Windows Server and the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) is a popular choice for Windows 10 Always On VPN deployments. It is easy to implement and support, offers flexible scalability, and is cost-effective. In addition, it provides support for a TLS-based VPN protocol which is required for many deployments.
Configuration Backup
When deploying RRAS to support Always On VPN, it’s an excellent idea to export the configuration once all settings have been finalized. Often this is done by opening an elevated command window and running netsh.exe ras dump and piping the output to a text file, as shown here.
netsh.exe ras dump > rasconfig.txt
Import Error
Importing a saved configuration is accomplished by opening an elevated command window and running netsh.exe exec [filename], as shown here.
netsh.exe exec rasconfig.txt
Oddly, this doesn’t work by default. The import will fail and return the following error message.
“The following command was not found: ■.”
Root Cause
Importing the RRAS configuration fails because the default configuration output is saved in Unicode format. Inexplicably this encoding is not recognized by netsh.exe when importing the configuration.
Workaround
Follow the steps below to save the configuration file in a format that can be imported using netsh.exe.
1. Open the exported configuration file using notepad.exe.
2. From the Menu bar choose File > Save As.
3. From the Encoding drop-down list choose ANSI.
4. Click Save.
Once complete, import the file using netsh.exe exec [filename]. Restart the RemoteAccess service to apply the changes.
PowerShell
Administrators can use PowerShell to export the RRAS configuration and ensure the correct encoding format is used by default. To do this, open an elevated PowerShell window and run the following command.
Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock {netsh ras dump} | Out-File [filename] -Encoding ASCII
You can also find PowerShell script to import and export RRAS configuration on my Github.
Export-VpnServerConfiguration.ps1
Import-VpnServerConfiguration.ps1
Additional Information
Windows 10 Always On VPN and Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS)
Updated December 9, 2023: I’ve recently updated this PowerShell script to work more reliably in different configurations other than the Getting Started Wizard. If you’ve had trouble running this script in the past, download the latest version. It should work better! I’ve also published the script in the PowerShell gallery. You can install it by running “Install-Script Renew-DaSelfSignedCertificates”. Enjoy!
The DirectAccess Network Connectivity Assistant (NCA), first introduced in Windows 8, provides DirectAccess connectivity status information as well as diagnostic support on the client. The NCA validates that DirectAccess is working end-to-end by attempting to reach internal resources defined by the administrator during the configuration of DirectAccess. NCA configuration and operation is a source of much confusion. This article serves to provide best practice configuration guidance for the NCA to ensure optimum and reliable operation.
