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Upgrade to the latest Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server

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This article walks you through the process of upgrading Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server v6.0 or higher. If you need to upgrade an old version of the PhoneFactor Agent, refer to Upgrade the PhoneFactor Agent to Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server.

If you're upgrading from v6.x or older to v7.x or newer, all components change from .NET 2.0 to .NET 4.5. All components also require Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 1 or higher. The MFA Server installer installs both the x86 and x64 versions of these components if they aren't already installed. If the User Portal and Mobile App Web Service run on separate servers, you need to install those packages before upgrading those components. You can search for the latest Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable update on the Microsoft Download Center.

Important

In September 2022, Microsoft announced deprecation of Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server. Beginning September 30, 2024, Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server deployments will no longer service multifactor authentication requests, which could cause authentications to fail for your organization. To ensure uninterrupted authentication services and to remain in a supported state, organizations should migrate their users’ authentication data to the cloud-based Azure MFA service by using the latest Migration Utility included in the most recent Azure MFA Server update. For more information, see Azure MFA Server Migration.

To get started with cloud-based MFA, see Tutorial: Secure user sign-in events with Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication.

Upgrade steps at a glance:

  • Upgrade Azure MFA Servers (Subordinates then Primary)
  • Upgrade the User Portal instances
  • Upgrade the AD FS Adapter instances

Upgrade Azure MFA Server

  1. Use the instructions in Download the Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Server to get the latest version of the Azure MFA Server installer.

  2. Make a backup of the MFA Server data file located at C:\Program Files\Multi-Factor Authentication Server\Data\PhoneFactor.pfdata (assuming the default install location) on your primary MFA Server.

  3. If you run multiple servers for high availability, change the client systems that authenticate to the MFA Server so that they stop sending traffic to the servers that are upgrading. If you use a load balancer, remove a subordinate MFA Server from the load balancer, do the upgrade, and then add the server back into the farm.

  4. Run the new installer on each MFA Server. Upgrade subordinate servers first because they can read the old data file being replicated by the primary.

    Note

    When upgrading a server it should be removed from any load balancing or traffic sharing with other MFA Servers.

    You do not need to uninstall your current MFA Server before running the installer. The installer performs an in-place upgrade. The installation path is picked up from the registry from the previous installation, so it installs in the same location (for example, C:\Program Files\Multi-Factor Authentication Server).

  5. If you're prompted to install a Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable update package, accept the prompt. Both the x86 and x64 versions of the package are installed.

  6. If you use the Web Service SDK, you are prompted to install the new Web Service SDK. When you install the new Web Service SDK, make sure that the virtual directory name matches the previously installed virtual directory (for example, MultiFactorAuthWebServiceSdk).

  7. Repeat the steps on all subordinate servers. Promote one of the subordinates to be the new primary, then upgrade the old primary server.

Upgrade the User Portal

Complete the upgrade of your MFA Servers before moving to this section.

  1. Make a backup of the web.config file that is in the virtual directory of the User Portal installation location (for example, C:\inetpub\wwwroot\MultiFactorAuth). If any changes were made to the default theme, make a backup of the App_Themes\Default folder as well. It is better to create a copy of the Default folder and create a new theme than to change the Default theme.

  2. If the User Portal runs on the same server as the other MFA Server components, the MFA Server installation prompts you to update the User Portal. Accept the prompt and install the User Portal update. Check that the virtual directory name matches the previously installed virtual directory (for example, MultiFactorAuth).

  3. If the User Portal is on its own server, copy the MultiFactorAuthenticationUserPortalSetup64.msi file from the install location of one of the MFA Servers and put it onto the User Portal web server. Run the installer.

    If an error occurs stating, "Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 1 or higher is required," download and install the latest update package from the Microsoft Download Center. Install both the x86 and x64 versions.

  4. After the updated User Portal software is installed, compare the web.config backup you made in step 1 with the new web.config file. If no new attributes exist in the new web.config, copy your backup web.config into the virtual directory to overwrite the new one. Another option is to copy/paste the appSettings values and the Web Service SDK URL from the backup file into the new web.config.

If you have the User Portal on multiple servers, repeat the installation on all of them.

Upgrade the Mobile App Web Service

Note

When upgrading from a version of Azure MFA Server older than 8.0 to 8.0+ then the mobile app web service can be uninstalled after the upgrade

Upgrade the AD FS Adapters

Complete the upgrade of your MFA Servers and User Portal before moving to this section.

If MFA runs on different servers than AD FS

These instructions only apply if you run Multi-Factor Authentication Server separately from your AD FS servers. If both services run on the same servers, skip this section and go to the installation steps.

  1. Save a copy of the MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.config file that was registered in AD FS, or export the configuration using the following PowerShell command: Export-AdfsAuthenticationProviderConfigurationData -Name [adapter name] -FilePath [path to config file]. The adapter name is either "WindowsAzureMultiFactorAuthentication" or "AzureMfaServerAuthentication" depending on the version previously installed.

  2. Copy the following files from the MFA Server installation location to the AD FS servers:

    • MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapterSetup64.msi
    • Register-MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.ps1
    • Unregister-MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.ps1
    • MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.config

  3. Edit the Register-MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.ps1 script by adding -ConfigurationFilePath [path] to the end of the Register-AdfsAuthenticationProvider command. Replace [path] with the full path to the MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.config file or the configuration file exported in the previous step.

    Check the attributes in the new MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.config to see if they match the old config file. If any attributes were added or removed in the new version, copy the attribute values from the old configuration file to the new one or modify the old configuration file to match.

Install new AD FS adapters

Important

Your users will not be required to perform two-step verification during steps 3-8 of this section. If you have AD FS configured in multiple clusters, you can remove, upgrade, and restore each cluster in the farm independently of the other clusters to avoid downtime.

  1. Remove some AD FS servers from the farm. Update these servers while the others are still running.

  2. Install the new AD FS adapter on each server removed from the AD FS farm. If the MFA Server is installed on each AD FS server, you can update through the MFA Server admin UX. Otherwise, update by running MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapterSetup64.msi.

    If an error occurs stating, "Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 1 or higher is required," download and install the latest update package from the Microsoft Download Center. Install both the x86 and x64 versions.

  3. Go to AD FS > Authentication Policies > Edit Global multifactor authentication Policy. Uncheck WindowsAzureMultiFactorAuthentication or AzureMFAServerAuthentication (depending on the current version installed).

    Once this step is complete, two-step verification through MFA Server is not available in this AD FS cluster until you complete step 8.

  4. Unregister the older version of the AD FS adapter by running the Unregister-MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.ps1 PowerShell script. Ensure that the -Name parameter (either "WindowsAzureMultiFactorAuthentication" or "AzureMFAServerAuthentication") matches the name that was displayed in step 3. This applies to all servers in the same AD FS cluster since there is a central configuration.

  5. Register the new AD FS adapter by running the Register-MultiFactorAuthenticationAdfsAdapter.ps1 PowerShell script. This applies to all servers in the same AD FS cluster since there is a central configuration.

  6. Restart the AD FS service on each server removed from the AD FS farm.

  7. Add the updated servers back to the AD FS farm and remove the other servers from the farm.

  8. Go to AD FS > Authentication Policies > Edit Global multifactor authentication Policy. Check AzureMfaServerAuthentication.

  9. Repeat step 2 to update the servers now removed from the AD FS farm and restart the AD FS service on those servers.

  10. Add those servers back into the AD FS farm.

Next steps