Always On VPN is the replacement solution for Microsoft’s popular DirectAccess remote access technology. It makes use of the native VPN client in the Windows 10 operating system to provide seamless, transparent, and always on remote access for mobile workers. Always On VPN is infrastructure independent and can be configured to use many popular VPN devices including Windows Server Routing and Remote Access Services (RRAS).

Intended Audience

This document is intended for Windows administrators tasked with implementing a scalable and highly-available Always On VPN infrastructure. The engineer should have a strong understanding of IPv4 networking and routing, as well as common VPN protocols such as Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2) and Secure Socket Tunnelling Protocol (SSTP). A fundamental understanding of Active Directory authentication, RADIUS, as well as certificates and Public Key Infrastructure is also helpful.

Document Purpose

This document provides guidance for configuring the LoadMaster load balancer to eliminate single points of failure and to provide scalability, redundancy, and fault tolerance for an Always On VPN deployment. This document uses a representative environment, which is described in detail later. It does not address all possible scenarios. For questions regarding unique configurations, contact the Progress Kemp support team.

About the Author

Richard Hicks is the founder and principal consultant of Richard M. Hicks Consulting, Inc. He is focused on delivering enterprise mobility and security infrastructure solutions to customers of all sizes. Richard has more than 25 years of experience working in enterprise corporate computing environments and has designed and deployed secure remote access solutions for some of the largest companies in the world. He is also the author of Implementing DirectAccess with Windows Server 2016 from Apress Media (ISBN: 978-1484220580). You can learn more about Richard by visiting https://www.richardhicks.com/.