Join me in Belgium for Microsoft TechDays 2013! The event takes place at Kinepolis in Antwerp on March 5-6-7. I will be presenting a session on DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012 on March 7. The event will include sessions from many top speakers including Marcus Murray, Paula Januskiewicz, Tom Decaluwe, and more. There will be separate tracks for IT professionals and developers, so there will be something of interest to everyone. In addition, all attendees will receive a free 3 month TechNet subscription. Register today and don’t miss out on this amazing event!
With the recent release of the Microsoft Surface Pro, many people have been asking me about DirectAccess connectivity for these devices. One of the requirements for DirectAccess connectivity is that the device be joined to a domain, a capability that the Surface RT lacked. Although the Surface Pro runs the full version of Windows 8, it is Windows 8 Professional. Sadly, DirectAccess connectivity is only supported for Windows 8 Enterprise edition clients, along with Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions.
So, if you have just purchased a new Microsoft Surface Pro and are hoping to configure it as a DirectAccess client, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. In my opinion, the lack of DirectAccess support for Windows 8 and Windows 7 Professional is a serious flaw, especially when you consider all of the great use cases you can imagine when you have a full featured tablet with always-on, secure remote network connectivity. It’s a shame, really. Let’s hope this changes in the future!
Update: Read my post on how to install Windows 8 Enterprise and configure DirectAccess on the Microsoft Surface Pro here.
The December 2012 collection of Windows updates included a number of changes that may adversely affect connectivity for DirectAccess clients. The December updates included changes to the Windows Root Certificate store and a hotfix for the IP Helper Service. Either or both of these updates could potentially prevent DirectAccess clients from connecting via the IPHTTPS IPv6 transition protocol. For more information read this post from the Forefront UAG Product Team.
