Step 3: Configure the Multisite Deployment

Updated: June 7, 2016

Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

After configuring the multisite infrastructure follow these steps to set up the Windows Server 2012 Remote Access multisite deployment.

3.1. Configure Remote Access servers

You can perform this procedure with either the user interface or Windows PowerShell by using the instructions below.

To install the Remote Access role

1. Make sure that each Remote Access server is configured with the proper deployment topology (Edge, behind a NAT, single network interface), and corresponding routes as described in Step 1: Implement a Single Server Remote Access Deployment1.

2. Configure the IP addresses on each Remote Access server according to the site topology and your organization’s IP addressing scheme.

3. Join each Remote Access server to an Active Directory domain.

4. In the Server Manager console, in the Dashboard, click Add roles and features.

5. Click Next three times to get to the server role selection screen.

6. On the Select Server Roles dialog, select Remote Access, click Add Features, and then click Next.

7. Click Next five times.

8. On the Confirm installation selections dialog, click Install.

9. On the Installation progress dialog, verify that the installation was successful, and then click Close.

Windows PowerShell equivalent commands

Steps 1 – 3 must be performed manually, and are not accomplished using this Windows PowerShell cmdlet.

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.

Install-WindowsFeature RemoteAccess -IncludeManagementTools

3.2. Grant administrator access

To grant administrator permissions

1. On the Remote Access server in the additional entry point: On the Start screen, type Computer Management, and then press ENTER.

2. In the left pane, click Local Users and Groups.

3. Double-click Groups, and then double-click Administrators.

4. On the Administrators Properties dialog box, click Add, and on the Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups dialog box, click Locations.

5. On the Locations dialog box, in the Location tree, click the location that contains the user account of the DirectAccess administrator, and then click OK.

6. In the Enter the object names to select, enter the user name of the DirectAccess administrator, and then click OK twice.

7. On the Administrators Properties dialog box, click OK.

8. Close the Computer Management window.

9. Repeat this procedure on all Remote Access servers that will be part of the multisite deployment.

3.3. Configure IP-HTTPS for a multisite deployment

On each Remote Access server that will be added to the multisite deployment, an SSL certificate is required to verify the HTTPS connection to the IP-HTTPS web server. Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure.

To obtain an IP-HTTPS certificate

1. On each Remote Access server: On the Start screen, type mmc, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

2. Click File, and then click Add/Remove Snap-ins.

3. Click Certificates, click Add, click Computer account, click Next, select 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, click the Web Server certificate template, and then click More information is required to enroll for this certificate.

   If the Web Server certificate template does not appear, ensure that the Remote Access server computer account has enroll permissions for the Web Server certificate template. For more information, see Configure Permissions on the Web Server Certificate Template.

8. On the Subject tab of the Certificate Properties dialog box, in Subject name, for Type, select Common name.

9. In Value, type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Internet name of the Remote Access server (for example, Europe.contoso.com), and then click Add.

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

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

12. Right-click the certificate, and then click Properties.

13. In Friendly Name, type IP-HTTPS Certificate, and then click OK.

    Tip

    Steps 12 and 13 are optional, but make it easier for you to select the certificate for IP-HTTPS when configuring Remote Access.

14. Repeat this procedure on all Remote Access servers in your deployment.

3.4. Configure the network location server for a multisite deployment

If you selected to set up the network location server website on the Remote Access server when you set up your first server using Deploy a Single DirectAccess Server with Advanced Settings, each new Remote Access server that you add needs to be configured with a Web Server certificate that has the same subject name that was selected for the network location server for the first server. Each server requires a certificate to authenticate the connection to the network location server, and client computers located in the internal network must be able to resolve the name of the website in DNS.

To install a certificate for network location

1. On the Remote Access server: On the Start screen, type mmc, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

2. Click File, and then click Add/Remove Snap-ins.

3. Click Certificates, click Add, click Computer account, click Next, select 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.

   Note

   You may also import the same certificate that was used for the network location server for the first Remote Access server.

6. Click Next twice.

7. On the Request Certificates page, click the Web Server certificate template, and then click More information is required to enroll for this certificate.

   If the Web Server certificate template does not appear, ensure that the Remote Access server computer account has enroll permissions for the Web Server certificate template. For more information, see Configure Permissions on the Web Server Certificate Template.

8. On the Subject tab of the Certificate Properties dialog box, in Subject name, for Type, select Common name.

9. In Value, type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) that was configured for the network location server certificate of the first Remote Access server (for example, nls.corp.contoso.com), and then click Add.

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

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

12. Right-click the certificate, and then click Properties.

13. In Friendly Name, type Network Location Certificate, and then click OK.

    Tip

    Steps 12 and 13 are optional, but make it easier for you to select the certificate for network location when configuring Remote Access.

14. Repeat this procedure on all Remote Access servers in your deployment.

To create the network location server DNS records

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

2. In the left pane of the DNS Manager console, open the forward lookup zone for the internal network. Right click the relevant zone and click New Host (A or AAAA).

3. On the New Host dialog box, in the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, enter the name that was used for the network location server for the first Remote Access server. In the IP address box, enter the intranet-facing IPv4 address of the Remote Access server, and then click Add Host. On the DNS dialog box, click OK.

4. On the New Host dialog box, in the Name (uses parent domain name if blank) box, enter the name that was used for the network location server for the first Remote Access server. In the IP address box, enter the intranet-facing IPv6 address of the Remote Access server, and then click Add Host. On the DNS dialog box, click OK.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for every Remote Access server in your deployment.

6. Click Done.

7. Repeat this procedure before adding servers as additional entry points in the deployment.

3.5. Configure DirectAccess clients for a multisite deployment

DirectAccess Windows client computers must be members of security group(s) which define their DirectAccess association. Before multisite is enabled, these security group(s) can contain both Windows 8 clients and Windows 7 clients (if the appropriate “downlevel” mode was selected). Once multisite is enabled, existing client security group(s), in single server mode, are converted to security group(s) for Windows 8 only. After multisite is enabled, DirectAccess Windows 7 client computers must be moved to corresponding dedicated Windows 7 client security groups (which are associated with specific entry-points), or they will not be able to connect over DirectAccess. The Windows 7 clients must first be removed from the existing security groups which are now Windows 8 security groups. Caution: Windows 7 client computers that are members of both Windows 7 and Windows 8 client security groups will lose remote connectivity, and Windows 7 clients without SP1 installed will lose corporate connectivity as well. Therefore, all Windows 7 client computers must be removed from Windows 8 security groups.

Remove Windows 7 clients from Windows 8 security groups

1. On the primary domain controller, click Start, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. To remove computers from the security group, double-click the security group, and on the <Group_Name> Properties dialog box, click the Members tab.

3. Select the Windows 7 client computer, and click Remove.

4. Repeat this procedure to remove the Windows 7 client computers from the Windows 8 security groups.

3.6. Enable the multisite deployment

To configure a multisite deployment, enable the multisite feature on your existing Remote Access server. Before enabling multisite in your deployment, make sure you have the following information:

1. Global load balancer settings and IP addresses if you want to load balance DirectAccess client connections across all entry-points in your deployment.

2. The security group(s) containing Windows® 7 client computers for the first entry point in your deployment, if you want to enable Remote Access for Windows 7 client computers.

3. Group Policy Object names, if you are required to use non-default Group Policy Objects, which are applied on Windows 7 client computers for the first entry point in your deployment, if you require support for Windows 7 client computers.

You can perform this procedure with either the user interface or Windows PowerShell by using the instructions below.

To enable a multisite configuration

1. On your existing Remote Access server: On the Start screen, type RAMgmtUI.exe, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

2. In the Remote Access Management Console, click Configuration, and then in the Tasks pane, click Enable Multisite.

3. In the Enable Multisite Deployment wizard, on the Before You Begin page, click Next.

4. On the Deployment Name page, in Multisite deployment name, enter a name for your deployment. In First entry point name, enter a name to identify the first entry point which is the current Remote Access server, and then click Next.

5. On the Entry Point Selection page, do one of the following:

   • Click Assign entry points automatically, and allow clients to select manually to automatically route client computers to the most suitable entry point, while also allowing client computers to select an entry point manually. Manual entry point selection is available only for Windows® 8 computers. Click Next.

   • Click Assign entry points automatically to automatically route client computers to the most suitable entry point, and then click Next.

6. On the Global Load Balancing page, do one of the following:

   • Click No, do not use global load balancing if you do not want to use a global load balancing, and then click Next.

     Note

     When selecting this option client computers connect to their closest entry point automatically.

   • Click Yes, use global load balancing if you want to load balance the traffic globally between all entry points. In Type the global load balancing FQDN to be used by all entry points, enter the global load balancing FQDN, and in Type the global load balancing IP address for this entry point that contains the first Remote Access server, enter the global load balancing IP address for this entry point, and then click Next.

7. On the Client Support page, do one of the following:

   • To limit access to client computers running Windows 8 or later operating systems, click Limit access to client computers running Windows 8 or a later operating system, and then click Next.

   • To allow client computers running Windows 7 to access this entry point, click Allow client computers running Windows 7 to access this entry point, and click Add. On the Select Groups dialog box, select the security group(s) that contains the Windows 7 client computers, click OK, and then click Next.

8. On the Client GPO Settings page, accept the default GPO for Windows 7 client computers for this entry point, type the name of the GPO that want Remote Access to create automatically, or click Browse to locate the GPO for Windows 7 client computers, and then click Next.

   Note

   The Client GPO Settings page appears only when you configure the entry point to allow Windows 7 client computers to access the entry point. You can optionally click Validate GPOs to ensure that you have the proper permissions for the selected GPO or GPOs for this entry point. If the GPO does not exist and will be automatically created, then create and link permissions are required. In the case where the GPOs were created manually, then edit, modify security, and delete permissions are required.

9. On the Summary page, click Commit.

10. On the Enabling Multisite Deployment dialog box, click Close and then on the Enable Multisite Deployment wizard, click Close.

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 enable a multisite deployment named ‘Contoso’ on the first entry point named ‘Edge1-US’. The deployment allows clients to manually select the entry point, and does not use a global load balancer.

Enable-DAMultiSite -Name 'Contoso' -EntryPointName 'Edge1-US' -ManualEntryPointSelectionAllowed 'Enabled'

To allow Windows 7 client computers access through the first entry point through the security group DA_Clients_US and using the GPO DA_W7_Clients_GPO_US.

Add-DAClient -EntrypointName 'Edge1-US' -DownlevelSecurityGroupNameList @('corp.contoso.com\DA_Clients_US') -DownlevelGpoName @('corp.contoso.com\DA_W7_Clients_GPO_US)

3.7. Add entry points to the multisite deployment

After enabling multisite in your deployment, you can add additional entry points using the Add an Entry Point wizard. Before adding entry points, make sure you have the following information:

• Global load balancer IP addresses for each new entry point if you are using global load balancing.

• The security group(s) containing Windows® 7 client computers for each entry point that will be added if you want to enable Remote Access for Windows 7 client computers.

• Group Policy Object names, if you are required to use non-default Group Policy Objects, which are applied on Windows 7 client computers for each entry point that will be added, if you require support for Windows 7 client computers.

• In the case where IPv6 is deployed in the organization’s network you will need to prepare the IP-HTTPS prefix for the new entry point.

You can perform this procedure with either the user interface or Windows PowerShell by using the instructions below.

To add entry-points to your multisite deployment

1. On your existing Remote Access server: On the Start screen, type RAMgmtUI.exe, and then press ENTER. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.

2. In the Remote Access Management Console, click Configuration, and then in the Tasks pane, click Add an Entry Point.

3. In the Add an Entry Point Wizard, on the Entry Point Details page, in Remote Access server, enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server to add. In Entry point name, enter the name of the entry point, and then click Next.

4. On the Global Load Balancing Settings page, enter the global load balancing IP address of this entry point, and then click Next.

   Note

   The Global Load Balancing Settings page appears only when the multisite configuration uses a global load balancer.

5. On the Network Topology page, click the topology that corresponds with the network topology of the Remote Access server that you are adding, and then click Next.

6. On the Network Name or IP Address page, in Type in the public name or IP address used by clients to connect to the remote access server, enter the public name or IP address used by clients to connect to the Remote Access server. The public name corresponds with the subject name of the IP-HTTPS certificate. In the case where Edge network topology was implemented, the IP address is that of the external adapter of the Remote Access server. Click Next.

7. On the Network Adapters page, do one the following:

   • If you are deploying a topology with two network adapters, in External adapter, select the adapter that is connected to the external network. In Internal adapter, select the adapter that is connected to the internal network.

   • If you are deploying a topology with one network adapter, in Network adapter, select the adapter that is connected to the internal network.

8. On the Network Adapters page, in Select the certificate used to authenticate IP-HTTPS connections, click Browse to locate and select the IP-HTTPS certificate. Click Next.

9. If IPv6 is configured on the corporate network, on the Prefix Configuration page, in IPv6 prefix assigned to client computers, enter an IP-HTTPS prefix to assign IPv6 addresses to DirectAccess client computers, and click Next.

10. On the Client Support page, do one of the following:

    • To limit access to client computers running Windows 8 or later operating systems, click Limit access to client computers running Windows 8 or a later operating system, and then click Next.

    • To allow client computers running Windows 7 to access this entry point, click Allow client computers running Windows 7 to access this entry point, and click Add. On the Select Groups dialog box, select the security group(s) that contain the Windows 7 client computers that will connect to this entry point, click OK, and click Next.

11. On the Client GPO Settings page, accept the default GPO for Windows 7 client computers for this entry point, type the name of the GPO that you want Remote Access to create automatically, or click Browse to locate the GPO for Windows 7 client computers, and click Next.

    Note

    The Client GPO Settings page appears only when you configure the entry point to allow Windows 7 client computers to access the entry point. You can optionally click Validate GPOs to ensure that you have the proper permissions for the selected GPO or GPOs for this entry point. If the GPO does not exist and will be automatically created, then create and link permissions are required. In the case where the GPOs were created manually, then edit, modify security, and delete permissions are required.

12. On the Server GPO Settings page, accept the default GPO for this Remote Access server, type the name of the GPO that you want Remote Access to create automatically, or click Browse to locate the GPO for this server, and then click Next.

13. On the Network Location Server page, click Browse to select the certificate for the network location server website running on the Remote Access server, and then click Next.

    Note

    The Network Location Server page appears only when the network location server website is running on the Remote Access server.

14. On the Summary page, review the entry point settings, and then click Commit.

15. On the Adding Entry Point dialog box, click Close and then on the Add an Entry Point Wizard, click Close.

    Note

    If the entry point that was added is in a different forest than the existing entry points or client computers, then it is required to click Refresh Management Servers in the Tasks pane to discover the domain controllers and System Center Configuration Manager in the new forest.

16. Repeat this procedure from step 2 for every entry point that you want to add to your multisite deployment.

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 add the computer edge2 from the corp2 domain as a second entry point named Edge2-Europe. The entry point configuration is: a client IPv6 prefix ‘2001:db8:2:2000::/64’, a connect to address (the IP-HTTPS certificate on the edge2 computer) ‘edge2.contoso.com’, a server GPO named “DirectAccess Server Settings – Edge2-Europe”, and the internal and external interfaces named Internet and Corpnet2 respectively:

Add-DAEntryPoint -RemoteAccessServer 'edge2.corp2.corp.contoso.com' -Name 'Edge2-Europe' -ClientIPv6Prefix '2001:db8:2:2000::/64' -ConnectToAddress 'Europe.contoso.com' -ServerGpoName 'corp2.corp.contoso.com\DirectAccess Server Settings – Edge2-Europe' -InternetInterface 'Internet' -InternalInterface 'Corpnet2'

To allow Windows 7 client computers access through the second entry point through the security group DA_Clients_Europe and using the GPO DA_W7_Clients_GPO_Europe.

Add-DAClient -EntrypointName 'Edge2-Europe' -DownlevelGpoName @('corp.contoso.com\ DA_W7_Clients_GPO_Europe') -DownlevelSecurityGroupNameList @('corp.contoso.com\DA_Clients_Europe')

See also

• Step 2: Configure the Multisite Infrastructure

• Configure a Multisite Deployment

• Deploy Multiple Remote Access Servers in a Multisite Deployment