All posts in category Geographic Redundnacy

Always On VPN Servers and Failover

When configuring Microsoft Always On VPN, one of the first and most crucial settings is defining the public hostname of the VPN server to which clients connect. If you’re deploying Always On VPN client configuration settings using Intune—either with the native VPN policy template or a custom XML profile—you’ll see that multiple server entries are supported. Intune even allows administrators to define a “default server.” At first glance, this might suggest that the client will try the default server first and automatically fail over to the others if it’s unavailable. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

Intune VPN Template

When using the native Intune VPN device configuration template, administrators will find multiple entry fields for the servers in the Base VPN section.

In the example below, the Global VPN entry is marked as ‘default’.

Custom XML

When defining VPN settings using XML configuration, administrators can also list multiple servers.

Interestingly, the VPNv2 CSP used by custom XML profiles doesn’t support the concept of a “default server” at all.

How It Really Works

Defining multiple servers in the Always On VPN profile does not enable automatic failover. The client connects only to the first server in the list. The so-called “default server” setting in Intune is ignored, and the GUI even allows you to mark all servers as default, which is meaningless.

However, the configuration isn’t entirely useless. If you define multiple servers, they’ll appear on the client side as manual options. If the first server becomes unavailable, the user can open the Settings app, navigate to the advanced settings of the Always On VPN profile, and select an alternate server to connect manually.

Summary

Although Intune and XML configurations allow multiple VPN servers, Always On VPN does not provide automatic failover. Clients only attempt to connect to the first server in the list, and the “default server” setting in Intune has no effect. Multiple entries are still useful, but only for manual server selection by end-users when the primary server is down. For true automated high availability and redundancy, consider an external solution such as Azure Traffic Manager.

Additional Information

Always On VPN Multisite with Azure Traffic Manager

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by Richard M. Hicks on September 8, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Azure Traffic Manager, Deployment, Device Management, device tunnel, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Geographic Redundnacy, global server load balancer, High Availability, InTune, Load Balancing, Microsoft, Microsoft Intune, Mobile Device Management, Mobility, OMA-DM, OMA-URI, Operational Support, ProfileXML, Remote Access, System Center Configuration Manager, systems management, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on September 8, 2025

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2025/09/08/always-on-vpn-servers-and-failover/

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Loadbalancer.org

Recently, I had the opportunity to deploy the Loadbalancer.org load balancer as part of an enterprise Always On VPN deployment. In the past, I’ve published guidance for using F5 BIG-IP, Citrix ADC (formerly NetScaler), and Kemp LoadMaster, so in this post, I’ll provide guidance for configuring Loadbalancer.org for Always On VPN.

IKEv2

Open the Loadbalancer.org management console and follow the steps below to configure Always On VPN load balancing on the appliance.

Create Virtual Service

Create a layer 4 virtual service for IKEv2.

  1. Click Cluster Configuration.
  2. Click Layer 4 – Virtual Services.
  3. Click Add a new Virtual Service.
  4. Enter a descriptive name for the virtual service in the Label field.
  5. Enter the virtual IP address (VIP) for the service in the IP Address field.
  6. Enter 500,4500 in the Ports field.
  7. Select UDP from the Protocol drop-down list.
  8. Select NAT from the Forwarding Method drop-down list.
  9. Click Update.

Add Real Servers

Add real servers to the virtual service.

  1. Click Layer 4 – Real Servers.
  2. Click Add a new Real Server next to the IKEv2 virtual service.
  3. Enter a descriptive name for the real server in the Label field.
  4. Enter the IP address of the real server in the Real Server IP Address field.
  5. Click Update.
  6. Repeat these steps for each additional VPN server in the cluster.

SSTP

Follow the steps below to configure SSTP load balancing on the appliance.

Create Virtual Service

Create a layer 4 virtual service for SSTP.

  1. Click Cluster Configuration.
  2. Click Layer 4 – Virtual Services.
  3. Click Add a new Virtual Service.
  4. Enter a descriptive name for the virtual service in the Label field.
  5. Enter the virtual IP address (VIP) for the service in the IP Address field.
  6. Enter 443 in the Ports field.
  7. Select TCP from the Protocol drop-down list.
  8. Select NAT from the Forwarding Method drop-down list.
  9. Click Update.

Configure Virtual Service Health Check

Update the health check method for the SSTP virtual service.

  1. Click Layer 4 – Virtual Services.
  2. Click Modify on the SSTP virtual service.
  3. Select Negotiate from the Check Type drop-down list in the Health Checks section.
  4. Enter 443 in the Check Port field.
  5. Select HTTPS from the Protocol drop-down list.
  6. Enter /sra_{BA195980-CD49-458b-9E23-C84EE0ADCD75}/ in the Request to send field.
  7. Enter 401 in the Response expected field.
  8. Click Update.

Note: Using the Negotiate health check type for the SSTP monitor on Loadbalancer.org appliances requires version 8.13.0 or later. Administrators can use the External script option when using earlier releases of Loadbalancer.org appliances. An SSTP health check script for Loadbalancer.org can be found here.

Add Real Servers

Add real servers to the virtual service.

  1. Click Layer 4 – Real Servers.
  2. Click Add a new Real Server next to the SSTP virtual service.
  3. Enter a descriptive name for the real server in the Label field.
  4. Enter the IP address of the real server in the Real Server IP Address field.
  5. Click Update.
  6. Repeat these steps for each additional VPN server in the cluster.

Review

Once complete, click System Overview to view the overall health of your VPN servers.

Summary

The Loadbalancer.org appliance is an efficient, cost-effective, and easy-to-configure load-balancing solution that works well with Always On VPN implementations. It’s available as a physical or virtual appliance. There’s also a cloud-based version. It also includes advanced features such as TLS offload, web application firewall (WAF), global server load balancing (GSLB), and more. If you are looking for a layer 4-7 load balancer for Always On VPN and other workloads, be sure to check them out.

Additional Information

Loadbalancer.org Virtual Appliance

SSTP Health Check Script for Loadbalancer.org

4 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on March 13, 2025  •  Permalink
Posted in ADC, administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, application delivery controller, Deployment, device tunnel, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Geographic Redundnacy, global server load balancer, GSLB, High Availability, IKEv2, Infrastructure, Load Balancing, Mobility, multisite, Operational Support, Remote Access, routing and remote access service, RRAS, Security, SSL, SSL and TLS, TLS, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2025
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on March 13, 2025

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2025/03/13/always-on-vpn-load-balancing-with-loadbalancer-org/

Always On VPN Client IP Address Assignment Methods

When Always On VPN clients connect to the VPN server, they must be assigned an IP address to facilitate network communication. When using Windows Server and Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) for VPN services, administrators must choose between Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and static address pool assignment methods.

DHCP

DHCP is a quick and easy way to handle VPN client IP address assignment. However, there are some drawbacks and limitations associated with this option. Consider the following.

Allocation

DHCP for Always On VPN clients does not work as you might expect. For example, when a VPN client connects, it does not obtain its IP address directly from the DHCP server. Instead, the VPN server leases a block of IP addresses from the DHCP server and manages those on behalf of its clients. On the DHCP server, you will see the Unique ID column of these IP address leases indicating RAS.

Address Block Size

After configuring the VPN server to use DHCP VPN client IP address assignment, the VPN server will automatically lease a block of ten IP addresses from a DHCP server. When this initial block of ten IP addresses is exhausted, the VPN server will lease another block of ten IP addresses. Administrators can increase the size of the requested address block by creating the following registry key on each VPN server.

Key: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RemoteAccess\Parameters\IP
Value: InitialAddressPoolSize
Type: DWORD
Data: <size of DHCP pool request>

Alternatively, administrators can download Update-VpnServerDhcpPoolSize.ps1 from my GitHub repository and run it on each VPN server to increase the size of the initial DHCP address pool request.

DHCP Options

The VPN server discards all DHCP option information returned by the DHCP server. The VPN server uses only the IP address from the DHCP lease. The client is unaware of any other information in the DHCP lease.

Subnet

By default, the VPN server will only request DHCP addresses from a scope that matches the same subnet as the IP address assigned to the VPN server’s network adapter. If the VPN server has more than one network interface, it will send DHCP requests from the network interface listed on the Adapter drop-down list, as shown here.

Note: This option is only available on servers configured with multiple network interfaces. Also, if the value is set to Allow RAS to select adapter, it is best to specifically define the network interface where DHCP and DNS requests are made.

Scope Size

When using the DHCP assignment method, ensure the DHCP scope contains enough IP addresses to support the number of concurrent connections expected on all VPN servers.

IPv6

DHCPv6 is not supported on RRAS for VPN client IP address assignment. The only option for IPv6 is prefix assignment.

RRAS in Azure

DHCP is not supported when deploying RRAS in Azure. Administrators deploying RRAS in Azure to support Always On VPN must use the static address pool assignment method. More details here.

Known Issues

When using DHCP with Windows Server 2019 RRAS servers, a known issue prevents this from working correctly. Administrators can download Update-VpnServerDhcpPrivileges.ps1 from my GitHub repository and run it on each VPN server to ensure proper DHCP operation.

Increased Complexity

Since the VPN server leases IP addresses on behalf of clients and discards DHCP option information included in the lease, there’s no real benefit to using DHCP. Using DHCP only adds complexity and introduces another dependency, making the solution more brittle and difficult to manage. Using the static address pool assignment method is a better choice.

Static Pool

Implementation best practices dictate using the static address pool assignment method instead of DHCP. The following is guidance for configuring RRAS to support the static address pool option for VPN client IP address assignment.

Unique Subnet

Using a unique IP subnet is best when using the static address pool assignment method. However, this also requires configuring internal network routing to return traffic for that subnet to the individual VPN server where that subnet is assigned. Each server must have a unique IP address pool assigned. Define static address pools using subnet boundaries when configuring multiple VPN servers. Assigning IP address pools along subnet boundaries simplifies internal network routing configuration. Ensure that assigned IP address pool subnets are large enough to accommodate the total number of concurrent connections expected on each server. Be sure to overprovision to handle failover scenarios.

Same Subnet

Alternatively, administrators can assign VPN client IP addresses from the same subnet as the VPN server’s network interface. Assigning VPN client IP addresses from the same subnet as the VPN server eliminates the need for any internal network routing configuration, simplifying deployment. However, server subnets are often small and may not have enough IP address space to support numerous concurrent VPN connections. Be sure to plan accordingly.

Static IP Addresses

It is possible to assign a static IP address to an individual user. However, assigning a static IP address to a specific device is not. I will discuss static IP address assignments for Always On VPN clients in a future blog post.

Other Limitations

Here are some additional things to consider when creating a VPN client IP addressing strategy.

DNS

Always On VPN clients can be configured to register their IP address in DNS. However, the VPN client configuration controls this setting. The DHCP server does not register IP addresses in DNS when using DHCP. The client registers its IP address in DNS directly after it connects. In addition, a VPN client will receive a different IP address each time it connects to the VPN server. DNS propagation can delay hostname resolution on-premises for remote-connected VPN clients.

Selective Addressing

Regardless of which assignment method is selected, assigning different IP addresses to different types of connections is not possible. For example, a common ask is to assign user connections from one IP address pool and device connections from another. The only option to support this is to use different servers for each type of connection.

Summary

The best practice for IPv4 VPN client addressing is to use the static address pool method with a unique IPv4 subnet per server. Using static address pool assignment provides the most flexible configuration options and eliminates the dependency on internal services, making the solution more resilient and easier to manage. A unique address pool per server ensures that a large enough subnet can be defined to support the expected number of concurrent connections, regardless of the subnet size the VPN server is assigned to. Also, a unique IP subnet for VPN clients makes configuring internal firewall rules to control VPN client access easier.

Additional Information

Always On VPN and IPv6

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Always On VPN RRAS Internal Interface Non-Operational

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by Richard M. Hicks on February 12, 2024  •  Permalink
Posted in administration, Always On VPN, AOVPN, Deployment, device tunnel, DNS, Enterprise, enterprise mobility, Geographic Redundnacy, GitHub, Infrastructure, IPv6, Microsoft, Mobility, Operational Support, PowerShell, Remote Access, routing, routing and remote access service, RRAS, user tunnel, VPN, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2022
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on February 12, 2024

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2024/02/12/always-on-vpn-client-ip-address-assignment-methods/

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