to DirectAccess. In Windows Server 2016, the only real change aside from bug fixes for DirectAccess is the removal of Network Access Protection (NAP) integration support.

Always On VPN and the Future of Microsoft DirectAccessFigure 1. Remote Access Setup wizard with NAP integration option in Windows Server 2012/R2.

Always On VPN and the Future of Microsoft DirectAccess

Figure 2. Remote Access Setup wizard without NAP integration option in Windows Server 2016.

DirectAccess Roadmap

It’s clear to see that Microsoft is no longer investing in DirectAccess, and in fact their field sales teams have been communicating this to customers for quite some time now. Microsoft has been actively encouraging organizations who are considering a DirectAccess solution to instead implement client-based VPN with Windows 10.

Always On VPN

New features introduced in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update allow IT administrators to configure automatic VPN connection profiles. This Always On VPN connection provides a DirectAccess-like experience using traditional remote access VPN protocols such as IKEv2, SSTP, and L2TP/IPsec. It comes with some additional benefits as well.

  • Conditional access and device compliance with system health checks
  • Windows Hello for Business and Azure multifactor authentication
  • Windows Information Protection (WIP) integration
  • Traffic filters to restrict VPN network access
  • Application-trigger VPN connections

DirectAccess Deprecated?

There has been rampant speculation that Microsoft plans to deprecate and retire DirectAccess. While that may in fact be true, Microsoft has yet to make a formal end-of-life announcement. There’s no reason DirectAccess and VPN couldn’t co-exist, so it’s not a certainty Microsoft will do this. However, there’s also no need to have multiple remote access solutions, and it is abundantly clear that the future for Microsoft remote access is Always On VPN and not DirectAccess.

Always On VPN and the Future of Microsoft DirectAccess

Source: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/38546.new-features-for-vpn-in-windows-10-and-windows-server-2016.aspx#Advanced_VPN_Connectivity

Always On VPN Advantages and Disadvantages

Windows 10 Always On VPN has some important advantages over DirectAccess. It has some crucial limitations as well.

Advantages

  • Always On VPN supports non-Enterprise Windows 10 client SKUs (Windows 10 Home and Professional)
  • Always On VPN includes support for granular network access control
  • Always On VPN can use both IPv4 and IPv6
  • Always On VPN is infrastructure independent. In addition to supporting Windows RRAS, any third-party network device can be used such as Cisco, Checkpoint, Juniper, Palo Alto, SonicWALL, Fortinet, and many more

Disadvantages

  • Always On VPN works only with Windows 10. It is not supported for Windows 7
  • Always On VPN cannot be managed natively using Active Directory and group policy. It must be configured and managed using Microsoft Intune. Alternatively, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or PowerShell can be used.

DirectAccess or Always On VPN?

Should you deploy DirectAccess today or implement Always On VPN with Windows 10 instead? That depends on a number of factors. It’s important to understand that DirectAccess will be fully supported through the lifecycle of Windows Server 2019. If DirectAccess meets your needs today, you can deploy it with confidence that it will still have a long support life. If you have reservations about the future viability of DirectAccess, and if you meet all of the requirements to support Always On VPN with Windows 10, then perhaps that’s a better choice. If you’d like to discuss your remote access options in more detail, fill out the form below and I’ll get in touch with you.

Additional Resources

5 Things DirectAccess Administrators Should Know About Always On VPN

3 Important Advantages of Always On VPN over DirectAccess

NetMotion Mobility as an Alternative to DirectAccess

Windows 10 Always On VPN Hands-On Training Classes

 

13 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on July 24, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Always On VPN, DirectAccess, Enterprise, IPv6, PowerShell, Remote Access, Security, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on July 24, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/07/24/always-on-vpn-and-the-future-of-microsoft-directaccess/

Top 5 DirectAccess Troubleshooting Tips

Top 5 DirectAccess Troubleshooting TipsDirectAccess is a thing of beauty when everything is working as it should. When it isn’t, troubleshooting can be quite challenging. DirectAccess relies on many Windows platform technologies such as Active Directory for authentication, PKI for certificate management, group policy for settings deployment, IPsec for encryption, and IPv6 for transport. With so many dependencies, locating the source of the problem can be a difficult and daunting task.

I’m frequently called upon to help organizations of all sizes with DirectAccess troubleshooting. While this post is not intended to be a detailed, prescriptive guide for DirectAccess troubleshooting, I did want to share some common troubleshooting tips based on many years of troubleshooting DirectAccess.

Here are my top 5 DirectAccess troubleshooting tips:

  1. Check Prerequisites – Before diving in and collecting network traces and scouring event logs for clues as to why DirectAccess isn’t working, it’s essential to start at the beginning. Often the source of trouble is missing or misconfigured prerequisites. For example, is the DirectAccess client running a supported operating system? Remember, clients must be running Windows 10 Enterprise or Education, Windows 8.x Enterprise, or Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate. Also, ensure that the Windows firewall is enabled on DirectAccess servers and clients, that certificates are installed and valid (trusted, correct EKU, etc.), and that the DirectAccess settings GPO has been applied to servers and clients.
  2. Validate External Connectivity – If you are following implementation and security best practices for DirectAccess, the DirectAccess server will be in a perimeter/DMZ network behind an edge firewall. The firewall must be configured to allow inbound TCP port 443 only. If the firewall is also performing Network Address Translation (NAT), the NAT rule must be configured to forward traffic to the DirectAccess server’s dedicated or virtual IP address (VIP), or the VIP of the load balancer. Watch for routing issues when using load balancers too. It’s a good idea to confirm external connectivity using the Test-NetConnection PowerShell command. Even better, use the open source tool Nmap for more thorough testing.
  3. Remove Third Party Software – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve resolved DirectAccess connectivity issues by removing (not just disabling!) third party software on the client and/or server. It’s not uncommon for third-party security software to interfere with IPsec and/or IPv6 communication, both of which are vital to DirectAccess. If your DirectAccess troubleshooting efforts reveal no underlying issues with prerequisites or external connectivity, I’d suggest removing (at least temporarily) any third-party software and testing again.
  4. Isolate Environmental Issues – Occasionally other settings applied manually or via Active Directory group policy will interfere with DirectAccess. Examples include IPv6 being disabled in the registry, IPv6 transition technologies required to support DirectAccess are turned off, essential firewall rules for DirectAccess are disabled, or manipulating local security settings such as Access this computer from the network. To assist with troubleshooting it might be necessary to temporarily place DirectAccess clients and servers in their own dedicated Organizational Units (OUs) and block inheritance to isolate the configuration as much as possible. In addition, if DirectAccess clients are servers are provisioned using images or templates, testing with a clean build straight from the installation source (ISO or DVD) can be helpful.
  5. Check for Unsupported Configurations – If DirectAccess isn’t working, it might be possible the configuration you are trying to use is not supported. Examples including strong user authentication with OTP when force tunneling is enabled, provisioning Windows 7 clients when using Kerberos Proxy authentication, or provisioning Windows 10 clients when Network Access Protection (NAP) integration is enabled. These configurations won’t work and are formally documented here.

This is by no means a comprehensive or exhaustive troubleshooting guide. For more information and additional DirectAccess troubleshooting guidance I would encourage you to purchase my book Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016, which has an entire chapter devoted just to troubleshooting. In addition, watch my DirectAccess video training courses on Pluralsight for details and information about DirectAccess installation, configuration, management, support, and troubleshooting. And if you’re still struggling to resolve a DirectAccess problem, use the form at the bottom of this page to contact me to inquire about additional troubleshooting help.

Additional Resources

Microsoft Windows DirectAccess Client Troubleshooting Tool
DirectAccess and Windows 10 Professional
DirectAccess Troubleshooting with Nmap
DirectAccess Unsupported Configurations
Planning and Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 Video Training Course on Pluralsight
Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 Book

Need assistance with DirectAccess troubleshooting? Complete the form below and I’ll get in touch with you.

1 Comment
by Richard M. Hicks on May 15, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, IPv6, IPv6 Transition, PowerShell, Remote Access, Security, SSL and TLS, troubleshooting, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on May 15, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/05/15/top-5-directaccess-troubleshooting-tips/

DirectAccess, Windows 10, and Network Access Protection (NAP)

Windows 10, DirectAccess, and NAPNote: Microsoft is encouraging customers to deploy Always On VPN instead of DirectAccess. Read more about Always On VPN and the future of DirectAccess here.

First introduced with Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Network Access Protection (NAP) is a technology that allows IT administrators to create and enforce system health requirements that must be met before a computer can connect to the network. Common NAP enforcement points include Ethernet switches (802.1x), DHCP, IPsec, remote access VPN, and Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway) connections. DirectAccess also supports NAP integration, which allows administrators to extend this solution to include their DirectAccess clients.

Unfortunately, NAP has proven not to be very popular, and the adoption rate for this technology has been quite minimal. With that, Microsoft formally deprecated NAP in Windows Server 2012 R2, and removed it completely from Windows Server 2016.

Crucially the plumbing for NAP integration in the Windows 10 client operating system has also been removed. For DirectAccess deployments that have been configured to use NAP, this obviously presents a problem. In this scenario, Windows 7/8 clients will function normally. However, Windows 10 clients will not be able to connect. Since NAP integration with DirectAccess is a global setting, all clients must conform to NAP. There is no option to exclude only Windows 10 clients from NAP.

DirectAccess, Windows 10, and NAP

There are two ways in which to resolve this problem. The first is simply to disable NAP integration. However, if you still want to enforce NAP requirements for Windows 7/8 clients, but at the same time also want to allow Windows 10 clients to use DirectAccess, a separate dedicated DirectAccess deployment without NAP integration configured will have to be deployed to support Windows 10 DirectAccess clients.

4 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on October 13, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, NAP, Remote Access, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on October 13, 2015

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2015/10/13/directaccess-windows-10-and-network-access-protection-nap/

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