Endpoint Manager and Intune Learning Resources for Always On VPN Administrators

Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM), formerly Intune, is the recommended solution for deploying and managing Windows Always On VPN client configuration settings. Always On VPN is designed for Mobile Device Management (MDM), with configuration settings deployed specifically to the VPNv2 Configuration Service Provider (CSP) interface.

Resources

Getting up to speed on all things MEM isn’t difficult at all. I’ve found the MEM community to be exceedingly helpful, and there are many available training resources in various formats from which to choose.

Books

The following is a list of Microsoft Endpoint Manager books Always On VPN administrators will find most helpful for learning about MEM.

YouTube

The Intune Training channel on YouTube is an incredibly valuable resource for Always On VPN administrators learning MEM. Hosted by Steven Hosking, Adam Gross, and Ben Reader, there are countless videos covering important MEM configuration tasks.

Pluralsight

Pluralsight offers video training courses for a wide variety of IT-related topics. Recently I published the  Implementing Always On VPN video training course. There are several Microsoft Endpoint Manager video training courses available as well. Pluralsight is available via subscription. You can sign up for a free trial here if you don’t have a subscription.

Conferences

The Midwest Management Summit (MMS) is the premier event for systems management professionals. Their annual conference takes place each spring in the U.S. (Minneapolis, MN). The event is the best place to learn about Microsoft Endpoint Manager and network with systems management professionals worldwide.

Additional Resources

As a reminder, MEM topics such as certificate deployment and Always On VPN profile deployment and management are covered in detail in both my Implementing Always On VPN book and the Implementing Always On VPN video training course on Pluralsight. 😁

Always On VPN at MMSMOA 2022

I am excited to announce that I will be presenting at this year’s Midwest Management Summit at the Mall of America (MMSMOA) in Bloomington, Minnesota. The conference takes place the week of May 2. This is my first time presenting at this event, and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience deploying enterprise mobility and security infrastructure solutions with systems management professionals from around the world.

Sessions

I will be delivering three talks at the conference addressing various secure remote access and certificate services topics.

Managing Always On VPN with Intune

This session will provide administrators with everything they need to know about provisioning and managing Always On VPN client configuration settings using Intune. I’ll be providing tips, tricks, and best practices for Always On VPN profile configuration and demonstrating many of the limitations associated with using Intune. I will provide workarounds whenever possible.

Managing Always On VPN with Intune: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Always On VPN Gateway Options in Azure

Deploying Always On VPN in Azure is increasingly common. However, administrators are unaware of the limitations of supporting Always On VPN connections with native Azure VPN gateway solutions. In this session, I’ll describe in detail what’s required to support Always On VPN and, importantly, what the limitations are.

Always On VPN Gateway Options in Azure

Deploying On-premises PKI Certificates with Intune

As organizations continue to migrate applications, services, and infrastructure to the cloud, the requirement for endpoints to be joined to an on-premises domain is fading. Moving to full Intune management and native Azure Active Directory join for endpoints is increasingly common. However, deploying enterprise PKI certificates o these endpoints is often required. This session will provide detailed guidance for choosing the best solution to deliver on-premises certificates to Azure AD joined devices using Intune.

Deploying on-premises PKI Certificates with Intune

Let’s Connect

I’m looking forward to meeting so many folks who have helped me get up to speed with Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune over the years. If you’re attending the conference, or if you are in the area, be sure to reach out. Let’s grab a beer and chat!

Additional Information

Midwest Management Summit at Mall of America (MMSMOA) 2022

Managing Always On VPN with Intune: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Always On VPN Gateway Options in Azure

Deploying on-premises PKI Certificates with Intune

Always On VPN PowerShell Script Issues in Windows 11

Many administrators are now beginning to test Always On VPN functionality on the latest Microsoft Windows client operating system, Windows 11. Initially, Microsoft had some issues with provisioning and managing Always On VPN profiles on Windows 11 using Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune, but those have been resolved. However, some lingering problems may delay enterprise deployments of Always On VPN on Windows 11 for some organizations, specifically those using PowerShell with Active Directory group policy startup scripts or System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

Important Note: The issues outlined in this article have been resolved! The fix for the WMI enumeration bug is addressed in the following updates:

Windows 11 21H2 – KB5022905 (build 22000.1641)

Windows 11 22H2 – KB5026446 (build 22621.1778)

MakeProfile.ps1

Microsoft has published guidance for deploying Always On VPN profiles using PowerShell with their MakeProfile.ps1 script. This script extracts configuration details from a template VPN profile to create another PowerShell script called VPN_Profile.ps1, which is used to create the Always On VPN profile. SCCM administrators commonly use VPN_Proifle.ps1 to deploy Always On VPN profiles. However, running this script on Windows 11 fails and returns the following error message.

“Unable to create [VPN profile name] profile: A general error occurred that is not covered by a more specific code.”

This issue appears to be related to a problem with the WMI-to-CSP bridge, specifically enumerating the MDM_VPNv2_01 class in the root\cimv2\mdm\dmmap namespace. Here you can see the template VPN profile with PowerShell and Get-VpnConnection.

However, attempts to view the MDM_VPNv2_01 class of this VPN profile using PowerShell and Get-CimInstance fail.

New-AovpnConnection.ps1

Interestingly, administrators may find that my Always On VPN PowerShell deployment script works more reliably on Windows 11, although not always. In my experience, I’ve found that it sometimes fails once (profile is loaded, but the configuration is incomplete), then works after deleting the profile and creating it again. If the Microsoft-provided script isn’t working, give mine a try and see if it works better for you.

Note: When deploying Always On VPN profiles using my PowerShell deployment script via Active Directory startup scripts, it seems to fail consistently for some reason. Go figure. 😉

Remove-AovpnConnection.ps1

The issues described previously with Windows 11 are also negatively affecting some of my other PowerShell scripts. For example, running Remove-Aovpnconnection.ps1 on Windows 11 fails and returns the following error message.

“A general error occurred that is not covered by a more specific error code.”

Current Status

Microsoft is currently aware of this issue. However, I am aware of no timeframe for resolution at the time of this writing. Hopefully, Microsoft addresses this soon so organizations can move forward with their Windows 11 migration projects.

Additional Information

Microsoft Windows Always On VPN Windows 11 Issues with Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune

Microsoft Windows Always On VPN Profile Deployment Script

Microsoft Windows Always On VPN Remove Always On VPN Profile Script

Always On VPN PowerShell Script Repository on GitHub

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