One of the more common barriers to adoption for DirectAccess in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG) 2010 is the strict requirement for two consecutive public IPv4 addresses to be assigned to the external network interface of the DirectAccess server. Many small and mid-sized businesses have only a single public IPv4 address, or have a very small range of public IPv4 addresses that are already in use. For large organizations, corporate security policies often dictate that Windows-based systems cannot be internet facing, and many object to having a domain-joined Windows system exposed directly to the Internet. Further complicating matters is the fact that deploying a Window Server 2008 R2 or Forefront UAG 2010 DirectAccess server behind a border router or edge firewall performing Network Address Translation (NAT) is explicitly not supported.
Beginning with Windows Server 2012, deploying the DirectAccess server behind a border router or edge firewall performing NAT is now fully supported. No longer is there a requirement to have public IPv4 addresses assigned to the DirectAccess server’s external network interface. In fact, DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012 can be deployed with a single network adapter, allowing the DirectAccess server to be completely isolated in a perimeter or DMZ network.
Be advised that deploying a Windows Server 2012 DirectAccess server behind a NAT device will result in all DirectAccess client communication being delivered to the server exclusively using the IP-HTTPS IPv6 transition protocol. If you are using Windows 8 clients, there’s nothing to worry about in terms of performance and scalability because Windows 8 clients leverage NULL encryption for IP-HTTPS traffic. However, Windows 7 clients cannot utilize NULL encryption and will instead encrypt all DirectAccess client communication using SSL/TLS. DirectAccess communication is already encrypted using IPsec, so this presents a problem. Double encryption places high demands on the DirectAccess server’s CPU and memory and will significantly impact performance on the client and the server. It will also impede the scalability of the solution by dramatically reducing the number of DirectAccess clients supported on a single DirectAccess server.
So, if you’re planning to deploy a Windows Server 2012 DirectAccess server behind a NAT, and you are also planning to support a lot of Windows 7 clients, please proceed cautiously. Monitor the DirectAccess server performance closely during your pilot and, if at all possible, offload SSL/TLS off box using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) or equivalent device.
