Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using Intune

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using IntuneA while back I described in detail how to configure a Windows 10 Always On VPN device tunnel connection using PowerShell. While using PowerShell is fine for local testing, it obviously doesn’t scale well. In theory you could deploy the PowerShell script and XML file using System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), but using Microsoft Intune is the recommended and preferred deployment method. However, as of this writing Intune does not support device tunnel configuration natively. The administrator must create a ProfileXML manually and use Intune to deploy it.

Device Tunnel Prerequisites

I outlined the Always On VPN device tunnel prerequisites in my previous post here. To summarize, the client must be running Windows 10 Enterprise edition and be domain-joined. It must also have a certificate issued by the internal PKI with the Client Authentication EKU in the local computer certificate store.

ProfileXML

To begin, create a ProfileXML for the device tunnel that includes the required configuration settings and parameters for your deployment. You can find a sample Windows 10 Always On VPN device tunnel ProfileXML here.

Note: Be sure to define a custom IPsec policy in ProfileXML for the device tunnel. The default security settings for the IKEv2 protocol (required for the device tunnel) are quite poor. Details here.

Intune Deployment

Open the Intune management console and follow the steps below to deploy an Always On VPN device tunnel using Microsoft Intune.

Create Profile

1. Navigate to the Intune portal.
2. Click Device configuration.
3. Click Profiles.
4. Click Create profile.

Define Profile Settings

1. Enter a name for the VPN connection in the Name field.
2. Enter a description for the VPN connection in the Description field (optional).
3. Select Windows 10 and later from the Platform drop-down list.
4. Select Custom from the Profile type drop-down list.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using Intune

Define Custom OMA-URI Settings

1. On the Custom OMA-URI Settings blade click Add.
2. Enter a name for the device tunnel in the Name field.
3. Enter a description for the VPN connection in the Description field (optional).
4. Enter the URI for the device tunnel in the OMA-URI field using the following syntax. If the profile name includes spaces they must be escaped, as shown here.

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/VPNv2/Example%20Profile%Name/ProfileXML

5. Select String (XML file) from the Data Type drop-down list.
6. Click the folder next to the Select a file field and chose the ProfileXML file created previously.
7. Click Ok twice and then click Create.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using Intune

Assign Profile

Follow the steps below to assign the Always On VPN device tunnel profile to the appropriate device group.

1. Click Assignments.
2. Click Select groups to include.
3. Select the group that includes the Windows 10 client devices.
4. Click Select.
5. Click Save.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using Intune

Demonstration Video

A video demonstration of the steps outlined above can be viewed here.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using PowerShell

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Security Configuration

Deleting a Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Missing in the UI

Video: Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN User Tunnel with Microsoft Intune

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

When configuring a Windows 10 Always On VPN device tunnel, the administrator may encounter a scenario in which the device tunnel does not connect automatically. This can occur even when ProfileXML is configured with the AlwaysOn element set to “true”.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

Manual Connection

An administrator can establish a device tunnel connection manually using rasdial.exe however, indicating no issues with connectivity or authentication that would prevent a successful automatic connection.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

Root Cause

This scenario will occur when the device tunnel configuration is applied to a Windows 10 Professional edition client.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

Device Tunnel Support

The Windows 10 Always On VPN device tunnel is supported only on Windows 10 1709 or later Enterprise edition clients that are domain-joined. To ensure the device tunnel connects automatically, upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise 1709 or later and join it to a domain.

Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-access/vpn/vpn-device-tunnel-config#device-tunnel-requirements-and-features

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Configuration using PowerShell

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Missing in the Windows UI

Deleting a Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShellWindows 10 Always On VPN and DirectAccess both provide seamless, transparent, always on remote network access for Windows clients. However, Always On VPN is provisioned to the user, not the machine as it is with DirectAccess. This presents a challenge for deployment scenarios that require the VPN connection to be established before the user logs on. For example, pre-logon connectivity is required to support remote logon without cached credentials. To address this issue and to provide feature parity with DirectAccess, Microsoft introduced support for a device tunnel configuration option beginning with Windows 10 version 1709 (Fall creators update).

Learn Windows 10 Always On VPN today! Register for an upcoming Always On VPN Hands-On Training class. More details here!

Prerequisites

To support an Always On VPN device tunnel, the client computer must be running Windows 10 Enterprise or Education version 1709 (Fall creators update) or later. It must also be domain-joined and have a computer certificate with the Client Authentication Enhanced Key Usage (EKU) issued by the organization’s Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

In addition, only the built-in Windows VPN client is supported for Always On VPN device tunnel. Although Windows 10 Always On VPN user connections can be configured using various third-party VPN clients, they are not supported for use with the device tunnel.

VPN ProfileXML

The Always On VPN device tunnel is provisioned using an XML file. You can download a sample VPN ProfileXML file here. Make any changes required for your environment such as VPN server hostnames, routes, traffic filters, and remote address ranges. Optionally include the trusted network detection code, if required. Do not change the protocol type or authentication methods, as these are required.

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-access/vpn/vpn-device-tunnel-config#configure-the-vpn-device-tunnel

Once the ProfileXML file is created, it can be deployed using Intune, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), or PowerShell. In this post I’ll cover how to configure Windows 10 Always On VPN device tunnel using PowerShell.

Client Configuration

Download the PowerShell script located here and then copy it to the target client computer. The Always On VPN device tunnel must be configured in the context of the local system account. To accomplish this, it will be necessary to use PsExec, one of the PsTools included in the Sysinternals suite of utilities. Download PsExec here, copy it to the target machine, and then run the following command in an elevated PowerShell command window.

PsExec.exe -i -s C:\windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

Another elevated PowerShell window will open, this one now running in the context of the local system account. In this window, navigate to the folder where you copied the PowerShell script and XML file to. Run the PowerShell script and specify the name of the ProfileXML file, as shown below.

VPN_Profile_Device.ps1 -xmlFilePath .\profileXML_device.XML -ProfileName DeviceTunnel

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

To verify creation of the VPN device tunnel, run the following PowerShell command.

Get-VpnConnection -AllUserConnection

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

Note: In Windows 10 releases prior to 1903 the ConnectionStatus will always report Disconnected. This has been fixed in Windows 10 1903.

Server Configuration

If you are using Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016 Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) as your VPN server, you must enable machine certificate authentication for VPN connections and define a root certification authority for which incoming VPN connections will be authenticated with. To do this, open an elevated PowerShell command and run the following commands.

$VPNRootCertAuthority = “Common Name of trusted root certification authority”
$RootCACert = (Get-ChildItem -Path cert:LocalMachine\root | Where-Object {$_.Subject -Like “*$VPNRootCertAuthority*” })
Set-VpnAuthProtocol -UserAuthProtocolAccepted Certificate, EAP -RootCertificateNameToAccept $RootCACert -PassThru

Always On VPN Windows 10 Device Tunnel Step-by-Step Configuration using PowerShell

Limitations

Using PowerShell to provision an Always On VPN device tunnel is helpful for initial testing and small pilot deployments, but it does not scale very well. For production deployments it is recommended that Microsoft Intune be used to deploy Always On VPN device tunnel.

Deploy Device Tunnel with Intune

Guidance for deploying an Always On VPN device tunnel using Microsoft Intune can be found here. You can also view the following demonstration video that includes detailed guidance for provisioning the Always On VPN device tunnel using Microsoft Intune.

Summary

Once the Always On VPN device tunnel is configured, the client computer will automatically establish the connection as soon as an active Internet connection is detected. This will enable remote logins for users without cached credentials, and allow administrators to remotely manage Always On VPN clients without requiring a user to be logged on at the time.

Additional Information

Deploy Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel using Microsoft Intune

VIDEO: Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel using Microsoft Intune

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Connect Automatically

Windows 10 Always On VPN Device Tunnel Does Not Appear in the UI

Windows 10 Always On VPN Hands-On Training