Step 1: Configure the DirectAccess Infrastructure

Updated: February 25, 2016

Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

This topic describes how to configure the infrastructure that is required for an advanced Remote Access deployment that uses a single DirectAccess server in a mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environment. Before you begin the deployment steps, ensure that you have completed the planning steps that are described in Plan an Advanced DirectAccess Deployment.

1.1 Configure server network settings

The following network interface settings are required for a single server deployment in an environment that is using IPv4 and IPv6. All IP addresses are configured by using Change adapter settings in the Windows Networking and Sharing Center.

Edge topology

• Two Internet-facing consecutive public static IPv4 or IPv6 addresses

  Note

  Two public addresses are required for Teredo. If you are not using Teredo, you can configure a single public static IPv4 address.

• A single internal static IPv4 or IPv6 address

Behind NAT device (with two network adapters)

• A single Internet-facing static IPv4 or IPv6 address

• A single internal network-facing static IPv4 or IPv6 address

Behind NAT device (with one network adapter)

• A single internal network-facing static IPv4 or IPv6 address

1.2 Configure force tunneling

Force tunneling can be configured through the Remote Access Setup Wizard. It is presented as a check box in the Configure Remote Clients Wizard. This setting only affects DirectAccess clients. If VPN is enabled, VPN clients will by default use force tunneling. Administrators can change the setting for VPN clients from the client profile.

Selecting the check box for force tunneling does the following:

• Enables force tunneling on DirectAccess clients

• Adds an Any entry in the Name Resolution Policy Table (NRPT) for DirectAccess clients, which means that all DNS traffic will go to the internal network DNS servers

• Configures DirectAccess clients to always use the IP-HTTPS transition technology

To make Internet resources available to DirectAccess clients that use force tunneling, you can use a proxy server, which can receive IPv6-based requests for Internet resources and translate them to requests for IPv4-based Internet resources. To configure a proxy server for Internet resources, you need to modify the default entry in NRPT to add the proxy server. You can accomplish this by using the Remote Access PowerShell cmdlets or the DNS PowerShell cmdlets. For example, use the Remote Access PowerShell cmdlet as follows:

Set-DAClientDNSConfiguration –DNSSuffix ‘.’ –ProxyServer <Name of the proxy server:port>

1.3 Configure routing in the corporate network

Configure routing in the corporate network as follows:

• When native IPv6 is deployed in the organization, add a route so that the routers on the internal network route IPv6 traffic back through the DirectAccess server.

• Manually configure the organization’s IPv4 and IPv6 routes on the DirectAccess servers. Add a published route so that all traffic with an organization (/48) IPv6 prefix is forwarded to the internal network. For IPv4 traffic, add explicit routes so that IPv4 traffic is forwarded to the internal network.

1.4 Configure firewalls

When using additional firewalls in your deployment, apply the following Internet-facing firewall exceptions for Remote Access traffic when the DirectAccess server is on the IPv4 Internet:

• Teredo traffic—User Datagram Protocol (UDP) destination port 3544 inbound, and UDP source port 3544 outbound.

• 6to4 traffic—IP Protocol 41 inbound and outbound.

• IP-HTTPS—Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) destination port 443, and TCP source port 443 outbound. When the DirectAccess server has a single network adapter, and the network location server is on the DirectAccess server, then TCP port 62000 is also required.

  Note

  This exemption must be configured on the DirectAccess server, while all the other exemptions have to be configured on the edge firewall.

When using additional firewalls, apply the following Internet-facing firewall exceptions for Remote Access traffic when the DirectAccess server is on the IPv6 Internet:

• IP Protocol 50

• UDP destination port 500 inbound, and UDP source port 500 outbound.

• Internet Control Message Protocol for IPv6 (ICMPv6) traffic inbound and outbound – for Teredo implementations only.

When using additional firewalls, apply the following internal network firewall exceptions for Remote Access traffic:

• ISATAP—Protocol 41 inbound and outbound

• TCP/UDP for all IPv4/IPv6 traffic

• ICMP for all IPv4/IPv6 traffic

1.5 Configure CAs and certificates

Remote Access in Windows Server 2012 allows you to choose between using certificates for computer authentication or using a built in Kerberos proxy that authenticates using user names and passwords. You must also configure an IP-HTTPS certificate on the DirectAccess server.

For more information, see Active Directory Certificate Services.

1.5.1 Configure IPsec authentication

A computer certificate is required on the DirectAccess server and on all DirectAccess clients to use IPsec authentication. The certificate must be issued by an internal certification authority (CA), and DirectAccess servers and DirectAccess clients must trust the CA chain that issues root and intermediate certificates.

To configure IPsec authentication

1. In the internal CA, decide if you will use the Computer certificate template, or if you will create a new certificate template as described in Creating Certificate Templates.

   Note

   If you create a new template, it must be configured for Client Authentication.

2. Deploy the certificate template, if required. For more information, see Deploying Certificate Templates.

3. Configure the certificate template for autoenrollment, if required. For more information, see Configure Certificate Autoenrollment.

1.5.2 Configure certificate templates

When you use an internal CA to issue certificates, you must configure a certificate template for the IP-HTTPS certificate and the network location server website certificate.

To configure a certificate template

1. In the internal CA, create a certificate template as described in Creating Certificate Templates.

2. Deploy the certificate template as described in Deploying Certificate Templates.

1.5.3 Configure the IP-HTTPS certificate

Remote Access requires an IP-HTTPS certificate to authenticate IP-HTTPS connections to the DirectAccess server. There are three certificate options that are available for IP-HTTPS authentication:

Public certificate

A public certificate is supplied by a third party. If the certificate subject name does not contain wildcard characters, it must be the externally resolvable fully qualified domain name (FQDN) URL that is used only for the DirectAccess server IP-HTTPS connections.

Private certificate

If you use a private certificate, the following are required, if they do not already exist:

• A website certificate that is used for IP-HTTPS authentication. The certificate subject should be an externally resolvable FQDN that is reachable from the Internet. The certificate is based on the certificate template that you created by following the instructions in 1.5.2 Configure certificate templates.

• A certificate revocation list (CRL) distribution point that is reachable from a publicly resolvable FQDN.

Self-signed certificate

If you use a self-signed certificate, the following are required, if they do not already exist:

• A website certificate that is used for IP-HTTPS authentication. The certificate subject should be an externally resolvable FQDN that is reachable from the Internet.

• A CRL distribution point that is reachable from a publicly resolvable FQDN.

Make sure that the website certificate that is used for IP-HTTPS authentication meets the following requirements:

• The common name of the certificate should match the name of the IP-HTTPS site.

• In the Subject field, specify  the FQDN of the IP-HTTPS URL.

• For the Enhanced Key Usage field, use the server authentication object identifier (OID).

• For the CRL Distribution Points field, specify a CRL distribution point that is accessible by DirectAccess clients that are connected to the Internet.

• The IP-HTTPS certificate must have a private key.

• The IP-HTTPS certificate must be imported directly into the personal store.

• IP-HTTPS certificates can have wildcard characters in the name.

To install the IP-HTTPS certificate from an internal CA

1. On the DirectAccess server: On the Start screen, type mmc.exe, and then press ENTER.

2. In the MMC console, on the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.

3. In the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, click Certificates, click Add, click Computer account, click Next, click Local computer, click Finish, and then click OK.

4. In the console tree of the Certificates snap-in, open Certificates (Local Computer)\Personal\Certificates.

5. Right-click Certificates, point to All Tasks, and then click Request New Certificate.

6. Click Next twice.

7. On the Request Certificates page, select the check box for the certificate template that you previously created (for more information, see 1.5.2 Configure certificate templates). If required, click More information is required to enroll for this certificate.

8. In the Certificate Properties dialog box, on the Subject tab, in the Subject name area, in Type, select Common Name.

9. In Value, specify the IPv4 address of the external facing adapter of the DirectAccess server or the FQDN of the IP-HTTPS URL, and then click Add.

10. In the Alternative name area, in Type, select DNS.

11. In Value, specify the IPv4 address of the external facing adapter of the DirectAccess server or the FQDN of the IP-HTTPS URL, and then click Add.

12. On the General tab, in Friendly name, you can enter a name that will help you identify the certificate.

13. On the Extensions tab, click the arrow next to Extended Key Usage, and make sure that Server Authentication appears in the Selected options list.

14. Click OK, click Enroll, and then click Finish.

15. In the details pane of the Certificates snap-in, verify that the new certificate was enrolled with Intended Purposes of Server Authentication.

1.6 Configure the DNS server

You must manually configure a DNS entry for the network location server website for the internal network in your deployment.

To create the network location server

1. On the internal network DNS server: On the Start screen, type dnsmgmt.msc, and then press ENTER.

2. In the left pane of the DNS Manager console, expand the forward lookup zone for your domain. Right click the domain, and click New Host (A or AAAA).

3. In the New Host dialog box, In the IP address box:

   • In the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, enter the DNS name for the network location server website (this is the name that the DirectAccess clients use to connect to the network location server).

   • Enter the IPv4 or IPv6 address of the network location server, and then click Add Host, and then click OK.

4. In the New Host dialog box:

   • In the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, enter the DNS name for the web probe (the name for the default web probe is directaccess-webprobehost).

   • In the IP address box, enter the IPv4 or IPv6 address of the web probe, and then click Add Host.

   • Repeat this process for directaccess-corpconnectivityhost and any manually created connectivity verifiers.

5. In the DNS dialog box, click OK, and then click Done.

Windows PowerShell equivalent commands

The following Windows PowerShell cmdlet or cmdlets perform the same function as the preceding procedure. Enter each cmdlet on a single line, even though they may appear word-wrapped across several lines here because of formatting constraints.

Add-DnsServerResourceRecordA -Name <network_location_server_name> -ZoneName <DNS_zone_name> -IPv4Address <network_location_server_IPv4_address>
Add-DnsServerResourceRecordAAAA -Name <network_location_server_name> -ZoneName <DNS_zone_name> -IPv6Address <network_location_server_IPv6_address>

You must also configure DNS entries for the following:

• The IP-HTTPS server

  DirectAccess clients must be able to resolve the DNS name of the DirectAccess server from the Internet.

• CRL revocation checking

  DirectAccess uses certificate revocation checking for the IP-HTTPS connection between DirectAccess clients and the DirectAccess server, and for the HTTPS-based connection between the DirectAccess client and the network location server. In both cases, DirectAccess clients must be able to resolve and access the CRL distribution point location.

• ISATAP

  Intrasite Automatic Tunnel Addressing Protocol (ISATAP) uses tunneling to enable DirectAccess clients to connect to the DirectAccess server over the IPv4 Internet, encapsulating IPv6 packets within an IPv4 header. It is used by Remote Access to provide IPv6 connectivity to ISATAP hosts across an intranet. In a non-native IPv6 network environment, the DirectAccess server configures itself automatically as an ISATAP router. Resolution support for the ISATAP name is required.

1.7 Configure Active Directory

The DirectAccess server and all DirectAccess client computers must be joined to an Active Directory domain. DirectAccess client computers must be a member of one of the following domain types:

• Domains that belong in the same forest as the DirectAccess server.

• Domains that belong to forests with a two-way trust with the DirectAccess server forest.

• Domains that have a two-way domain trust to the DirectAccess server domain.

To join the DirectAccess server to a domain

1. In Server Manager, click Local Server. In the details pane, click the link next to Computer name.

2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Computer Name tab, and then click Change.

3. In Computer Name, type the name of the computer if you are also changing the computer name when joining the server to the domain. Under Member of, click Domain, and then type the name of the domain to which you want to join the server (for example, corp.contoso.com), and then click OK.

4. When you are prompted for a user name and password, enter the user name and password of a user with rights to join computers to the domain, and then click OK.

5. When you see a dialog box that welcomes you to the domain, click OK.

6. When you are prompted that you must restart the computer, click OK.

7. In the System Properties dialog box, click Close.

8. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart Now.

To join client computers to the domain

1. On the Start screen, type explorer.exe, and then press ENTER.

2. Right-click the Computer icon, and then click Properties.

3. On the System page, click Advanced system settings.

4. In the System Properties dialog box, on the Computer Name tab, click Change.

5. In Computer name, type the name of the computer if you are also changing the computer name when joining the server to the domain. Under Member of, click Domain, and then type the name of the domain to which you want to join the server (for example, corp.contoso.com), and then click OK.

6. When you are prompted for a user name and password, enter the user name and password of a user with rights to join computers to the domain, and then click OK.

7. When you see a dialog box that welcomes you to the domain, click OK.

8. When you are prompted that you must restart the computer, click OK.

9. In the System Properties dialog box, click Close.

10. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart Now.

Windows PowerShell equivalent commands

The following Windows PowerShell cmdlet or cmdlets perform the same function as the preceding procedure. Enter each cmdlet on a single line, even though they may appear word-wrapped across several lines here because of formatting constraints.

Add-Computer -DomainName <domain_name>
Restart-Computer

1.8 Configure GPOs

A minimum of two Group Policy Objects are required to deploy Remote Access:

• One contains settings for the DirectAccess server

• One contains settings for DirectAccess client computers

When you configure Remote Access, the wizard automatically creates the required Group Policy Objects. However, if your organization enforces a naming convention, you can type a name in the GPO dialog box in the Remote Access Management console. For more information, see 2.7. Configuration summary and alternate GPOs. If you have created permissions, the GPO will be created. If you do not have the required permissions to create GPOs, they must be created prior to configuring Remote Access.

To create Group Policy Objects, see Create and Edit a Group Policy Object.

1.8.1 Configure Remote Access GPOs with limited permissions

In a deployment that uses staging and production GPOs, the domain administrator should do the following:

1. Obtain the list of required GPOs for the Remote Access deployment from the Remote Access administrator. For more information, see 1.8 Plan Group Policy Objects.

2. For each GPO that is requested by the Remote Access administrator, create a pair of GPOs with different names. The first will be used as the staging GPO, and the second as the production GPO.

   To create Group Policy Objects, see Create and Edit a Group Policy Object.

3. To link the production GPOs, see Link a Group Policy Object.

4. Grant the Remote Access administrator Edit settings, delete and modify security permissions on all of the staging GPOs. For more informantion, see Delegate Permissions for a Group or User on a Group Policy Object.

5. Deny the Remote Access administrator permissions to link GPOs in all domains (or verify that the Remote Access administrator doesn’t have such permissions). For more information, see Delegate Permissions to Link Group Policy Objects.

When Remote Access administrators configure Remote Access, they should always specify only the staging GPOs (not the production GPOs). This is true in the initial configuration of Remote Access and when performing additional configuration operations where additional GPOs are required; for example, when adding entry points in a multisite deployment or enabling client computers in additional domains.

After the Remote Access administrator completes any changes to the Remote Access configuration, the domain administrator should review the settings in the staging GPOs, and use the following procedure to copy the settings to the production GPOs.

To copy settings to the production GPOs

1. Verify that all of the staging GPOs in the Remote Access deployment have been replicated to all of the domain controllers in the domain. This is required to ensure the most up-to-date configuration is imported to the production GPOs. For more information, see Check Group Policy Infrastructure Status.

2. Export the settings by backing up all of the staging GPOs in the Remote Access deployment. For more information, see Back Up a Group Policy Object.

3. For each production GPO, change the security filters to match the security filters of the corresponding staging GPO. For more information, see Filter Using Security Groups.

   Note

   This is required because Import Settings does not copy the security filter of the source GPO.

4. For each production GPO, import the settings from the backup of the corresponding staging GPO as follows:

   1. In the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), expand the Group Policy Objects node in the forest and domain that contains the production Group Policy Object into which the settings will be imported.

   2. Right-click the GPO, and click Import Settings.

   3. In the Import Settings Wizard, on the Welcome page, click Next.

   4. On the Backup GPO page, click Backup.

   5. In the Back up Group Policy Object dialog box, in the Location box, enter the path for the location where you want to store the GPO backups, or click Browse to locate the folder.

   6. In the Description box, type a description for the production GPO, and then click Back Up.

   7. When the backup completes, click OK, and then on the Backup GPO page, click Next.

   8. On the Backup location page, in the Backup folder box, enter the path for the location in which the backup of the corresponding staging GPO was stored in Step 2, or click Browse to locate the folder, and then click Next.

   9. On the Source GPO page, select the Show only the latest version of each GPO check box to hide older backups, and select the corresponding staging GPO. Click View Settings to review the Remote Access settings before applying them to the production GPO, and then click Next.

   10. On the Scanning Backup page, click Next, and then click Finish.

Windows PowerShell equivalent commands

The following Windows PowerShell cmdlet or cmdlets perform the same function as the preceding procedure. Enter each cmdlet on a single line, even though they may appear word-wrapped across several lines here because of formatting constraints.

• To back up the staging client GPO “DirectAccess Client Settings - Staging” in domain “corp.contoso.com” to the backup folder “C:\Backups\”:

  $backup = Backup-GPO –Name 'DirectAccess Client Settings - Staging' –Domain 'corp.contoso.com' –Path 'C:\Backups\'
  

• To see the security filtering of the staging client GPO “DirectAccess Client Settings - Staging” in domain “corp.contoso.com”:

  Get-GPPermission –Name 'DirectAccess Client Settings - Staging' –Domain 'corp.contoso.com' –All | ?{ $_.Permission –eq 'GpoApply'}
  

• To add the security group “corp.contoso.com\DirectAccess clients” to the security filter of the production client GPO “DirectAccess Client Settings – Production” in domain “corp.contoso.com”:

  Set-GPPermission –Name 'DirectAccess Client Settings - Production' –Domain 'corp.contoso.com' –PermissionLevel GpoApply –TargetName 'corp.contoso.com\DirectAccess clients' –TargetType Group
  

• To import settings from the backup to the production client GPO “DirectAccess Client Settings – Production” in domain “corp.contoso.com”:

  Import-GPO –BackupId $backup.Id –Path $backup.BackupDirectory –TargetName 'DirectAccess Client Settings - Production' –Domain 'corp.contoso.com'
  

1.9 Configure security groups

The DirectAccess settings that are contained in the client computer Group Policy Object are applied only to computers that are members of the security groups that you specify when you configure Remote Access. In addition, if you are using security groups to manage your application servers, create a security group for these servers.

To create a security group for DirectAccess clients

1. On the Start screen, type dsa.msc, and then press ENTER. In the Active Directory Users and Computers console, in the left pane, expand the domain that will contain the security group, right-click Users, point to New, and then click Group.

2. In the New Object - Group dialog box, under Group name, enter the name for the security group.

3. Under Group scope, click Global, and under Group type, click Security, and then click OK.

4. Double-click the DirectAccess client computers security group, and in the properties dialog box, click the Members tab.

5. On the Members tab, click Add.

6. In the Select Users, Contacts, Computers, or Service Accounts dialog box, select the client computers that you want to enable for DirectAccess, and then click OK.

Windows PowerShell equivalent commands

The following Windows PowerShell cmdlet or cmdlets perform the same function as the preceding procedure. Enter each cmdlet on a single line, even though they may appear word-wrapped across several lines here because of formatting constraints.

New-ADGroup -GroupScope global -Name <DirectAccess_clients_group_name>
Add-ADGroupMember -Identity DirectAccess_clients_group_name -Members <computer_name>

1.10 Configure the network location server

The network location server should be a server with high availability, and it should have a valid SSL certificate that is trusted by the DirectAccess clients. There are two certificate options for the network location server certificate:

• Private certificate

  This certificate is based on the certificate template that you created by following the instructions in 1.5.2 Configure certificate templates.

• Self-signed certificate

  Note

  Self-signed certificates cannot be used in multisite deployments.

The following are required for either type of certificate, if they do not already exist:

• A website certificate that is used for the network location server. The certificate subject should be the URL of the network location server.

• A CRL distribution point that has high availability from the internal network.

To install the network location server certificate from an internal CA

1. On the server that will host the network location server website: On the Start screen, type mmc.exe, and then press ENTER.

2. In the MMC console, on the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.

3. In the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, click Certificates, click Add, click Computer account, click Next, click Local computer, click Finish, and then click OK.

4. In the console tree of the Certificates snap-in, open Certificates (Local Computer)\Personal\Certificates.

5. Right-click Certificates, point to All Tasks, and then click Request New Certificate.

6. Click Next twice.

7. On the Request Certificates page, select the check box for the certificate template that you created by following the instructions in 1.5.2 Configure certificate templates. If required, click More information is required to enroll for this certificate.

8. In the Certificate Properties dialog box, on the Subject tab, in the Subject name area, in Type, select Common Name.

9. In Value, enter the FQDN of the network location server website, and then click Add.

10. In the Alternative name area, in Type, select DNS.

11. In Value, enter the FQDN of the network location server website, and then click Add.

12. On the General tab, in Friendly name, you can enter a name that will help you identify the certificate.

13. Click OK, click Enroll, and then click Finish.

14. In the details pane of the Certificates snap-in, verify that new certificate was enrolled with Intended Purposes of Server Authentication.

To configure the network location server

1. Set up a website on a high availability server. The website does not require any content, but when you test it, you might define a default page that provides a message when clients connect.

   Note

   This step is not required if the network location server website is hosted on the DirectAccess server.

2. Bind an HTTPS server certificate to the website. The common name of the certificate should match the name of the network location server site. Ensure that DirectAccess clients trust the issuing CA.

   Note

   This step is not required if the network location server website is hosted on the DirectAccess server.

3. Set up a CRL site that has high availability from the internal network.

   CRL distribution points can be accessed through:

   • Web servers by using an HTTP-based URL, such as: https://crl.corp.contoso.com/crld/corp-APP1-CA.crl

   • File servers that are accessed through a universal naming convention (UNC) path, such as \\crl.corp.contoso.com\crld\corp-APP1-CA.crl

   If the internal CRL distribution point is reachable only over IPv6, you must configure a Windows Firewall with Advanced Security connection security rule to exempt IPsec protection from the IPv6 address of your intranet to the IPv6 addresses of your CRL distribution points.

4. Ensure that DirectAccess clients on the internal network can resolve the name of the network location server. Ensure that the name is not resolvable by DirectAccess clients on the Internet.

See also

• Step 2: Configure the DirectAccess Server2

• Install and Configure Advanced DirectAccess

• Deploy a Single DirectAccess Server with Advanced Settings