Book Image

Windows Server 2012 Unified Remote Access Planning and Deployment

Book Image

Windows Server 2012 Unified Remote Access Planning and Deployment

Overview of this book

DirectAccess, introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2, has been a ground breaking VPN-like connectivity solution, adopted by thousands of organizations worldwide. Allowing organizations to deploy without manually configuring every client and providing always-on connectivity has made this technology world-famous. Now, with Windows Server 2012, this has been made even easier to deploy, with a new friendly user interface, easy-start wizard and built in support tools.With Unified Remote Access, Windows server 2012 offers a unique way to provide remote access that is seamless and easier to deploy than traditional VPN solutions. With URA, the successor to DirectAccess, your users can have full network connectivity that is always-on. If you have deployed Windows Server 2012 or are planning to, this book will help you implement Unified Remote Access from concept to completion in no time!Unified Remote Access, the successor to DirectAccess, offers a new approach to remote access, as well as several deployment scenarios to best suit your organization and needs. This book will take you through the design, planning, implementation and support for URA, from start to finish."Windows Server 2012 Unified Remote Access Planning and Deployment" starts by exploring the mechanisms and infrastructure that are the backbone of URA, and then explores the various available scenarios and options. As you go through them, you will easily understand the ideal deployment for your own organization, and be ready to deploy quickly and easily. Whether you are looking into the simplest deployment, or a complex, multi-site or cloud scenario, "Windows Server 2012 Unified Remote Access Planning and Deployment" will provide all the answers and tools you will need to complete a successful deployment.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Windows Server 2012 Unified Remote Access Planning and Deployment
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Client configuration options


When DirectAccess released, one of the advertised benefits was that it does not need a client installation and configuration, as opposed to most other remote-access solutions. Indeed, the software that establishes the DirectAccess connection is built into Windows in the form of Group Policy (for transferring the settings to the client) and the Windows Firewall (to establish the tunneled connection). However, some of the advanced options do require the user to install an additional client component – the DirectAccess Connectivity Assistant (DCA). The DCA is required for scenarios that use One-Time Password (OTP), but even for other deployments it could be quite beneficial. The reasons are as follows:

  • It provides a visible confirmation to the user that his/her connection is working correctly (or that it isn't)

  • It allows the user to select his/her entry point, if multisite has been enabled, and if the administrator has chosen to allow clients to select a site

  • It...