A 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.
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.
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.
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
DirectAccess has been around for many years, and with Microsoft now moving in the direction of Always On VPN, I’m often asked “What’s the difference between DirectAccess and Always On VPN?” Fundamentally they both provide seamless and transparent, always on remote access. However, Always On VPN has a number of advantages over DirectAccess in terms of security, authentication and management, performance, and supportability.
