When DirectAccess is deployed using the Getting Started Wizard (GSW), sometimes referred to as the “simplified deployment” method, self-signed certificates are created during the installation and used for the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology, the Network Location Server (NLS), and for RADIUS secret encryption.
Certificate Expiration
These self-signed certificates expire 5 years after they are created, which means many DirectAccess administrators who have used this deployment option will need to renew these certificates at some point in the future. Unfortunately, there’s no published guidance from Microsoft on how to accomplish this. However, the process is simple enough using PowerShell and the New-SelfSignedCertificate cmdlet.
PowerShell Script
Open an elevated PowerShell command window and run the following commands to renew the DirectAccess self-signed certificates.
# // Clone and install IP-HTTPS certificate
$iphttpscert = (Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My\ | Where-Object Thumbprint -eq ((Get-RemoteAccess).SslCertificate | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Thumbprint))
$newcert = New-SelfSignedCertificate -CloneCert $iphttpscert -FriendlyName “DirectAccess-IPHTTPS” | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Thumbprint
$cert = (Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My\ | Where-Object Thumbprint -eq $newcert)
Set-RemoteAccess -SslCertificate $cert -PassThru
# // Clone and install NLS certificate
$nlscert = (Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My\ | Where-Object Thumbprint -eq ((Get-RemoteAccess).NlsCertificate | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Thumbprint))
$newcert = New-SelfSignedCertificate -CloneCert $nlscert -FriendlyName “DirectAccess-NLS” | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Thumbprint
$cert = (Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My\ | Where-Object Thumbprint -eq $newcert)
Set-DANetworkLocationServer -NLSOnDAServer -Certificate $cert
# // Clone RADIUS encryption certificate
$cert = (Get-ChildItem -Path Cert:\LocalMachine\My\ | Where-Object Subject -like “*radius-encrypt*”)
New-SelfSignedCertificate -CloneCert $cert -FriendlyName “Certificate issued by Remote Access for RADIUS shared secrets”
Script on GitHub
I’ve also published this script on GitHub. You can download Renew-DaSelfSignedCertificates.ps1 here.
Important Considerations
When the IP-HTTPS and NLS scripts above are executed, DirectAccess clients outside will be immediately disconnected and will be unable to reconnect until they update group policy (the RADIUS encryption certificate can be updated without impacting users). This will require connecting to the internal network locally or remotely using another VPN solution. In addition, internal clients that are not online when this change is made will be unable to access internal resources by name until they update group policy. If this happens, delete the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) on the client using the following PowerShell command and reboot to restore connectivity.
Get-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DNSClient\DnsPolicyConfig” | Remove-Item -Confirm:$false
Additional Information
PowerShell Recommended Reading for DirectAccess Administrators
Top 5 DirectAccess Troubleshooting PowerShell Commands
A longstanding issue with Windows 10 Always On VPN is that of VPN tunnel connectivity reliability and device tunnel/user tunnel interoperability. Many administrators have reported that Always On VPN connections fail to establish automatically at times, that only one tunnel comes up at a time (user tunnel or device tunnel, but not both), or that VPN tunnels fail to establish when coming out of sleep or hibernate modes. Have a look at the comments on this post and you’ll get a good understanding of the issues with Always On VPN.
Recently I wrote about an issue with 
Today Microsoft 
For DirectAccess deployments where domain controllers are running Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 R2 using the File Replication Service (FRS) for replication, DirectAccess client and server settings Group Policy Objects (GPOs) may be deleted. If these GPOs are deleted, DirectAccess connectivity will be disrupted. If the GPOs cannot be recovered via backup, it will be necessary to rebuild the entire DirectAccess deployment from scratch.
