Lesson 2: Planning IPSec Deployment

Once you've designed an IPSec policy that meets your needs, you must deploy the IPSec policy to all Windows 2000–based computers that require the security provided by the IPSec policy. This lesson begins with an overview of the default IPSec policies that ship with Windows 2000 and then examines the following topics:

  • Deploying IPSec policies in a workgroup environment
  • Deploying IPSec policies in a domain environment
  • Planning the autodeployment of computer certificates
  • Troubleshooting Group Policy application

After this lesson, you will be able to

  • Plan and troubleshoot the deployment of IPSec policies to network clients

Estimated lesson time: 45 minutes


Assessing the Preconfigured IPSec Policies

Windows 2000 includes three default IPSec policies that may or may not meet your organization's security requirements. The default IPSec policies are available in both a domain or workgroup environment and you can apply them locally or by using Group Policy.

The predefined IPSec policies are

  • Secure Server (Require Security). This policy secures all network traffic to or from the computer that the IPSec policy is applied to, with the exception of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), better known as Packet InterNet Groper (PING) traffic. When you apply this policy, you must secure all communications with the affected computer. This policy rejects any connection attempts by non-IPSec aware clients.
  • Server (Request Security). This policy differs from the Secure Server IPSec policy in that it only requests that IPSec security be applied. If the connecting client is non-IPSec aware, the Server (Request Security) policy allows unsecured communications to take place.
  • Client (Respond Only). This policy doesn't enable IPSec for specific protocols, but it allows the affected computer to negotiate an IPSec SA with any servers that request or require IPSec protection. When you apply this IPSec policy, the client computer will never initiate IPSec protection but will participate in IPSec SAs when requested to do so by another computer.

In many cases you require custom IPSec policies. While the default policies enable IPSec protection for all network traffic, you may often need to add exclusions for specific protocols. For example, you don't need to enable IPSec protection for protocols, such as HTTP, that support application-layer security.

If modifications are required, create a custom IPsec policy instead of modifying the default policies. Modifying the default policies can result in unexpected behavior if you apply the modified IPSec policy and it doesn't function as expected.

NOTE


You can restore the default IPSec policies in an MMC console by right-clicking the IPSec Policies On Local Machine or IPSec Policies On Active Directory console and then clicking Restore Default Policies. This action restores the default settings for the three default IPSec policies.

Making the Decision

Table 12.11 shows the factors that influence your IPSec design to deploy the default IPSec policies.

Table 12.11 Choosing to Deploy the Default IPSec Policies

Use When Any of the Following Business Requirements Exist
Secure Server (Require Security) The highest level of default security is required. This IPSec policy requires IPSec to be used for all protocols, except those that can't be protected by IPSec.

All traffic sent to the server must be protected by using IPSec.

Fallback to unprotected data transmissions isn't desired.

Only Windows 2000–based computers are required to connect to the server.

You've placed all servers that require the IPSec configuration in the same organizational unit (OU) or OU structure.

Server (Request Security) All traffic sent to the server should be protected by using IPSec.

Fallback to unprotected data transmissions will be supported for legacy clients.

The server must support a mix of Windows 2000 and non–Windows 2000–based clients.

You've placed all servers that require the IPSec configuration in the same organizational unit (OU) or OU structure.

Client (Respond Only) Enable the Windows 2000–based computer to use IPSec protection when requested by a server.

You don't want the client computer to initiate IPSec protection.

You determine that all computers within an OU or OU structure are to be enabled for IPSec protection.

Applying the Decision

Fabrikam requires custom IPSec policies to meet its security objectives. The default IPSec policies don't meet the current security requirements. The one scenario where they could consider using a default IPSec policy would be for the data collection software.

If more than one laptop were used for data collection, the laptops could be assigned the Client (Respond Only) IPSec policy. This IPSec policy would enable the laptop computers to negotiate an IPSec SA when requested but still use unprotected transmissions to other servers.

If the Client (Respond Only) IPSec policy were enabled, you'd have to modify the IPSec policy applied to the server hosting the data collection software to accept unsecured communication but always respond using IPSec. This modification is required because the Client (Respond Only) IPSec policy would have the client send an unprotected packet initially to TCP port 5555. Only after the server responds would the IPSec SA be negotiated and established.

Deploying IPSec Policies in a Workgroup Environment

A workgroup environment can't depend on Active Directory for the consistent application of IPSec policies. In a workgroup environment, you can configure IPSec policies only by connecting to the local computer security settings.

You can achieve consistent IPSec configuration across similar computers by exporting properly configured IPSec settings to a .ipsec export file and importing the IPSec settings to all matching computers.

IMPORTANT


Although you can configure the IPSec policies through the Local Computer Security console, you can't configure IPSec settings through security templates. Security templates don't contain information for IPSec policies. Because of this, you can't use the Secedit command to ensure consistent application of IPSec policy. You must manually inspect IPSec policies at periodic intervals.

Making the Decision

When designing IPSec deployment in a workgroup environment, include the following tasks in your IPSec deployment design:

  • Define the required IPSec policies at a test machine. You should define and test the IPSec policy before you apply it to production computers.
  • Create a lab environment that emulates the production network. Configuring the lab environment in this manner ensures that valid testing occurs and that network infrastructure issues, such as a NAT service, won't affect your IPSec deployment.
  • Export the IPSec policies to an .ipsec export file. Use the IP Security Policy Management console in MMC to export the required settings so that the exported file can be imported into all required computers. Using an export/import method ensures consistent configuration of the IPSec policy.
  • Store the exported IPSec policies in a secure location. This practice facilitates the reapplication of IPSec policies if they are modified or deleted by accident.

Applying the Decision

The two tunnel servers may not be members of the domain at Fabrikam or A. Datum Corporation. Because the tunnel servers aren't members of the domain, you must define the IPSec policy in the local computer policy for each tunnel server.

Because each site has only one tunnel server and the rules are different at each server, it would be best to deploy the IPSec policy by manually configuring the IPSec policy at each tunnel server.

Deploying IPSec Policies in a Domain Environment

Active Directory enables an administrator to standardize IPSec configuration by applying IPSec policies in Group Policy objects. You can define IPSec policies for the site, domain, or OU to ensure that all computer objects within the container have consistent IPSec policies applied.

The use of Group Policy ensures that a computer's administrator can't override the desired IPSec settings at the local computer. The settings inherited from Group Policy always supersede local policy settings.

NOTE


You can't use security templates to define IPSec policies. Security templates don't include settings for IPSec policy definition. To define IPSec policies, create the IPSec policy at a stand-alone computer and then export the settings to a .ipsec export file. The export file can then be imported into the Group Policy object where you wish to deploy the IPSec policy.

Making the Decision

In an Active Directory environment, consider the following when designing your IPSec deployment:

  • Place computer accounts with the same IPSec requirements into the same OU or OU structure. By deploying the IPSec policy within the OU's Group Policy object, you ensure that the same IPSec policy is applied to all computer accounts in the OU structure.
  • Know the processing order for Group Policies and local computer policies. The last policy applied will be the effective policy by default. By default, the policy processing order is first local computer policy, then site policy, then domain policy, and finally OU policies. The policy located closest to the computer account always takes effect unless the no override option is enabled.
  • Assign the default Client (Respond Only) policy to the Default Domain Policy if you wish to enable IPSec for all Windows 2000–based computers in a domain. This ensures that all Windows 2000–based computers will respond to an IPSec negotiation request.
  • Assign the default Client (Respond Only) policy to a specific OU if you wish to enable IPSec for only a subset of Windows 2000–based computers in a domain. Placing the computer accounts in the OU or within the OU hierarchy enables you to apply the default Client (Respond Only) policy to the highest-level OU in the OU hierarchy and only enable IPSec for the computer accounts in the OU hierarchy.
  • A computer can have only a single IPSec policy assigned at any one time. If you require components from multiple IPSec policies, you must define a single IPSec policy that encompasses all IPSec settings in a single policy.

Applying the Decision

If Fabrikam were to deploy additional laptops, the best strategy would be to place all of the Windows 2000–based laptops in a common OU. By doing this, you can define a Group Policy object that applies the custom IPSec policy.

The Group Policy object takes precedence over any domain settings or local settings defined directly at the laptop computers and ensures that a consistent IPSec policy is applied to all laptops running the data collection client software.

At the Washington office, you could place the data collection server in a separate OU or have the Group Policy object that defines the IPSec policy applied with a filter so that only the data collection server applies the Group Policy object. This action ensures that the policy is consistently applied to the data collection server and that the local computer policy can't be changed to lessen the security for the data collection software.

Automatically Deploying Computer Certificates

IPSec gives two computers entering into a SA the ability to authenticate with certificates. In a Windows 2000 network, only domain controllers (DCs) acquire certificates by default. If you wish to use certificates for authentication, you must either manually configure each computer with the necessary certificate or enable automatic certificate enrollment.

You configure automatic certificate enrollment within Group Policy objects, as shown in Figure 12.20.

click to view at full size.

Figure 12.20 Configuring automatic certificate enrollment for an IPSec certificate

You can apply the Group Policy object at the site, the domain, or the OU to deploy the certificate automatically to all computer accounts within the container. A CA trusted by both computers in the SA must issue the certificates. In other words, the issuing CA must be a trusted intermediate CA and the root CA in the CA hierarchy must be a trusted root CA.

To enable IPSec, you can choose one of three certificate templates:

  • IPSec. A single-use certificate template that allows only the computer associated with the certificate to use IPSec.
  • Computer. A multipurpose certificate template that can also be used for IPSec authentication. You should assign the computer certificate template to nondomain controllers.
  • Domain Controller. A multipurpose certificate template that allows IPSec authentication. You should assign the Domain Controller certificate template only to DCs.

Making the Decision

Consider the following points when designing certificate-based authentication for IPSec:

  • Determine which certificate template to issue. Depending on how you use certificates for authentication in your organization, you need to choose between a single use (IPSec) or multipurpose (computer or DC) certificate.
  • Ensure that a CA is configured to issue the certificate template. IPSec certificate templates aren't issued by default. You will have to configure a CA to issue the IPSec certificate by adding the IPSec certificate template to the CA's policy settings.
  • Ensure that all required computers have the Read and Enroll permissions for the certificate template. The automatic certificate request will fail if the computer account performing the request doesn't have the necessary permissions. Consider placing all IPSec-aware computers into a domain local group and assigning the Read and Enroll permissions to the custom domain local group.
  • Configure a Group Policy object to perform the automatic certificate request. Configure the automatic certificate request at the Group Policy container that contains all computer accounts that require the certificate.
  • Distribute certificates to all client computers requiring L2TP tunnel connectivity. L2TP over IPSec is the one instance where only certificate-based authentication is allowed. For L2TP clients, both the remote access server and the VPN client must have a certificate installed to authenticate the IPSec SA.

Applying the Decision

In the Fabrikam scenario described at the beginning of the chapter, the tunnel servers probably wouldn't be members of the organization's domains, so you couldn't configure automated certificate deployment. But if you decided to use certificate-based authentication for the data collection software IPSec solution, then you could configure automatic certificate requests.

As with the IPSec policies, you could apply Group Policy at the OU containing the laptops and at the OU containing the data collection server. For the laptops, you could define the autoenrollment certificate request to issue either IPSec or computer certificates. Because no other projects are defined that require a PKI for Fabrikam, the securest solution would be to issue an IPSec certificate to the computers. This would require ensuring that the Discretionary Access Control List (DACL) for the IPSec certificate template is modified to allow the laptops the Read and Enroll permissions for the IPSec certificate template. Additionally, an existing CA must be configured to issue the IPSec certificates. With this configuration, all laptops located in the OU will automatically request an IPSec certificate when the computer account is authenticated at startup or when Group Policy settings are refreshed at the regular interval.

Troubleshooting IPSec Problems

Sometimes an IPSec design doesn't work as expected. When this occurs, you can use several tools use to determine why an IPSec SA isn't being established. These tools include

  • Ping. Use Ping to ensure that the SA is being correctly established between two computers. Ping uses the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), and when IPSec is enabled for ICMP packets, you will initially see that IPSec is being negotiated before the ICMP packets work as expected.
  • IPSec Monitor. The IPSec Monitor (Ipsecmon.exe) shows any currently active IPSec SAs that are established with your computer and the current IPSec statistics for your computer, as illustrated in Figure 12.21. Use the IPSec Monitor to detect whether any errors are occurring during IPSec transmissions.

    click to view at full size.

    Figure 12.21 Current SAs as shown in the IPSec monitor

  • Netdiag. The Netdiag utility, included in the Windows 2000 Support Tools, allows you to verify the current SAs active on your computer. By using the /debug option, you can verify the actual IPSec policy applied, the filter that was applied, and the authentication protocol used. The command used to show the information is NETDIAG /TEST:IPSEC /DEBUG.
  • System Management Server (SMS) Network Monitor. The SMS Network Monitor allows you to inspect data packets as they're transmitted across the network. You can use the Network Monitor to determine if the IKE negotiation takes place (look for ISAKMP packets) and whether the negotiation succeeded (look for AH or ESP packets). You can't use the Network Monitor to inspect the contents of an ESP packet because the contents are encrypted.
  • Oakley logs. As a last resort, you can enable Oakley logs to look at detailed debugging of an IPSec connection. Oakley logs provide detailed reporting on the ISAKMP negotiation process, and a security technician can use them to identify incorrect configuration information.

IMPORTANT


By default, Oakley logs aren't enabled. You must add the value EnableLogging to the registry in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\PolicyAgent\Oakley key. The REG_DWORD value must be set to a value of "1" to enable Oakley logging.

Making the Decision

Table 12.12 lists some potential IPSec connection problems and the tools you use to troubleshoot them.

Table 12.12 Troubleshooting IPSec Connection Problems

Use This Strategy To Perform These Actions
Ping Determine if authentication is working between the two IPSec hosts. Change the IPSec filter to encrypt only ICMP packets. If the encryption of ICMP packets works, you probably have a filter definition problem and must edit your original IPSec filter settings.
A preshared key Determine if the filter is working correctly. A preshared key is the least complex form of authentication and ensures that you only have to troubleshoot your filter definition.
IPSec Monitor Determine if a SA is established between your computer and the target computer.

Determine which protocol is protected with IPSec.

Review statistics for IPSec usage to determine if errors are occurring.

Netdiag Determine which IPSec policy is currently assigned to the computer.

Determine which filters are in use for the IPSec SA.

Determine which authentication protocol is used for the SA.

SMS Network Monitor Look at the packet level to determine if the ISAKMP process is taking place.

Determine if the ISAKMP process is successful. You determine this by looking for AH and ESP protocol packets.

Oakley logs Determine errors found during the ISAKMP negotiation between two computers.

Only use as a last resort for troubleshooting IPSec configuration errors.

Applying the Decision

The scenario mentions that the tunnel servers were suffering from authentication errors during testing of the tunnel. This could be because the certificates issued to the tunnel servers aren't being recognized by the other organization's tunnel server. To troubleshoot the problem, complete the following steps:

  1. Configure the authentication mechanism to use a preshared key and see if the connection succeeds. If the connection succeeds, a certificate trust problem is probably causing the connection to fail. Make sure that the certificates are issued by a CA that's trusted by both the organizations.
  2. If the authentication continues to fail, run the IPSec Monitor to see if a SA is established and determine if any errors are occurring during the session.
  3. If no session is established, review the IPSec policy assigned to each computer. Make sure that the correct policy is assigned to each of the tunnel servers.
  4. Run the SMS Network Monitor to ensure that ISAKMP packets are being received at each of the tunnel servers. This identifies whether network connectivity problems are causing the packets to fail to reach the destination server. Also review the network design at this point to ensure that the packets aren't crossing any servers or network devices that perform NAT.
  5. Enable the Oakley logs to record detailed information about the ISAKMP process. In the Oakley logs, determine what settings, if any, are incorrectly set at the tunnel servers.

Lesson Summary

After defining your IPSec policies, you must deploy the IPSec policies to the necessary computers in your network. Take advantage of Active Directory to ensure that IPSec policies are applied consistently to similar computers on the network. Group Policy ensures that the proper IPSec policies are applied and that local computer settings don't change the IPSec policies assigned to a computer.

Once you have the policies assigned, ensure that the IPSec SA is functioning as expected. If it isn't, know what tools you can use to troubleshoot the problem. Ensure that you use a structured approach to troubleshooting so that each step of the way you eliminate potential configuration issues and narrow the problem down to a likely source.



Microsoft Corporation - MCSE Training Kit (Exam 70-220. Designing Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Security)
MCSE Training Kit (Exam 70-220): Designing Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Security: Designing Microsoft(r) Windows(r) 2000 Network Security (IT-Training Kits)
ISBN: 0735611343
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2001
Pages: 172

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