All posts tagged 0x2af9

DirectAccess NRPT Configuration with Split DNS

DirectAccess NRPT Configuration with Split DNS The Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) in Windows provides policy-based name resolution request routing for DNS queries. DirectAccess uses the NRPT to ensure that only requests for resources in the internal namespace, as defined by the DirectAccess administrator, are sent over the DirectAccess connection. DNS queries for all other namespaces are sent to the DNS servers defined on the client’s network interface.

Note: This behavior changes when force tunneling is enabled. In this case, all DNS queries are sent over the DirectAccess connection with the exception of the NLS and the DirectAccess server’s public hostname(s). If force tunneling is enabled, the configuration guidance described below is not required.

Split DNS

NRPT configuration is straightforward when the internal and external namespaces are unique. However, when split DNS is used, meaning when the internal and external namespaces are the same, DirectAccess configuration is more challenging. Typically, there may be many resources that should not go over the DirectAccess connection, such as public-facing web servers, email and unified communications servers, federation servers, etc. Without additional configuration, requests for all of these services would go over the DirectAccess connection. That may or may not be desirable, depending on the requirements of the implementation.

DirectAccess Server

One crucial public resource is the DirectAccess server itself. When using split DNS, the DirectAccess implementation’s public hostname will, by default, be included in the internal namespace. In this scenario, the DirectAccess client will fail to establish a connection to the DirectAccess server.

Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting failed connectivity, the output of ipconfig will show the IP-HTTPS tunnel interface media state as “Media disconnected”.

The output of Get-NetIPHttpsState will also return an error code 0x2AF9 with an interface status “Failed to connect to the IPHTTPS server; waiting to reconnect”.

To further troubleshoot this issue, examine the output of Get-NetIPHttpsConfiguration. Test name resolution of the FQDN listed in the ServerURL field. If the issue is related to NRPT configuration, the client will fail to resolve this name to an IP address. Testing from a non-DirectAccess client should resolve correctly, however.

NRPT Configuration

If split DNS is employed, it is necessary to include the DirectAccess server’s public hostname in the NRPT as an exemption. This will cause the DNS query for the public hostname to use public DNS servers, allowing the DirectAccess client to establish a connection successfully.

To resolve this issue, open the Remote Access Management console on the DirectAccess server, highlight DirectAccess and VPN under Configuration, and then click Edit on Step 3. Select DNS, and then double-click on an empty row in the table.

Enter the public hostname for the DirectAccess deployment in the DNS suffix field (the public hostname can be found by clicking Edit on Step 2). Do NOT specify a DNS server. Click Apply, click Next twice, and then click Finish.

Note: For multisite deployments, be sure to include the public hostname for each entry point in the enterprise. Also, if multisite is configured to use GSLB, include the GSLB hostname as well.

PowerShell

Alternatively, you can run the following PowerShell commands to automatically configure the NRPT for split DNS. For multisite deployments, be sure to run these commands on at least one DirectAccess server in each site.

$hostname = Get-RemoteAccess | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ConnectToAddress
Add-DAClientDnsConfiguration -DnsSuffix $hostname -PassThru

If multisite is configured to use GSLB, run the following PowerShell commands on one DirectAccess server in the enterprise.

$gslbfqdn = Get-DAMultiSite | Select-Object -ExpandProperty GslbFqdn
Add-DAClientDnsConfiguration -DnsSuffix $gslbfqdn -PassThru

Additional Information

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error 0x2af9

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Properly

DirectAccess DNS Records Explained

Troubleshooting Name Resolution Issue on DirectAccess Clients

16 Comments

by Richard M. Hicks on December 26, 2017 • Permalink

Posted in DirectAccess, DNS, IP-HTTPS, IPv6, IPv6 Transition, multisite, name resolution policy table, NRPT, PowerShell, Remote Access, transition technology, troubleshooting, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

Tagged 0x2af9, DirectAccess, DNS, force tunnel, force tunneling, IP-HTTPS, IPv6, IPv6 transition technology, name resolution, name resolution policy table, namespace, NRPT, PowerShell, Remote Access, split DNS, troubleshooting

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on December 26, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/12/26/directaccess-nrpt-configuration-with-split-dns/

Troubleshooting DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error 0x2af9

When troubleshooting DirectAccess client connectivity issues, you may encounter a scenario where clients are unable to connect using the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology. Running ipconfig shows that the tunnel adapter IPHTTPSInterface media state is Media disconnected.

Running the Get-NetIpHttpsState PowerShell command shows that the LastErrorCode is 0x2af9 (WSAHOST_NOT_FOUND) and the InterfaceStatus is Failed to connect to the IPHTTPS server; waiting to reconnect.

The 0x2af9 error differs slightly from the more common 0x274c IP-HTTPS connection time out error (WSAETIMEDOUT). In this scenario the DirectAccess client can successfully resolve the DirectAccess public hostname to an IPv4 address, and if ICMP echo requests are allowed on the DirectAccess server’s public IPv4 address it will respond to ping.

The DirectAccess client is also able to establish a TCP connection to the DirectAccess server using the Test-NetConnection PowerShell command.

So, why is the IP-HTTPS interface unable to establish a transition tunnel connection when the DirectAccess server’s public hostname resolves correctly via DNS and the client can establish a TCP connection on port 443? Commonly this is caused by proxy server settings configured in the web browser on the DirectAccess client computer. Disabling the proxy server in the client’s web browser should restore DirectAccess client connectivity over IP-HTTPS.

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Error 0x2af9

If clearing the proxy server settings in the client machine’s web browser still does not restore IP-HTTPS connectivity, it may be that a proxy server is also configured for winhttp. You can confirm this by opening an elevated PowerShell command window and running the netsh winhttp show proxy command.