Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NATOver the last few weeks, I’ve worked with numerous organizations and individuals troubleshooting connectivity and performance issues associated with Windows 10 Always On VPN, and specifically connections using the Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) VPN protocol. An issue that appears with some regularity is when Windows 10 clients fail to connect with error 809. In this scenario, the server will accept connections without issue for a period of time and then suddenly stop accepting requests. When this happens, existing connections continue to work without issue in most cases. Frequently this occurs with Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) servers configured in a clustered array behind an External Load Balancer (ELB).

Network Address Translation

It is not uncommon to use Network Address Translation (NAT) when configuring Always On VPN. In fact, for most deployments the public IP address for the VPN server resides not on the VPN server, but on an edge firewall or load balancer connected directly to the Internet. The firewall/load balancer is then configured to translate the destination address to the private IP address assigned to the VPN server in the perimeter/DMZ or the internal network. This is known a Destination NAT (DNAT). Using this configuration, the client’s original source IP address is left intact. This configuration presents no issues for Always On VPN.

Source Address Translation

When troubleshooting these issues, the common denominator seems to be the use of Full NAT, which includes translating the source address in addition to the destination. This results in VPN client requests arriving at the VPN server as appearing not to come from the client’s original IP address, but the IP address of the network device (firewall or load balancer) that is translating the request. Full NAT may be explicitly configured by an administrator, or in the case of many load balancers, configured implicitly because the load balancer is effectively proxying the connection.

Known Issues

IKEv2 VPN connections use IPsec for encryption, and by default, Windows limits the number of IPsec Security Associations (SAs) coming from a single IP address. When a NAT device is performing destination/full NAT, the VPN server sees all inbound IKEv2 VPN requests as coming from the same IP address. When this happens, clients connecting using IKEv2 may fail to connect, most commonly when the server is under moderate to heavy load.

Resolution

The way to resolve this issue is to ensure that any load balancers or NAT devices are not translating the source address but are performing destination NAT only. The following is configuration guidance for F5, Citrix ADC (formerly NetScaler), and Kemp load balancers.

F5

On the F5 BIG-IP load balancer, navigate to the Properties > Configuration page of the IKEv2 UDP 500 virtual server and choose None from the Source Address Translation drop-down list. Repeat this step for the IKEv2 UDP 4500 virtual server.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Citrix ADC

On the Citrix ADC load balancer, navigate to System > Settings > Configure Modes and check the option to Use Subnet IP.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Next, navigate to Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Service Groups and select the IKEv2 UDP 500 service group. In the Settings section click edit and select Use Client IP. Repeat these steps for the IKEv2 UDP 4500 service group.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Kemp

On the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer, navigate to Virtual Services > View/Modify Services and click Modify on the IKEv2 UDP 500 virtual service. Expand Standard Options and select Transparency. Repeat this step for the IKEv2 UDP 4500 virtual service.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Caveat

Making the changes above may introduce routing issues in your environment. When configuring these settings, it may be necessary to configure the VPN server’s default gateway to use the load balancer to ensure proper routing. If this is not possible, consider implementing the workaround below.

Workaround

To fully resolve this issue the above changes should be made to ensure the VPN server can see the client’s original source IP address. If that’s not possible for any reason, the following registry key can be configured to increase the number of established SAs from a single IP address. Be advised this is only a partial workaround and may not fully eliminate failed IKEv2 connections. There are other settings in Windows that can prevent multiple connections from a single IP address which are not adjustable at this time.

To implement this registry change, open an elevated PowerShell command window on the RRAS server and run the following commands. Repeat these commands on all RRAS servers in the organization.

New-ItemProperty -Path ‘HKLM:SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IKEEXT\Parameters\’ -Name IkeNumEstablishedForInitialQuery -PropertyType DWORD -Value 50000 -Force

Restart-Service IKEEXT -Force -PassThru

Additional Information

IPsec Traffic May Be Blocked When A Computer is Behind a Load Balancer

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with Citrix NetScaler ADC

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with F5 BIG-IP

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing Issue with Kemp LoadMaster

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing Issue with Kemp LoadMasterA recent update to the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer may cause failed connections for Always On VPN connections using IKEv2. SSTP VPN connections are unaffected.

Load Balancing IKEv2

When using the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer to load balance IKEv2, custom configuration is required to ensure proper operation. Specifically, the virtual service must be configured to use “port following” to ensure both the initial request on UDP port 500 and the subsequent request on UDP port 4500 are sent to the same real server. This requires the virtual service to be configured to operate at layer 7. Detailed configuration guidance for load balancing IKEv2 on the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer can be found here.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing Issue with Kemp LoadMaster

Issues with LMOS 7.2.48.0

A recent release of the Load Master Operating System (LMOS) v7.2.48.0 introduced a bug that affects UDP services configured to operate at layer 7, which includes IKEv2. This bug breaks Always On VPN connections using IKEv2, resulting in failed connections. When this occurs, the administrator may encounter an error 809 message for device tunnel or user tunnel.

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing Issue with Kemp LoadMaster

Update Available

Administrators who use the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer to load balance Always On VPN IKEv2 connections and have updated to LMOS 7.2.48.0 are encouraged to update to LMOS 7.2.48.1 immediately. This latest update includes a fix that resolves broken IKEv2 load balancing for Always On VPN. Once the LoadMaster has been updated to 7.2.48.1, Always On VPN connections using IKEv2 should complete successfully.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing and NAT

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancer

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancer

Windows 10 Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster in Azure

Windows 10 Always On VPN Load Balancing Deployment Guide for Kemp Load Balancers

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in AzureIn a recent post I discussed options for load balancing Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) in Microsoft Azure for Always On VPN. There are many choices available to the administrator, however the best alternative is to use a dedicated Application Delivery Controller (ADC), or load balancer. The Kemp LoadMaster load balancer is an excellent choice here, as it is easy to configure and deploy. It is also very cost effective and offers flexible licensing plans, including a metered licensing option.

Deploy LoadMaster in Azure

To provision a Kemp LoadMaster load balancer in Microsoft Azure, open the Azure management console and perform the following steps.

1. Click Create Resource.
2. Enter LoadMaster in the search field.
3. Click on LoadMaster Load Balancer ADC Content Switch.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

4. Choose an appropriate license model from the Select a software plan drop-down list.
5. Click Create.

Prepare Azure Instance

Follow the steps below to provision the Azure VM hosting the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer.

1. Choose an Azure subscription to and resource group to deploy the resources to.
2. Provide instance details such as virtual machine name, region, availability options, and image size.
3. Select an authentication type and upload the SSH private key or provide a username and password.
4. Click Next:Disks >.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

5. Select an OS disk type.
6. Click Next: Networking >.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

7. Select a virtual network and subnet for the load balancer.
8. Create or assign a public IP address.
9. Click Review + create.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

LoadMaster Configuration

Once the virtual machine has been provisioned, open a web browser and navigate to the VM’s internal IP address on port 8443 to accept the licensing terms.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

Next, log in with your Kemp ID and password to finish licensing the appliance.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

Finally, log in to the appliance using the username ‘bal’ and the password provided when the virtual machine was configured.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

Azure Network Security Group

A Network Security Group (NSG) is automatically configured and associated with the LoadMaster’s network interface when the appliance is created. Additional inbound security rules must be added to allow VPN client connectivity.

In the Azure management console open the properties for the LoadMaster NSG and follow the steps below to configure security rules to allow inbound VPN protocols.

SSTP

1. Click Inbound security rules.
2. Click Add.
3. Choose Any from the Source drop-down list.
4. Enter * in the Source port ranges field.
5. Select Any from the Destination drop-down list.
6. Enter 443 in the Destination port ranges field.
7. Select the TCP protocol.
8. Select the Allow action.
9. Enter a value in the Priority field.
10. Enter a name for the service in the Name field.
11. Click Add.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

IKEv2

1. Click Inbound security rules.
2. Click Add.
3. Choose Any from the Source drop-down list.
4. Enter * in the Source port ranges field.
5. Select Any from the Destination drop-down list.
6. Enter 500 in the Destination port ranges field.
7. Select the UDP protocol.
8. Select the Allow action.
9. Enter a value in the Priority field.
10. Enter a name for the service in the Name field.
11. Click Add.
12. Repeat the steps below for UDP port 4500.

Always On VPN Load Balancing with Kemp in Azure

Load Balancing SSTP and IKEv2

Refer to the following posts for detailed, prescriptive guidance for configuring the Kemp LoadMaster load balancer for Always On VPN load balancing.

Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster

Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with the Kemp LoadMaster

Always On VPN Load Balancing Deployment Guide for the Kemp LoadMaster

Summary

Although Windows Server RRAS is not a formally supported workload in Azure, it is still a popular and effective solution for Always On VPN deployments. The Kemp LoadMaster load balancer can be deployed quickly and easily to provide redundancy and increase scalability for larger deployments.

Additional Information

Windows 10 Always On VPN SSTP Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancers

Windows 10 Always On VPN IKEv2 Load Balancing with Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancers

Windows 10 Always On VPN Load Balancing Deployment Guide for Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancers

Deploying the Kemp LoadMaster Load Balancer in Microsoft Azure