All posts in category Active Directory

PKI Fundamentals with Microsoft AD CS Training Course

I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered once again with the fine folks at the ViaMonstra Online Academy to deliver a new live training course entitled PKI Fundamentals with Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS). The event consists of six weekly live webinars beginning on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at 3:00 PM CST.

Why AD CS Training?

Digital certificates are strong, phishing-resistant credentials that are an excellent choice for authentication to critical workloads like Always On VPN and enterprise Wi-Fi. However, managing certificate services infrastructure can be daunting. This course provides administrators with a fundamental understanding of enterprise PKI with Microsoft AD CS.

Course Overview

The event format for this course consists of six weekly live sessions on Thursdays starting on January 15, 2026. The classes are two hours long, running from 3:00 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST each day. During the course, we’ll cover the following topics.

  • PKI concepts and certificate use cases
  • Designing and deploying certificate authorities (CAs)
  • Configuring templates and enrollment
  • Managing revocation and maintenance

Who Should Attend

Organizations planning to use certificate authentication for enterprise VPN and Wi-Fi workloads will benefit from this training course. Also, those considering a new AD CS deployment will find this training beneficial. In addition, administrators managing an existing production AD CS environment will gain valuable insight.

Enroll Now

Registration for this training class is available now. The cost is $295.00—an incredible bargain! Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to gain foundational AD CS skills. Click the registration link below and reserve your spot today!

Additional Information

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)

Enterprise PKI

Cloud PKI for Microsoft Intune

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by Richard M. Hicks on November 6, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in Active Directory, Active Directory Certificate Services, AD CS, ADCS, administration, authentication, Certificate Authentication, Certificate Authority, Certificate Services, Certificate-Based Authentication, certificates, education, Enterprise, Infrastructure, learning, Microsoft, PKI, public key infrastructure, Security, SSL, SSL and TLS, TLS, Transport Layer Security, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2025
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on November 6, 2025

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2025/11/06/pki-fundamentals-with-microsoft-ad-cs-training-course/

Always On VPN DPC Commercial Support

The Always On VPN Dynamic Profile Configurator (DPC) is a free, open-source solution that helps administrators deploy and manage Always On VPN client configuration settings using Active Directory, Group Policy, or Microsoft Intune. Since version 5.0, DPC has been publicly available and widely adopted. Until now, support has been limited to the community Discord channel. Many organizations, however, require formal support before they can deploy software, even open-source solutions. To meet this need, Leo D’Arcy and I are now offering a commercial support option for DPC.

Why Commercial Support Matters

Enterprises rely on accountability and timely assistance to ensure business-critical services run smoothly. Open source provides flexibility and cost savings, but it often lacks the reliability guarantees companies require. Commercial support bridges that gap—delivering confidence, faster resolutions, and compliance with internal support standards.

Customer Success Story

A UK National Health Service (NHS) Trust, an early customer of the support program, praised the impact of DPC on its remote access strategy. An infrastructure engineer at the NHS trust has this to say about DPC and commercial support:

“We have recently transitioned from SSL VPN to AOVPN and took the opportunity to use DPC to manage our configuration and deployment. We’ve previously experimented with Microsoft’s officially documented process, but DPC really simplifies and streamlines the implementation and management of the AOVPN tunnels.

During rollout, we discovered an issue that caused the user tunnel config to become corrupt. Being able to directly communicate and troubleshoot with Leo and the team meant that we were quickly able to have a fix and a new version of the client ready for deployment.

We are now running DPC and AOVPN on around 4000 endpoints with around 2000 concurrent connections each day. Feedback from users is very positive, and DPC simplifies ongoing management.”

Value Added

This real-world experience highlights the two most significant benefits of DPC with commercial support: rapid issue resolution (direct access to the people who build the software) and confidence at scale (thousands of endpoints, thousands of daily connections).

What DPC Commercial Support Includes

Purchasing a commercial support package provides:

  • 1 year of support services (renewable)
  • Direct access to Leo D’Arcy, lead developer of DPC
  • Support from Richard Hicks for DPC-related queries
  • Enhanced troubleshooting beyond community channels
  • Prioritized bug fixes
  • Early consideration for new feature requests
  • Dedicated private channels for secure communication

Don’t Wait

With a commercial support package, your organization gains expert guidance, faster issue resolution, and direct access to the team that builds and maintains DPC. DPC commercial support ensures smooth deployments, reduced risks, and compliance with internal support requirements

Learn More

Interested in a commercial support contract for Always On VPN DPC? Email us at [email protected] or complete the form below, and we’ll get back to you with more information.

Additional Information

Always On VPN DPC Open Source

Always On VPN DPC Features

Always On VPN DPC Advanced Features

Migrating from Always On VPN DPC Commercial to Open Source

Always On VPN DPC with Microsoft Intune

Always On VPN Discord Channel

Leave a comment
by Richard M. Hicks on September 30, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in Active Directory, administration, Always On VPN, Always On VPN DPC, AOVPN, AovpnDPC, Azure VPN Gateway, Deployment, Device Management, device tunnel, DPC, DPC Support, Dynamic Profile Configurator, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Infrastructure, InTune, MDM, Microsoft, Microsoft Intune, Mobile Device Management, Mobility, Open Source, Operational Support, Remote Access, systems management, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on September 30, 2025

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2025/09/30/always-on-vpn-dpc-commercial-support-2/

Always On VPN DPC Commercial Support

The Always On VPN Dynamic Profile Configurator (DPC) is a free, open-source solution that helps administrators deploy and manage Always On VPN client configuration settings using Active Directory, Group Policy, or Microsoft Intune. Since version 5.0, DPC has been publicly available and widely adopted. Until now, support has been limited to the community Discord channel. Many organizations, however, require formal support before they can deploy software, even open-source solutions. To meet this need, Leo D’Arcy and I are now offering a commercial support option for DPC.

Why Commercial Support Matters

Enterprises rely on accountability and timely assistance to ensure business-critical services run smoothly. Open source provides flexibility and cost savings, but it often lacks the reliability guarantees companies require. Commercial support bridges that gap—delivering confidence, faster resolutions, and compliance with internal support standards.

Customer Success Story

A UK National Health Service (NHS) Trust, an early customer of the support program, praised the impact of DPC on its remote access strategy. An infrastructure engineer at the NHS trust has this to say about DPC and commercial support:

“We have recently transitioned from SSL VPN to AOVPN and took the opportunity to use DPC to manage our configuration and deployment. We’ve previously experimented with Microsoft’s officially documented process, but DPC really simplifies and streamlines the implementation and management of the AOVPN tunnels.

During rollout, we discovered an issue that caused the user tunnel config to become corrupt. Being able to directly communicate and troubleshoot with Leo and the team meant that we were quickly able to have a fix and a new version of the client ready for deployment.

We are now running DPC and AOVPN on around 4000 endpoints with around 2000 concurrent connections each day. Feedback from users is very positive, and DPC simplifies ongoing management.”

Value Added

This real-world experience highlights the two most significant benefits of DPC with commercial support: rapid issue resolution (direct access to the people who build the software) and confidence at scale (thousands of endpoints, thousands of daily connections).

What DPC Commercial Support Includes

Purchasing a commercial support package provides:

  • 1 year of support services (renewable)
  • Direct access to Leo D’Arcy, lead developer of DPC
  • Support from Richard Hicks for DPC-related queries
  • Enhanced troubleshooting beyond community channels
  • Prioritized bug fixes
  • Early consideration for new feature requests
  • Dedicated private channels for secure communication

Don’t Wait

With a commercial support package, your organization gains expert guidance, faster issue resolution, and direct access to the team that builds and maintains DPC. DPC commercial support ensures smooth deployments, reduced risks, and compliance with internal support requirements

Learn More

Interested in a commercial support contract for Always On VPN DPC? Email us at [email protected] or complete the form below, and we’ll get back to you with more information.

Additional Information

Always On VPN DPC Open Source

Always On VPN DPC Features

Always On VPN DPC Advanced Features

Migrating from Always On VPN DPC Commercial to Open Source

Always On VPN DPC with Microsoft Intune

Always On VPN Discord Channel

Leave a comment
by Richard M. Hicks on September 29, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in Active Directory, administration, Always On VPN, Always On VPN DPC, AOVPN, AovpnDPC, Azure VPN Gateway, Deployment, Device Management, device tunnel, DPC, DPC Support, Dynamic Profile Configurator, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Infrastructure, InTune, MDM, Microsoft, Microsoft Intune, Mobile Device Management, Mobility, Open Source, Operational Support, Remote Access, systems management, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on September 29, 2025

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2025/09/29/always-on-vpn-dpc-commercial-support/

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