All posts tagged application delivery controller

Windows 10 Multisite DirectAccess with GSLB Webinar

Windows 10 clients include full support for all enterprise DirectAccess scalability and redundancy features, including automatic site selection and transparent failover for multisite deployments. However, the native site selection process is limited in functionality and often yields unexpected results.

To provide better client support for multisite DirectAccess, a Global Server Load Balancer (GSLB) solution such as the Kemp Technologies LoadMaster GEO can be deployed. Using the LoadMaster’s GSLB functionality can significantly enhance multisite site selection for Windows 10 clients. In addition, it can be used to enable new scenarios not supported natively such as weighted distribution and active/passive failover.

To learn more about how address the shortcomings of DirectAccess multisite using the Kemp LoadMaster GEO, join me for a live webinar on Thursday, July 14, 2106 at 10:00AM EDT where I’ll discuss the following topics.

How Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) works
How Windows 10 clients choose an entry point
Understand the limitations of the native site selection process for Windows 10 clients
How to use the Kemp LoadMaster GEO to provide true geographic redundancy
How to enable active/passive failover for disaster recovery

You can register for this free live webinar here.

1 Comment

by Richard M. Hicks on June 20, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in ADC, application delivery controller, DirectAccess, Geographic Redundnacy, High Availability, Load Balancing, Remote Access, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on June 20, 2016

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2016/06/20/windows-10-multisite-directaccess-with-gslb-webinar/

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication

Introduction

DirectAccess IP-HTTPS Preauthentication Recently I’ve written about the security challenges with DirectAccess, specifically around the use of the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition technology. In its default configuration, the DirectAccess server does not authenticate the client when an IP-HTTPS transition tunnel is established. This opens up the possibility of an unauthorized user launching Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks and potentially performing network reconnaissance using ICMPv6. More details on this can be found here.

Mitigation

The best way to mitigate these security risks is to implement an Application Delivery Controller (ADC) such as the F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager or the Citrix NetScaler. I’ve documented how to configure those platforms here and here.

No ADC?

For those organizations that do not have a capable ADC deployed, it is possible to configure the IP-HTTPS listener on the Windows Server 2012 R2 server itself to perform preauthentication.

Important Note: Making the following changes on the DirectAccess server is not formally supported. Also, this change is incompatible with one-time passwords (OTP) and should not be performed if strong user authentication is enabled. In addition, null cipher suites will be disabled, resulting in reduced scalability and degraded performance for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 clients. Making this change should only be done if a suitable ADC is not available.

Configure IP-HTTPS Preauthentication

To configure the DirectAccess server to perform preauthentication for IP-HTTPS connections, open an elevated PowerShell command window and enter the following command.

ls Cert:\LocalMachine\My

Copy the thumbprint that belongs to the SSL certificate assigned to the IP-HTTPS listener. Open an elevated command prompt window (not a PowerShell window!) and enter the following commands.

netsh http delete sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:443
netsh http add sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:443 certhash=[thumbprint]
appid={5d8e2743-ef20-4d38-8751-7e400f200e65}
dsmapperusage=enable clientcertnegotiation=enable

For load-balanced clusters and multisite deployments, repeat these steps on each DirectAccess server in the cluster and/or enterprise.

Summary

Once these changes have been made, only DirectAccess clients that have a computer certificate with a subject name that matches the name of its computer account in Active Directory will be allowed to establish an IP-HTTPS transition tunnel connection.

27 Comments

by Richard M. Hicks on June 13, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in ADC, application delivery controller, DirectAccess, Encryption, F5, IP-HTTPS, IPv6 Transition, Load Balancing, Netscaler, Remote Access, Security, SSL and TLS, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on June 13, 2016

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2016/06/13/directaccess-ip-https-preauthentication/

Configure Citrix NetScaler for DirectAccess NLS

Introduction

The Network Location Server (NLS) is a crucial DirectAccess supporting infrastructure component. It is secure web server that DirectAccess clients use to determine if they are inside or outside of the corporate network.

NLS Availability

The NLS should be highly available. If this service is not available, DirectAccess clients on the internal network will think they are outside and attempt to establish a DirectAccess connection. Typically, this results in the DirectAccess client not being able to reach internal resources by hostname. Full connectivity for DirectAccess clients on the internal network will not be restored until the NLS is online.

It is recommended that the NLS be deployed in a load-balanced cluster for high availability. However, this requires deploying multiple servers, adding more cost, complexity, and management overhead to the solution.

NLS and Citrix NetScaler

Configuring the Citrix NetScaler to serve as the NLS is an attractive alternative to deploying additional servers for this role. Using the NetScaler for the NLS reduces costs by leveraging existing infrastructure. In addition, the NetScaler requires less servicing than a typical Windows server, and is often itself already highly available.

Configure Citrix NetScaler

To configure the NetScaler to serve as a DirectAccess NLS, open the NetScaler management console, expand AppExpert, and then select Actions. Click Add, provide a descriptive name for the responder action, and then enter the following in the Expression field and click Create.

"HTTP/1.0 200 OK" +"\r\n\r\n" + "DirectAccess Network Location Server (NLS)" + "\r\n"

Select Policies, click Add, and then provide a descriptive name for the responder policy. Enter HTTP.REQ.IS_VALID in the Expression field and click Create.

Expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing and select Services. Click Add, provide a descriptive name for the service, choose New Server, and enter the IPv4 loopback address 127.0.0.1. Select SSL for the Protocol, enter a random port number for the Port and then click More.