All posts tagged DNS

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

Always On VPN Client DNS Server ConfigurationDNS server configuration for Windows 10 Always On VPN clients is crucial to ensuring full access to internal resources. For Always On VPN, there are a few different ways to assign a DNS server to VPN clients.

Default DNS Servers

By default, Windows 10 clients use the same DNS server the VPN server is configured to use. This is true even if the VPN client IP address assignment method is DHCP.

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

There may be some scenarios in which this is not appropriate. For example, if the DNS server is in a DMZ network and is not configured to use internal Active Directory domain DNS servers, clients will be unable to access internal resources.

DNS Server Assignment

To configure Windows 10 Always On VPN clients to use DNS servers other than those configured on the VPN server, configure the DomainNameInformation element in the ProfileXML, as shown here.

<VPNProfile>
   <DomainNameInformation>
      <DomainName>.corp.example.net</DomainName>
      <DnsServers>10.21.12.100,10.21.12.101</DnsServers>
   </DomainNameInformation>
</VPNProfile>

Note: Be sure to include the lading “.” In the domain name to ensure that all hosts and subdomains are included.

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/vpnv2-csp

DNS and NRPT

Once the DomainNameInformation element has been defined, the new DNS server assignment does NOT appear on the VPN virtual adapters interface. In fact, it will still be configured to use the DNS server assigned to the VPN server, just as before. Using the DomainNameInformation element instead configures the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) and assigns the new DNS server to the namespace defined by the administrator. You can view the NRPT running the Get-DnsClientNrptPolicy PowerShell command.

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN and the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT)

Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN with Microsoft Intune

Windows 10 Always On VPN Certificate Requirements for IKEv2

Windows 10 Always On VPN Hands-On Training

65 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on May 29, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Always On VPN, AOVPN, DNS, enterprise mobility, Mobility, name resolution policy table, NRPT, Remote Access, VPN, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on May 29, 2018

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2018/05/29/always-on-vpn-client-dns-server-configuration/

Always On VPN and the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT)

Always On VPN and the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT)The Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) is a function of the Windows client and server operating systems that allows administrators to enable policy-based name resolution request routing. Instead of sending all name resolution requests to the DNS server configured on the computer’s network adapter, the NRPT can be used to define unique DNS servers for specific namespaces.

DirectAccess administrators will be intimately familiar with the NRPT, as it is explicitly required for DirectAccess operation. Use of the NRPT for Windows 10 Always On VPN is optional, however. It is commonly used for deployments where split DNS is enabled. Here the NRPT can define DNS servers for the internal namespace, and exclusions can be configured for FQDNs that should not be routed over the VPN tunnel.

To enable the NRPT for Windows 10 Always On VPN, edit the ProfileXML to include the DomainNameInformation element.

<DomainNameInformation>
   <DomainName>.example.net</DomainName>
   <DnsServers>10.21.12.100,10.21.12.101</DnsServers>
</DomainNameInformation>

Note: Be sure to include the leading “.” in the domain name to ensure that all hosts and subdomains are included.

To create an NRPT exclusion simply omit the DnsServers element. Define additional entries for each hostname to be excluded, as shown here.

<DomainNameInformation>
   <DomainName>www.example.net</DomainName>
</DomainNameInformation>
<DomainNameInformation>
   <DomainName>mail.example.net</DomainName>
</DomainNameInformation>
<DomainNameInformation>
   <DomainName>autodiscover.example.net</DomainName>
</DomainNameInformation>

Additional Information

Windows 10 VPNv2 Configuration Service Provider (CSP) Reference

Windows 10 Always On VPN Protocol Recommendations for Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Services (RRAS)

Windows 10 Always On VPN Hands-On Training

143 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on April 23, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in Always On VPN, AOVPN, DNS, enterprise mobility, name resolution policy table, NRPT, Remote Access, VPN, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on April 23, 2018

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2018/04/23/always-on-vpn-and-the-name-resolution-policy-table-nrpt/

Cloudflare Public DNS Resolver Now Available

Cloudflare Public DNS Resolver Now AvailableCloudflare has become a nearly ubiquitous cloud service provider in recent years, fronting many of the busiest web sites on the Internet. They provide tremendous value both in terms of security and performance for their customers. They have a wide array of solutions designed to provide better security, including optimized SSL/TLS configuration and Web Application Firewall (WAF) capabilities. Their DDoS mitigation service is second to none, and their robust Content Delivery Network (CDN) ensures optimal loading of content for web sites anywhere in the world.

Public DNS Resolver

Recently Cloudflare announced their first consumer service, a public DNS resolver that is free for general use. It offers exceptional performance and supports many of the latest DNS security and privacy enhancements such as DNS-over-TLS. Cloudflare has also pledged not to write DNS queries to disk at all and not to store them for more than 24 hours to further ensure privacy for their customers.

Cloudflare Public DNS Resolver Now Available

DNS Security Controls

What Cloudflare DNS is lacking today is granular security enforcement to provide additional protection for client computers outside the firewall. For example, public DNS resolvers from OpenDNS and Quad9 have built-in security features that use threat intelligence to identify and block DNS name resolution requests for domains that are known to be malicious or unsafe. OpenDNS has the added benefit of providing more granularity for setting policy, allowing administrators to select different filtering levels and optionally to create custom policies to allow or block individually selected categories. With OpenDNS, security administrators can also manage domains individually by manually assigning allow or block to specific, individual domains as necessary.

Recommended Use Cases

Cloudflare DNS clearly offers the best performance of all public DNS resolvers today, which makes it a good candidate for servers that rely heavily on DNS for operation. Mail servers come to mind immediately, but any system that performs many forward and/or reverse DNS lookups would benefit from using Cloudflare DNS. Cloudflare DNS can also be used by client machines where better performance and enhanced privacy are desired.

Quad9 DNS is a good choice for client computers where additional security is required. OpenDNS is the best choice where the highest level of security is required, and where granular control of security and web filtering policies is necessary.

Additional Information

Cloudflare DNS
Quad9 DNS
OpenDNS
Dnsperf.com

2 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on April 3, 2018  •  Permalink
Posted in cloud, Cloudflare, DNS, Encryption, OpenDNS, public cloud, Quad9, Security, SSL and TLS
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on April 3, 2018

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2018/04/03/cloudflare-public-dns-resolver-now-available/

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