Always On VPN Client Routes Missing

Choosing an Enterprise VPN

When configuring Always On VPN for Windows 10 and Windows 11 clients, administrators may encounter a scenario where an IPv4 route defined in Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune or custom XML is not reachable over an established Always On VPN connection. Further investigation indicates the route is added to the configuration on the endpoint but does not appear in the routing table when the connection is active.

Routing Configuration

When split tunneling is enabled, administrators must define routes to IP networks that are reachable over the Always On VPN connection. The method of defining these routes depends on the client configuration deployment method.

Endpoint Manager

Using Microsoft Endpoint Manager, administrators define IP routes in the Split Tunneling section of the configuration settings for the Always On VPN device configuration profile. Routes are defined by entering the destination prefix and prefix size. In this example, the 10.0.0.0/8 and 172.21.12.0/21 IPv4 networks are defined for routing over the Always On VPN tunnel.

Custom XML

Using custom XML deployed using Microsoft Endpoint Manager, System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), or PowerShell, routes are defined in the XML file using the following syntax.

Client Configuration

Validate the routing configuration has been implemented on the endpoint successfully by running the following PowerShell command.

Get-VpnConnection -Name <Connection Name> | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Routes

As you can see here, the IPv4 routes 10.0.0.0/8 and 172.21.12.0/21 are included in the client’s Always On VPN configuration, as shown below.

Missing Route

However, after establishing an Always On VPN connection, the 172.21.12.0/21 network is not reachable. To continue troubleshooting, run the following PowerShell command to view the active routing table.

Get-NetRoute -AddressFamily IPv4

As you can see above, the only IPv4 route in the VPN configuration added to the routing table is the 10.0.0.0/8 network. The 172.21.12.0/21 IPv4 route is missing.

Network Prefix Definition

IPv4 routes missing from the Always On VPN client’s routing table result from incorrect network prefix definition. Specifically, the IPv4 route 172.21.12.0/21 used in the example here is not a valid network address. Rather, it is a host address in the 172.21.8.0/21 network, as shown below.

The Get-Subnet PowerShell cmdlet is part of the Subnet PowerShell module. To install this module, run the following PowerShell command.

Install-Module Subnet

Resolution

Using the example above, enabling access to the 172.21.12.0/21 subnet would require defining the IPv4 prefix in the routing configuration as 172.21.8.0/21. The moral of this story is always validate routing prefixes to ensure they are, in fact, network addresses and not host addresses.

Additional Information

Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Always On VPN Default Class-based Route and Microsoft Endpoint Manager/Intune

Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Windows 10 Always On VPN Routing ConfigurationWhen configuring Windows 10 Always On VPN, the administrator must choose between force tunneling and split tunneling. When force tunneling is used, all network traffic from the VPN client is routed over the VPN tunnel. When split tunneling is used, the VPN client must be configured with the necessary IP routes to establish remote network connectivity to on-premises resources. How those routes are established is a common source of confusion. This article provides guidance for properly configuring routing for Always On VPN clients.

Class Based Routing

IP addresses are assigned to Windows 10 Always On VPN clients from either a static pool of addresses configured by the administrator or by DHCP. If split tunneling is enabled, the client will also be assigned a class-based route that is derived from the IP address assigned to it by the VPN server, by default. If the client is assigned an IP address from the Class A network, a corresponding /8 prefix is used. For Class B networks a /16 prefix is defined, and for Class C networks a /24 prefix is used.

As an example, if the VPN server assigns the client an IP address of 10.21.12.103, a route to the 10.0.0.0/8 network is added to the client’s routing table, as shown here.

Windows 10 Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Complex Networks

This default class-based route is of limited use though, and is only applicable when the internal network is simple and VPN clients are assigned IP addresses from the same subnet class. In the example above, if the entire internal network resides in the 10.0.0.0/8 Class A address space, all resources will be reachable by the VPN client. Any resources in the Class B or Class C subnet ranges would be unreachable without additional configuration.

Route Configuration

To configure routing for Windows 10 Always On VPN clients, first disable the default class-based route by defining the following element in ProfileXML as shown here.

<VPNProfile>
   <NativeProfile>
      <DisableClassBasedDefaultRoute>true</DisableClassBasedDefaultRoute>
   </NativeProfile>
</VPNProfile>

Next, enable specific routes as needed by defining the following element(s) in ProfileXML. The example below defines routes for all private RFC 1918 networks.

<VPNProfile>
   <Route>
      <Address>10.0.0.0</Address>
      <PrefixSize>8</PrefixSize>
   </Route>
   <Route>
      <Address>172.16.0.0</Address>
      <PrefixSize>12</PrefixSize>
   </Route>
   <Route>
      <Address>192.168.0.0</Address>
      <PrefixSize>16</PrefixSize>
   </Route>
</VPNProfile>

Once implemented, the VPN client’s routing table will appear as shown here.

Windows 10 Always On VPN Routing Configuration

Summary

Proper routing is crucial for ensuring full network connectivity and access to internal resources for Windows 10 Always On VPN clients. When split tunneling is employed, avoid using the default class-based route and instead define specific routes using ProfileXML as required.

Additional Information

Always On VPN Client DNS Server Configuration

Deploying Windows 10 Always On VPN with Microsoft Intune

Windows 10 Always On VPN Certificate Requirements for IKEv2

Windows 10 Always On VPN Certificate Requirements for SSTP

Deployment Considerations for DirectAccess on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Organizations are rapidly deploying Windows server infrastructure with public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. With traditional on-premises infrastructure now hosted in the cloud, DirectAccess is also being deployed there more commonly.

Supportability

Interestingly, Microsoft has expressly stated that DirectAccess is not formally supported on their own public cloud platform, Azure. However, there is no formal statement of non-support for DirectAccess hosted on other non-Microsoft public cloud platforms. With supportability for DirectAccess on AWS unclear, many companies are taking the approach that if it isn’t unsupported, then it must be supported. I’d suggest proceeding with caution, as Microsoft could issue formal guidance to the contrary in the future.

DirectAccess on AWS

Deploying DirectAccess on AWS is similar to deploying on premises, with a few notable exceptions, outlined below.

IP Addressing

It is recommended that an IP address be exclusively assigned to the DirectAccess server in AWS, as shown here.

Deployment Considerations for DirectAccess on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Prerequisites Check

When first configuring DirectAccess, the administrator will encounter the following warning message.

“The server does not comply with some DirectAccess prerequisites. Resolve all issues before proceed with DirectAccess deployment.”

The warning message itself states that “One or more network adapters should be configured with a static IP address. Obtain a static address and assign it to the adapter.

Deployment Considerations for DirectAccess on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

IP addressing for virtual machines are managed entirely by AWS. This means the DirectAccess server will have a DHCP-assigned address, even when an IP address is specified in AWS. Assigning static IP addresses in the guest virtual machine itself is also not supported. However, this warning message can safely be ignored.

No Support for Load Balancing

It is not possible to create load-balanced clusters of DirectAccess servers for redundancy or scalability on AWS. This is because enabling load balancing for DirectAccess requires the IP address of the DirectAccess server be changed in the operating system, which is not supported on AWS. To eliminate single points of failure in the DirectAccess architecture or to add additional capacity, multisite must be enabled. Each additional DirectAccess server must be provisioned as an individual entry point.

Network Topology

DirectAccess servers on AWS can be provisioned with one or two network interfaces. Using two network interfaces is recommended, with the external network interface of the DirectAccess server residing in a dedicated perimeter/DMZ network. The external network interface must use either the Public or Private Windows firewall profile. DirectAccess will not work if the external interface uses the Domain profile. For the Public and Private profile to be enabled, domain controllers must not be reachable from the perimeter/DMZ network. Ensure the perimeter/DMZ network cannot access the internal network by restricting network access in EC2 using a Security Group, or on the VPC using a Network Access Control List (ACL) or custom route table settings.

External Connectivity

A public IPv4 address must be associated with the DirectAccess server in AWS. There are several ways to accomplish this. The simplest way is to assign a public IPv4 address to the virtual machine (VM). However, a public IP address can only be assigned to the VM when it is deployed initially and cannot be added later. Alternatively, an Elastic IP can be provisioned and assigned to the DirectAccess server at any time.

An ACL must also be configured for the public IP that restricts access from the Internet to only inbound TCP port 443. To provide additional protection, consider deploying an Application Delivery Controller (ADC) appliance like the Citrix NetScaler or F5 BIG-IP to enforce client certificate authentication for DirectAccess clients.

Network Location Server (NLS)

If an organization is hosting all of its Windows infrastructure in AWS and all clients will be remote, Network Location Server (NLS) availability becomes much less critical than with traditional on-premises deployments. For cloud-only deployments, hosting the NLS on the DirectAccess server is a viable option. It eliminates the need for dedicated NLS, reducing costs and administrative overhead. If multisite is configured, ensure that the NLS is not using a self-signed certificate, as this is unsupported.

Deployment Considerations for DirectAccess on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

However, for hybrid cloud deployments where on-premises DirectAccess clients share the same internal network with cloud-hosted DirectAccess servers, it is recommended that the NLS be deployed on dedicated, highly available servers following the guidance outlined here and here.

Client Provisioning

All supported DirectAccess clients will work with DirectAccess on AWS. If the domain infrastructure is hosted exclusively in AWS, provisioning clients can be performed using Offline Domain Join (ODJ). Provisioning DirectAccess clients using ODJ is only supported in Windows 8.x/10. Windows 7 clients cannot be provisioned using ODJ and must be joined to the domain using another form of remote network connectivity such as VPN.

Additional Resources

DirectAccess No Longer Supported in Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Server Software Support for Azure Virtual Machines

DirectAccess Network Location Server (NLS) Guidance

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

Provisioning DirectAccess Clients using Offline Domain Join (ODJ)

DirectAccess SSL Offload and IP-HTTPS Preauthentication with Citrix NetScaler

DirectAccess SSL Offload and IP-HTTPS Preauthentication with F5 BIG-IP

Planning and Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 Video Training Course

Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 Book