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lalberti's avatar
lalberti
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Aug 20, 2024

Compatibility of BIG-IP Edge Client with Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) Multi-Session Environments

Hello F5 Community,

I am currently working on a project that involves deploying Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) for our engineering department. A critical requirement is for users to securely connect to external networks via VPN using the BIG-IP Edge Client for Windows.

Our setup involves Windows multi-session virtual machines within the AVD environment, and I am particularly concerned about the following:

- Multi-Session Support: Does the BIG-IP Edge Client support multiple independent VPN sessions running concurrently on a single AVD multi-session VM? Are there any known limitations or issues?
- Configuration Best Practices: What are the recommended configurations to ensure that each user’s VPN session remains isolated and functions without interference in a multi-session environment? Any specific settings or policies that should be implemented?
- Networking Considerations: Are there any special networking or routing configurations needed to ensure reliable VPN connectivity for users accessing different external networks via the BIG-IP Edge Client on AVD?
- General Experiences and Recommendations: I would greatly appreciate any insights or experiences from those who have deployed a similar setup. Are there any challenges I should be aware of, and how were they mitigated?

Your guidance or references to any relevant documentation would be invaluable.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Best regards,
Luca

security
  • Lucas_Thompson's avatar
    Lucas_Thompson
    Icon for Employee rankEmployee
    Aug 20, 2024

    Edge Client (or Windows, really) was not designed for per-user L3-ish network isolation in this way. It's designed for individual Windows client PCs, not servers or RDS type sessions. It appears that AVD operates similarly to RDS, where users are all attached to the same network stack.

    Microsoft seems to have a similar recommendation:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/769421/vpn-clients-on-avd

     

    Can you explain in more detail what you're trying to do with the VPN client? We can maybe offer alternative solutions such as configuring the BIG-IP to be an explicit proxy server and using windows per-user L5-ish HTTP proxy settings.

    • lalberti's avatar
      lalberti
      Icon for Altostratus rankAltostratus
      Aug 21, 2024

      Hi Lucas,

      Thank you so much for your prompt and detailed response. I really appreciate the insights you’ve provided.

      To give you more context, our company specializes in software development. As part of a broader project to modernize our IT infrastructure, we are planning a gradual migration to a fully cloud-based architecture built on Azure. This includes migrating our developers' workstations to an Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) configuration.

      Our developers frequently need to connect to our clients' private networks to deploy new software versions or provide support. Among our clients, some use BIG-IP to manage their network security. As a result, we need to use the BIG-IP Edge Client to connect to their networks. These are environments over which we have no control, so our only option is to use this solution to access their networks.

      We are currently in a phase of the project where we are verifying all compatibility aspects, and my question in this forum was aimed at performing a preliminary feasibility check for this specific scenario.

      Your advice to conduct thorough testing in a lab environment is invaluable, and we plan to follow that recommendation. If there’s any additional guidance or considerations we should keep in mind, especially given this context, we would be grateful.

      Thank you again for your assistance!

      Best regards,  
      Luca

      ---

      Questa risposta fornisce le informazioni richieste e mantiene un tono professionale e cortese.

      • Lucas_Thompson's avatar
        Lucas_Thompson
        Icon for Employee rankEmployee
        Aug 21, 2024

        Super. This makes sense.

        I think we have a pretty good argument in that Microsoft post that they don't recommend VPN clients in that environment. There seem to be the same kind of recommendations about Cisco Anyconnect, which uses similar architecture.

        Another speculative consideration is that with both Edge Client and Cisco Anyconnect, we/they offer integration with a client-side security library called OPSWAT. This requires admin-level privileges on the workstation, and probably won't run correctly with user-permissions on a multi-session host like AVD or RDS.

        Overall this sounds like a tough situation to work out. On the one hand the security provided by AVD is highly useful, but on the other it doesn't offer quite as much capability as a full Windows VM with an independent network stack.

  • alexamak's avatar
    alexamak
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Aug 20, 2024

    The BIG-IP Edge Client does not natively support multiple independent VPN sessions on a single AVD multi-session VM, which can lead to conflicts and connectivity issues. To ensure proper functionality, you should configure each user's VPN session to be isolated, possibly using unique profiles or settings for each session. For networking, ensure proper routing and network policies are in place to manage traffic for different external networks. It’s also advisable to test thoroughly in a controlled environment to identify and address any potential issues before full deployment