Always On VPN RRAS Centralized Monitoring and Reporting

A while back, I wrote about the monitoring and reporting options for Windows Server Routing and Remote Access (RRAS) servers supporting Microsoft Always On VPN. In that article, I outlined how administrators can use the Routing and Remote Access Management console (rrasmgmt.msc) or the Remote Access Management console (ramgmtui.exe) to perform configuration tasks and review current user and device activity. However, neither solution is ideal in a distributed environment with multiple RRAS servers. Thankfully, there’s a new option available to address this crucial limitation today.

Centralized Reporting

I’m excited to announce the availability of a cloud-based, centralized reporting solution for Windows Server RRAS and Always On VPN from the folks at PowerON Platforms. Created by the folks that brought us the Dynamic Profile Configurator (DPC) solution for managing Always On VPN client configuration settings, PowerON Platforms’ new reporting solution allows administrators to aggregate configuration, performance, and user activity data from multiple individual RRAS servers across their organization.

Important! I’ll be joining the folks at PowerON Platforms for a webinar on Thursday, January 18 to introduce and demonstrate this new Always On VPN reporting solution. Register now!

Summary View

The Summary view page provides a consolidated high-level look at the environment’s health status and capacity of VPN servers. Administrators can quickly see if any servers are unhealthy and view current usage details to assess the capacity of the deployment.

Server Overview

The Server Overview page provides a more detailed look at individual server health status and configuration. Here, you’ll find information about the number of active and available connections and the TLS certificate status. In addition, you’ll find detailed information about provisioned CPU and RAM, disk space utilization, and system uptime. You will also see information about the size of the reporting database on disk and the number of IKEv2 and SSTP VPN ports provisioned.

VPN Server Configuration

The VPN Server Configuration page looks into the IP address pool configuration and current utilization. In addition, this page provides an in-depth look at the VPN server TLS certificate health status. Currently, configured authentication and accounting servers are also shown.

Server Performance

The Server Performance page shows granular details about resource utilization on RRAS servers. This includes CPU and memory utilization, disk space usage, and database size. Administrators can view aggregated data or select individual servers. The view can be further customized by filtering by date.

Connection History

The Connection History page details concurrent connections observed on all VPN servers. Data can be filtered by date, individual server, and user or device name.

Client Distribution

The Client Distribution page provides an intuitive graphical display of client activity by server and tunnel type. In addition, it includes details about usage by individual clients and the number of connections made by individual endpoints.

Connection Detail

The Connection Detail page allows administrators to view user activity across all servers in the organization. Once again, data can be filtered by date, individual server, and user or device name. This view provides granular details on user activity, enabling the administrator to drill down to view specific resources accessed over the VPN for individual sessions.

Data Flow

The Data Flow page displays information about data transfer through the VPN server.

Summary

The Always On VPN cloud-based centralized reporting solution for Microsoft Always On VPN by PowerON Platforms is sure to be helpful for organizations managing distributed RRAS server deployments. The reporting solution aggregates data from all RRAS servers in the enterprise, providing a holistic view of configuration, health status, and user activity in one management console. This consolidated visibility is crucial for capacity planning and configuration maintenance, making the identification of performance bottlenecks or misconfigured servers easy. Also, the ability to view certificate expiration status for all servers in the organization is sure to prevent outages. Security administrators will find the solution helpful for forensic reporting and to identify sources of data leakage and exfiltration.

You can contact PowerON Platforms and request additional information here.

More Information

Are you interested in learning more about PowerON Platforms Always On VPN reporting? Would you like an interactive solution demonstration or an evaluation license to trial the product in your environment? Fill out the form below, and I’ll contact you with more details.

Always On VPN Trusted Network Detection and Native Azure AD Join

Administrators deploying Microsoft Always On VPN are quickly learning that the native Azure Active Directory join (AADJ) model has significant advantages over the more traditional Hybrid Azure AD join (HAADJ) scenario. Native AADJ is much simpler to deploy and manage than HAADJ while still allowing full single sign-on (SSO) to on-premises resources for remote users. Intune even allows for the import of custom ADMX and ADML administrative templates, further reducing the dependency on on-premises Active Directory for device management.

Remote Management

Although devices aren’t joined to the domain, administrators may still wish to access those clients connected to their network for device discovery or to perform administrative tasks. However, when native AADJ clients connect via Always On VPN, the Public Windows firewall profile is assigned to the VPN tunnel adapter. The Public profile is, of course, more restrictive and blocks most management protocols by default.

Firewall Rules

While adding firewall rules to the Public profile to allow management protocols is possible, this isn’t recommended for security reasons. The Public profile is typically loaded when the device is on an untrusted network. Exposing management protocols on an insecure network is asking for trouble.

Domain Profile

Domain-joined or Hybrid AADJ endpoints will use the Domain Windows firewall profile. This profile is more permissive, allowing many standard management protocols by default. Also, administrators can add rules to allow additional access as required without increasing the risk for devices on untrusted networks.

Trusted Network Detection

So, the trick is to get a native AADJ endpoint to load the Domain profile for the VPN tunnel adapter when connected via Always On VPN. Trusted Network Detection is accomplished by using settings configured on the endpoint using the NetworkListManager Configuration Service Provider (CSP).

Intune and XML

There are two settings administrators can enable AADJ devices to detect a trusted network and load the Domain Windows firewall profile. Unfortunately, these settings can only be applied using Intune and the Custom XML template. Administrators will use the following OMA-URI settings.

AllowedTlsAuthenticationEndpoints

The AllowedTlsAuthenticationEndpoints policy setting defines the URL the device uses to validate a trusted network. The target must be an on-premises web server with a valid TLS certificate using HTTPS. The target must be a highly available internal resource inaccessible from the Internet. DirectAccess administrators will be quite familiar with this concept; it’s the Network Location Server (NLS)!

Use the following OMA-URI to configure the TLS authentication endpoint.

URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/
NetworkListManager/AllowedTlsAuthenticationEndpoints

String: <![CDATA[https://nls.corp.example.net]]>

ConfiguredTlsAuthenticationNetworkName

The ConfiguredTlsAuthenticationNetworkName policy setting is optional. Administrators can use this setting to provide a friendly name for the authenticated trusted network. The FQDN of the target resource (NLS) is used by default. However, using this setting overrides the default with something more meaningful.

Use the following OMA-URI to configure the TLS authentication network name.

URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/
NetworkListManager/ConfiguredTlsAuthenticationNetworkName

String: <Friendly network name>

Results

Once configured, you’ll find the Always On VPN tunnel adapter uses the Domain Windows firewall profile and an optional friendly network name.

Additional Information

Deploying Always On VPN with Intune using Custom XML and CSP

Always On VPN CSP Updates

Always On VPN and VpnStrategy with CSP

Deleting an Always On VPN Device Tunnel

Deleting an Always On VPN Device TunnelWindows 10 Always On VPN supports both a user tunnel for corporate network access, and a device tunnel typically used to provide pre-logon network connectivity and to support manage out scenarios. The process of testing Always On VPN is often an iterative one involving trial and error testing to fine tune the configuration parameters to achieve the best experience. As a part of this process it will often be necessary to delete a connection at some point. For the user tunnel the process is simple and straightforward. Simply disconnect the session and delete the connection in the UI.

Deleting an Always On VPN Device Tunnel

Deleting a device tunnel connection presents a unique challenge though. Specifically, there is no VPN connection in the UI to disconnect and remove. To delete an Always On VPN device tunnel, open an elevated PowerShell window and enter the following command.

Get-VpnConnection -AllUserConnection | Remove-VpnConnection -Force

If the device tunnel is connected when you try to remove it, you will receive the following error message.

The VPN connection [connection_name] cannot be removed from the global user connections. Cannot
delete a connection while it is connected.

Deleting an Always On VPN Device Tunnel

The device tunnel must first be disconnected to resolve this issue. Enter the following command to disconnect the device tunnel.

rasdial.exe [connection_name] /disconnect

Remove the device tunnel connection using PowerShell once complete.

Deleting an Always On VPN Device Tunnel
Additional Resources

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

What’s The Difference Between DirectAccess and Always On VPN?

Windows 10 Always On VPN Recommendations for Windows Server 2016 Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS)

Windows 10 Always On VPN Hands-On Training