All posts in category Important Links

DirectAccess Clients and TPM

I’ve been frustrated recently with a number of articles and blog posts I’ve seen indicating Windows 8 DirectAccess clients connecting to a Windows Server 2012 DirectAccess server require a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and the use of smart cards for authentication. This is a myth, and nothing could be further from the truth. TPM and smart cards are indeed supported (TPM with Windows 8, smart cards with Windows 7 and Windows 8 DirectAccess clients) but they are not explicitly required. For the posts I’ve seen I have asked the authors to correct their statements, and to their credit some of them have. Others, unfortunately, have not. I’m not sure if they are simply misinformed or if they are deliberately misleading their readers to downplay DirectAccess in an effort to sell another VPN solution. Regardless, I am compelled to set the record straight here. So, to be perfectly clear:

TPM is NOT a requirement for DirectAccess clients.

There you have it. Now go out and deploy DirectAccess today!

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by Richard M. Hicks on March 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Important Links, Remote Access, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on March 8, 2013

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2013/03/08/directaccess-clients-and-tpm/

Features Deprecated in Forefront UAG Service Pack 3

With the recent release of Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) 2010, Microsoft has published a list of features in UAG SP3 that have been deprecated. To be clear, this does not mean these features cease to function after you install SP3 on UAG! It is simply meant to give network engineers and security administrators an idea about what features are likely to be removed from future releases of Forefront UAG. Some of the deprecated features should come as no surprise. For example, DirectAccess support in Forefront UAG is now deprecated in favor of DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012. Also, features such as Secure Sockets Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) for client-based remote access are better handled using the remote access role in Windows Server 2012. Other deprecated features may present more of a challenge if you’ve been relying on them to provide secure remote access to applications, such as the deprecation of support for some authentication repositories (e.g. Novell Directory, Notes Directory, TACACS) or the Java-based Session Cleanup tool. For a complete list of deprecated features in Forefront UAG SP3, click here.

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by Richard M. Hicks on February 26, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Forefront UAG 2010, Important Links, NAP, Remote Access, Windows Server 2012
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on February 26, 2013

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2013/02/26/features-deprecated-in-forefront-uag-service-pack-3/

Installing Windows 8 Enterprise on the Microsoft Surface Pro for DirectAccess

Recently I wrote about the fact that the Microsoft Surface Pro is not supported as a DirectAccess client, because it ships with Windows 8 Professional pre-installed. Only Windows 8 Enterprise (and Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate) are supported for DirectAccess. However, that doesn’t mean that the Surface Pro will never support DirectAccess. I simply meant to state that the Surface Pro didn’t support DirectAccess out-of-the-box. That said, using your Surface Pro with DirectAccess will require installing Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Thankfully my good friend Kurt Shintaku documented in detail the steps required to accomplish this. Once you’ve completed these steps you should be able to join your Surface Pro to a domain and enable it as a DirectAccess client just like any other Windows 8 Enterprise device. Have fun!

Update: Read my post on how to install Windows 8 Enterprise and configure DirectAccess on the Microsoft Surface Pro here.

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by Richard M. Hicks on February 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Important Links, Remote Access, Windows 8
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Posted by Richard M. Hicks on February 25, 2013

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2013/02/25/installing-windows-8-enterprise-on-the-microsoft-surface-pro-for-directaccess/

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