Connect to the ASDK

Article
10/20/2023

To manage resources, you must first connect to the Azure Stack Development Kit (ASDK). In this article, we describe the steps that you take to connect to the ASDK by using the following connection options:

Remote Desktop Connection (RDP): When you connect by using Remote Desktop Connection, a single user can quickly connect to the ASDK.
Virtual Private Network (VPN): When you connect by using a VPN, multiple users can concurrently connect to the Azure Stack portals from clients outside the Azure Stack infrastructure. A VPN connection requires some setup.

Connect to Azure Stack using RDP

A single concurrent user can manage resources in the Azure Stack administrator portal or the user portal through Remote Desktop Connection directly from the ASDK host computer.

Tip

This option also enables you to use RDP again while signed into the ASDK host computer to sign in to virtual machines (VMs) created on the ASDK host computer.

Open Remote Desktop Connection (mstc.exe) and connect to the ASDK host computer IP address. Make sure you use an account authorized to sign in remotely to the ASDK host computer. By default, AzureStack\AzureStackAdmin has permissions to remote in to the ASDK host computer.
On the ASDK host computer, open Server Manager (ServerManager.exe). Select Local Server, turn off IE Enhanced Security Configuration, and close Server Manager.
Sign in to the administrator portal as AzureStack\CloudAdmin or use other Azure Stack Operator credentials. The ASDK administrator portal address is https://adminportal.local.azurestack.external.
Sign in to the user portal as AzureStack\CloudAdmin or use other Azure Stack user credentials. The ASDK user portal address is https://portal.local.azurestack.external.

Note

For more info on when to use which account, see ASDK admin basics.

Connect to Azure Stack using VPN

You can establish a split tunnel VPN connection to an ASDK host computer to access the Azure Stack portals and locally installed tools like Visual Studio and PowerShell. Using VPN connections, multiple users can connect at the same time to Azure Stack resources hosted by the ASDK.

VPN connectivity is supported for both Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) deployments.

Note

A VPN connection does not provide connectivity to Azure Stack VMs. You won't be able to RDP into Azure Stack VMs while connected via VPN.

Prerequisites

Before setting up a VPN connection to the ASDK, ensure you've met the following prerequisites:

Install Azure Stack-compatible Azure PowerShell on your local computer.
Download the tools required to work with Azure Stack.

Set up VPN connectivity

To create a VPN connection to the ASDK, open PowerShell as an admin on your local Windows-based computer. Then, run the following script (update the IP address and password values for your environment).

Az modules
AzureRM modules

# Change directories to the default Azure Stack tools directory
cd C:\AzureStack-Tools-az

# Configure Windows Remote Management (WinRM), if it's not already configured.
winrm quickconfig  

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

# Import the Connect module.
Import-Module .\Connect\AzureStack.Connect.psm1

# Add the ASDK host computer's IP address as the ASDK certificate authority (CA) to the list of trusted hosts. Make sure you update the IP address and password values for your environment.

$hostIP = "<Azure Stack Hub host IP address>"

$Password = ConvertTo-SecureString `
  "<operator's password provided when deploying Azure Stack>" `
  -AsPlainText `
  -Force

Set-Item wsman:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts `
  -Value $hostIP `
  -Concatenate

# Create a VPN connection entry for the local user.
Add-AzsVpnConnection `
  -ServerAddress $hostIP `
  -Password $Password

# Change directories to the default Azure Stack tools directory
cd C:\AzureStack-Tools-master

# Configure Windows Remote Management (WinRM), if it's not already configured.
winrm quickconfig  

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

# Import the Connect module.
Import-Module .\Connect\AzureStack.Connect.psm1

# Add the ASDK host computer's IP address as the ASDK certificate authority (CA) to the list of trusted hosts. Make sure you update the IP address and password values for your environment.

$hostIP = "<Azure Stack Hub host IP address>"

$Password = ConvertTo-SecureString `
  "<operator's password provided when deploying Azure Stack>" `
  -AsPlainText `
  -Force

Set-Item wsman:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts `
  -Value $hostIP `
  -Concatenate

# Create a VPN connection entry for the local user.
Add-AzsVpnConnection `
  -ServerAddress $hostIP `
  -Password $Password

If the setup succeeds, Azure Stack appears in your list of VPN connections:

Network connections

Connect to Azure Stack

Connect to the Azure Stack instance by using one of the following methods:

Use the Connect-AzsVpn command:
```
Connect-AzsVpn `
  -Password $Password
```
On your local computer, select Network Settings > VPN > Azure Stack > connect. At the sign-in prompt, enter the user name (AzureStack\AzureStackAdmin) and your password.

The first time you connect, you'll be prompted to install the Azure Stack root certificate from AzureStackCertificateAuthority in your local computer's certificate store. This step adds the ASDK certificate authority (CA) to the list of trusted hosts. Click Yes to install the certificate.

Root certificate

Important

The prompt might be hidden by the PowerShell window or other apps.

Test VPN connectivity

To test the portal connection, open a browser, and then go to either the user portal at https://portal.local.azurestack.external/ or the administrator portal https://adminportal.local.azurestack.external/.

Next steps

Troubleshooting