All posts tagged NRPT

Uninstalling and Removing DirectAccess

Uninstalling and Removing DirectAccess This web site is primarily dedicated to installing, configuring, managing, and troubleshooting DirectAccess on Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016. However, there’s little documentation on how to properly uninstall and remove DirectAccess. This post provides guidance for gracefully uninstalling and removing DirectAccess after it has been deployed.

DirectAccess Clients

It is recommended that all clients be deprovisioned prior to decommissioning a DirectAccess deployment. This is especially true if the Network Location Server (NLS) is hosted on the DirectAccess server itself. Remove all client computers from the DirectAccess client security group or unlink DirectAccess client settings GPOs (but don’t delete them!) from any OUs where they are applied. Allow sufficient time for all clients to process security group membership changes and update group policy before uninstalling DirectAccess.

Network Location Server

If the NLS is installed separate from the DirectAccess server, it is recommended that it remain online for a period of time after DirectAccess has been decommissioned. Clients will be unable to access local resources if they still have DirectAccess client settings applied and the NLS is offline. Keeping the NLS online prevents this from happening. If this does happen, you’ll need to delete the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) on the client to restore connectivity. To do this, run the following command in an elevated PowerShell command window and restart the computer.

Get-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\DNSClient\DnsPolicyConfig” | Remove-Item -Confirm:$false

Uninstall DirectAccess

It is not recommended to decommission DirectAccess by simply turning off all DirectAccess servers and manually deleting all of the associated group policy objects (GPOs) in Active Directory. A better way is to gracefully remove DirectAccess using the GUI or PowerShell.

To uninstall DirectAccess using the GUI, open the Remote Access Management console, highlight DirectAccess and VPN, and then click Remove Configuration Settings in the Tasks pane.

Uninstalling and Removing DirectAccess

Alternatively, DirectAccess can be removed by running the following command in an elevated PowerShell command window.

Uninstall-RemoteAccess -Force

Additional Resources

DirectAccess Network Location Server (NLS) Guidance

DirectAccess Network Location Server (NLS) Deployment Considerations for Large Enterprises

Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016

32 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on April 13, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, Remote Access
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on April 13, 2017

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2017/04/13/uninstalling-and-removing-directaccess/

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Properly

Name resolution and proper DNS server configuration is vital to the functionality of DirectAccess. When performing initial configuration of DirectAccess, or making changes to the DNS server configuration after initial configuration, you may notice the operations status for DNS indicates Critical, and that the operations state shows Server responsiveness.

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Correctly

Highlighting the DNS server on the Operations Status page and viewing the details shows that DNS is not working properly with the following error message:

None of the enterprise DNS servers <IPv6_address> used by DirectAccess
clients for name resolution are responding. This might affect DirectAccess
client connectivity to corporate resources.

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Correctly

There are a number of things that can contribute to this problem, but a common cause is an error made when assigning a DNS server to a specific DNS suffix. An inexperienced DirectAccess administrator might specify the IPv4 address of an internal corporate DNS server, which is incorrect. The DNS server IPv4 address should be the address assigned to the DirectAccess server’s internal network interface.

The best way to ensure that the DNS server is configured correctly for DirectAccess is to delete the existing entry and then click Detect.

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Correctly

An IPv6 address will be added automatically. This is the IPv6 address of the DNS64 service running on the DirectAccess server, which is how the DNS server should be configured for proper DirectAccess operation.

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Correctly

Once the changes have been saved and applied, the DNS server should once again respond and the status should return to Working.

DirectAccess DNS Not Working Correctly

49 Comments
by Richard M. Hicks on September 22, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, DNS, Remote Access, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on September 22, 2015

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2015/09/22/directaccess-dns-not-working-properly/

Unable to Install DirectAccess Hotfix KB2953212 to Disable NRPT

Last year I wrote about Microsoft hotfix KB2953212 that that allowed users to disable the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) on a DirectAccess client. This hotfix addressed a specific scenario where a DirectAccess client on the internal corporate network could not connect to local resources due to Network Location Server (NLS) unreachability.

When installing this update, you many encounter the following error message:

Windows Update Standalone Installer
The update is not applicable to your computer

Unable to Install DirectAccess Hotfix KB2953212 to Disable NRPT

This occurs because the KB2953212 hotfix was included in KB3000850, the November 2014 update rollup for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. You can verify this by opening the Control Panel and selecting Programs and then clicking View installed updates under Programs and Features.

Unable to Install DirectAccess Hotfix KB2953212 to Disable NRPT

If you have the November 2014 update rollup installed there is no need to install KB2953212, as that hotfix is already included in the rollup.

1 Comment
by Richard M. Hicks on April 9, 2015  •  Permalink
Posted in DirectAccess, Hotfix, Remote Access, Update, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2
Tagged , , , , ,

Posted by Richard M. Hicks on April 9, 2015

https://directaccess.richardhicks.com/2015/04/09/unable-to-install-directaccess-hotfix-kb2953212-to-disable-nrpt/

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