Estimated reading time: 12 minutes

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe! Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I know Azure Stack is just around the corner, but I still get lots of questions around configuring WAP and portals. So to follow-up my Windows Azure Pack (WAP) series, I am going to talk about reconfiguring server names and ports as well as assigning trusted certificates to my WAP Portals.

If you missed other parts of the series, check links below:
Part 1 – Understanding Windows Azure Pack
Part 2 – Understanding Windows Azure Pack – Deployment Scenarios
Part 3 – Understanding Windows Azure Pack – How to guide with Express Edition on Nutanix – Environment Prep
Part 4 – Deploying Service Provider Framework on Nutanix
Part 5 – Understanding Windows Azure Pack – How to guide with Express Edition on Nutanix – Windows Azure Pack Install

In this blog post, we will look at how you can change portal names and ports for the Tenant and Admin portals in WAP.

Once we are done with that, we are going to issue certificates from an Enterprise CA to the Admin portal as well as issuing a certificate to the Tenant Portal. As I don’t have a Public CA Certificate, I’m going to use one from my Enterprise CA, but the concept for a Public CA is exactly the same as if I was using certificates from a trusted CA like VeriSign, DigiCert or similar.

Windows Azure Pack Tenant Portal

Architecture:

Windows Azure Pack has different components which serve various functions as I mentioned in previous blog posts.
By looking at the roles being installed on a WAP Server for an express install, we can see a long list of Web Services running on the WAP Server. These different Web Services provide various roles within the WAP Infrastructure
In this lab scenario, we will be working with the following Web Services:

WAP Tenant Portal Service (MgmtSvc-TenantSite): Hosts the WAP Tenant Portal
WAP Tenant Authentication Service (MgmtSvc-AuthSite): Hosts the authentication for tenants
WAP Admin Portal Service (MgmtSvc-WindowsAdminSite): Hosts the Admin Portal
WAP Admin Authentication Service (MgmtSvc-WindowsAuthSite): Hosts the Admin Authentication

When a tenant accesses the WAP Tenant portal (exposed to the Internet) they will be redirected to the WAP Tenant Authentication Service to validate if the user is allowed to access the system, once the WAP Tenant Authentication service has validated the user, it will be redirected back to the WAP Tenant portal with access to WAP services. The tenant authentication service uses claim based authentication and can use different authentication methods like Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) or .Net. In this scenario we are using default authentication (.Net), in the future blog post, I will tie in ADFS.

In the my lab setup these services are running on the same server (WAP01.contoso.com) as shown above..

A similar scenario happens when a WAP Administrator accesses the WAP Admin portal (only accessible on the internal network), the WAP admin portal will redirect the admin to the WAP Admin Authentication service which by default uses Windows Authentication. Once Windows Authentication service has authenticated the user, the user is redirected back to the WAP Admin portal with access to WAP.

Scenario:

After Installing and configuring Windows Azure Pack with the basic settings for the Contoso.com lab setup, the next steps are to configure the following:

Change WAP portal name.
Configure tenant and admin portals to run on port 443 (Https).
Replace the self-signed certificates with certificates provided by the enterprise CA (and consequently remove the warnings displayed in Internet Explorer due to the self-signed certificates).
Change the WAP Tenant Portal to use an internet facing url.
Change the WAP Tenant Authentication site to use the public web address that is also used by the WAP Tenant Portal.

The servers for this lab are configured as follows:

Role	Name	Function
Active Directory	DC01.contoso.com	Active Directory, ADFS, Certificate Server
Windows Azure Pack	WAP01.contoso.com	Windows Azure Pack Express Install
Service Provider Foundation	SPF01.contoso.com	Service Provider Foundation
SQL Server	DB02.contoso.com	SQL Instance hosting the WAP databases
Virtual Machine Manager	VMM01.contoso.com	Virtual Machine Manager 2012 R2 managing one Nutanix Hyper-V Cluster

The portals DNS names will be renamed to the following:

WAP Admin Portal: wapadmin.contoso.com port 443
WAP Tenant Portal Internal: WAPCloud.contoso.com port: 443
WAP Tenant Auth: wapcloud.contoso.com port: 444

Disclaimer: This environment is meant for testing only. This should not be considered guidance for production use, as several decisions made in this blog post are not targeting a production environment.

Reconfigure portal names for Windows Azure Pack

As the two WAP Portals by default (in our lab setup) are installed with https://wap01.contoso.com:30081 for the Tenant Portal and https://WAP01.contoso.com: 30091 for the Admin Portal we want to change these to use more portal friendly names.

To accomplish this, we need to do the following:

Create a DNS record for the new portals.
Install and configure an enterprise CA.
Request certificates for WAP Web Services from the CA.
Change ports and assign certificates for WAP Services.
Update Windows Azure Pack with the new web service modifications.

Create a DNS record for the new portals

Logon to the DNS server.
Start DNS Manager
Expand dc01 > Forward Lookup Zone > <Yourdomain> (e.g. contoso.com)
Right click on <Yourdomain> and select New Host (A-Record)
Provide the DNS name and the IP address of the WAP Admin Server (e.g. Name: wapadmin, IP: 192.168.1.40)
Create the other DNS name for the remaining portal (e.g. wapcloud,) and provide the WAP01 IP address as all roles are installed on the same server in the lab setup.
Verify that the DNS records shows in the list.
Close the DNS Manager.

Use trusted certificates for the Windows Azure Pack

In order to use CA signed certificates in our Lab environment we need to do the following:

Install a CA Server
Configure the CA Server
Request Web Server certificates from the CA Server
Change Web Sites to use certificate.

Install a CA Server

Logon to the server that will be running the CA Server (e.g. DC01)
Start Server Manager.
Select Dashboard on the left.
Click Add roles and features.
Click next to: before you begin, Installation type and server selection.
In Server Roles select Active Directory Certificate Services under Roles.
Click next to features.
Under Role Services Select the following: Certification Services, Certificate Enrolment Policy.., Certificate Enrolment Web, Certification Authority..
Accept the add-ons and click next to Web Role Services.
Click Install.
Verify that the install finishes with success.

Configure CA Server

On the CA Server start Server Manager as a user that is member of Enterprise Admins.
Select AD CS on the left.
A message will show in the main window:
Click on More.
In the server task details click on Configure Active Directory Cert.
Select All Roles to configure except for Web Service and click Next.
Select Enterprise CA.
Select Root CA.
Select Create a new private key and click next.
Click next to cryptography.
Click next to CA Name and keep default.
Keep 5 years and click next
Click next to Certificate Database
Select Windows Integrated auth.. and click next
Under Server Certificate Select Choose and assign a certificate for SSL later and click next
Click Configure
Click Close

Change WEB Sites to use Certificate

Issue Certificate for the WAP Admin Portal

Logon to the WAP Server as an administrator (e.g. wap01.contoso.com)
Open IIS Manager on the WAP Portal Server
Select the IIS server under connections
In the main window select server certificates under IIS
In the right windows select create a domain certificate
Specify the following:
WAPAdmin FQDN under common name (e.g. wapadmin.contoso.com)
Organization: Contoso
Organ unit: NA
City NA
State NA
Click Next
Select a CA and provide the friendly name for the certificate (e.g. wapadmin.contoso.com)
Click Finish
Verify that the certificate shows in the list of certificate We now have a web certificate, which we can use for the WAP Admin Portal.
Request two more certificate following the same procedure:
1. WAP Authentication: wap01.contoso.com
2. WAP Tenant Portal Internal: WAPCloud.contoso.com
There should now be three certificates in the Web Server Certificate list from Contoso CA.

Change ports and certificates for the WAP Admin Portal

Logon to the WAP server as Administrator (This assumes it’s an express install).
Start ISS Manager.
Expand IIS Server > Sites.
Right click on MgmtSvc-AdminSite and select edit bindings.
Select https 30091 and select edit.
Change port to 443.
Set hostname to wapadmin.contoso.com.
Select the certificate from the drop down list which was created earlier from the CA.
Click Ok.
Restart the Web Site.
Right click on MgmtSvc-WindowsAuthSite and select edit bindings.
Select the certificate from the list wap01.contoso.com.
Click Ok.

Change ports and certificates for the WAP Tenant Portals

The following steps needs to be done in order to change ports and certificates for the tenant portal.

Logon to the WAP server as Administrator (This assumes it’s an express install).
Start ISS Manager.
Expand IIS Server > Sites.
Right click on MgmtSvc-TenantSite and select edit bindings.
Select https 30081 and select edit.
Change port to 443.
Set hostname to wapcloud.contoso.com.
Select wapcloud.contoso.com in the drop down list for certificates
Click Close
Right click on MgmtSvc-AuthSite and select edit bindings
Select https 30071 and select edit.
Change port to 444.
Select wapcloud.contoso.com in the drop down list for certificates.
Restart the MgmtSvc-TenantSite Web Site from the action menu.
Restart the MgmtSvc-AuthSite Web Site from the action menu.

Update Windows Azure Pack with the new settings

Updating the Windows Azure Admin Portal

The TechNet documentation can be found here: Reconfigure FQDNs and Ports in Windows Azure Pack
To update WAP with our modifications the following commands needs to be executed, where we will use the values used in the scenario.

Set-MgmtSvcFqdn: This command will update the FQDN names for the modified services in the WAP Database.
Set-MgmtSvcRelyingPartySettings: This command will set the relay location for the WAP authentication service (Tenant or Admin)
Set-MgmtSvcIdentityProviderSettings: This command will update the authentication service where redirects will be redirected once verified.

We will be using the following arguments while executing the commands:
WAP Database Server: db02.contoso.com
WAP Database user:    sa
Admin Portal FQDN:    wapadmin.contoso.com
Admin Portal Port:    443
Admin Auth Service:   wap01.contoso.com:30072
To update the modification made to WAP Services in the WAP database do the following.

Logon to the WAP Server as a WAP Administrator.
Start a PowerShell window.
Import the WAP PowerShell module:

Import-Module -Name MgmtSvcConfig
Update WAP Admin Portal with the updated FQDN settings by running the following command:

Set-MgmtSvcFqdn -Namespace “AdminSite” -FullyQualifiedDomainName “wapadmin.contoso.com” -Port 443 -Server “db02”
To set the WAP authentication service FQDN for the admin portal run the following command.Set-MgmtSvcRelyingPartySettings –Target Admin –MetadataEndpoint ‘https://wap01.contoso.com:30072/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml’ -ConnectionString “Data Source=db02.contoso.com;User ID=sa;Password=*******”
To set the authentication service redirection location to the admin portal run the following command:Set-MgmtSvcIdentityProviderSettings –Target Windows –MetadataEndpoint ‘https://wapadmin.contoso.com/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml’ -ConnectionString “Data Source=db02.contoso.com;User ID=sa;Password=********”

Updating the Windows Azure Tenant Portal

The following attributes are used for configuring the WAP Tenant Portal.
WAP Database Server: db02.contoso.com
WAP Database user: sa
Tenant Portal FQDN: wapcloud.contoso.com
Admin Portal Port: 443
Admin Auth Service: wapcloud.contoso.com:444
To update the tenant portal do the following:

Logon to the WAP Server as an Administrator.
Start PowerShell.
Import the WAP PowerShell module:
Import-Module -Name MgmtSvcConfig
Update WAP Tenant Portal with the updated settings by running the following command:

Set-MgmtSvcFqdn -Namespace “TenantSite” -FullyQualifiedDomainName “wapcloud.contoso.com” -Port 443 -Server “db02”

5. Update WAP Tenant Auth Site with the updated settings by running the following command:

Set-MgmtSvcFqdn -Namespace “AuthSite” -FullyQualifiedDomainName “wapcloud.contoso.com” -Port 444 -Server “db02”

6. To set the WAP authentication service FQDN for the tenant portal run the following command.

Set-MgmtSvcRelyingPartySettings –Target Tenant –MetadataEndpoint ‘https://wapcloud.contoso.com:444/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml’ -ConnectionString “Data Source=db02.contoso.com;User ID=sa;Password=********”

7. To set the authentication service redirection location to the admin portal run the following command.

Set-MgmtSvcIdentityProviderSettings –Target Membership –MetadataEndpoint ‘https://wapcloud.contoso.com/FederationMetadata/2007-06/FederationMetadata.xml’ -ConnectionString “Data Source=db02.contoso.com;User ID=sa;Password=********”

Verify the WAP modification works.

Pre-requisite: As we don’t have a public certificate for my lab setup we are going to install the CA certificate on the computers in the Trusted Certificates store from where we will access the WAP Portals.

Login to a computer as a user that has WAP Admin Portal access.
Start a browser.
Type the URL that the WAP Admin Portal was changed to (E.g. https://wapadmin.contoso.com)

Verify that the WAP Admin Portal loads using the new URL

Verify that the tenant portal works by opening a browser and go to https://wapcloud.contoso.com.
During the authentication sign-in process note the redirection to the wapcloud.contoso.com:444 authentication site.

Verify that after login the login redirects you back to the WAP Portal.

Summary

The goal with this blog post was to show how it’s possible to reconfigure portal names, ports and use certificates after deploying the Windows Azure Pack and I think I’ve done that. But, as always, if you have any questions or comments, let me know…..

Until next time, Rob.

Rob's Blog – Microsoft Technology Evangelist

The half-life of the Cloud is countered in moments. I am in the middle… understanding and innovating.

Understanding Windows Azure Pack – Reconfigure portal names, ports and deploy certificates – Part 6

Architecture:

Scenario:

Reconfigure portal names for Windows Azure Pack

To accomplish this, we need to do the following:

Create a DNS record for the new portals

Use trusted certificates for the Windows Azure Pack

Install a CA Server

Configure CA Server

Change WEB Sites to use Certificate

Issue Certificate for the WAP Admin Portal

Change ports and certificates for the WAP Admin Portal

Change ports and certificates for the WAP Tenant Portals

Update Windows Azure Pack with the new settings

Updating the Windows Azure Admin Portal

Updating the Windows Azure Tenant Portal

Verify the WAP modification works.

Summary

One thought on “Understanding Windows Azure Pack – Reconfigure portal names, ports and deploy certificates – Part 6”

Architecture:

Scenario:

Reconfigure portal names for Windows Azure Pack

To accomplish this, we need to do the following:

Create a DNS record for the new portals

Use trusted certificates for the Windows Azure Pack

Install a CA Server

Configure CA Server

Change WEB Sites to use Certificate

Issue Certificate for the WAP Admin Portal

Change ports and certificates for the WAP Admin Portal

Update Windows Azure Pack with the new settings

Updating the Windows Azure Admin Portal

Updating the Windows Azure Tenant Portal

Verify the WAP modification works.

Summary

Share this:

One thought on “Understanding Windows Azure Pack – Reconfigure portal names, ports and deploy certificates – Part 6”

Discover more from Rob's Blog - Microsoft Technology Evangelist