Skip to content

Commit a2a3455

Browse files
committed
docs: Update S2S certificate auth portal article
- Update managed identity name examples (s2s-user-managed, vpngw-managed) - Rename certificate CNs (AzRootCA1, az-outbound-cert1, on-prem-s2s-1) - Change Key Vault permission model to Azure RBAC (recommended) - Add RBAC role assignment section for managed identity access - Add active-active mode note for local network gateway - Update certificate identifier example URL - Update ms.date to 03/18/2026
1 parent 119cbe4 commit a2a3455

1 file changed

Lines changed: 24 additions & 8 deletions

File tree

articles/vpn-gateway/site-to-site-certificate-authentication-gateway-portal.md

Lines changed: 24 additions & 8 deletions
Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description: Learn how to configure VPN Gateway server settings for site-to-site
55
author: cherylmc
66
ms.service: azure-vpn-gateway
77
ms.topic: how-to
8-
ms.date: 02/24/2026
8+
ms.date: 03/18/2026
99
ms.author: cherylmc
1010

1111
#customer intent: As a network engineer, I want to create a site-to-site VPN connection between my on-premises location and my Azure virtual network using certificate authentication and Azure Key Vault.
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ This configuration requires a managed identity. For more information about manag
4141

4242
1. In the Azure portal, search for and select **Managed Identities**.
4343
1. Select **Create**.
44-
1. Input the required information. When you create the name, use something intuitive. For example, **site-to-site-managed** or **vpngwy-managed**. You need the name for key vault configuration steps. The **Resource group** doesn't have to be the same as the resource group that you use for your VPN gateway.
44+
1. Input the required information. When you create the name, use something intuitive. For example, **s2s-user-managed** or **vpngw-managed**. You need the name for key vault configuration steps. The **Resource group** doesn't have to be the same as the resource group that you use for your VPN gateway.
4545
1. Select **Review + create**.
4646
1. The values validate. When validation completes, select **Create**.
4747

@@ -70,6 +70,9 @@ Create a local network gateway by using the following values:
7070

7171
[!INCLUDE [Add a local network gateway](../../includes/vpn-gateway-add-local-network-gateway-portal-include.md)]
7272

73+
> [!NOTE]
74+
> When the VPN Gateway is configured in active-active mode (as shown in the network diagram at the beginning of this article), repeat the process to create a second Local Network Gateway. This is required to establish a second IPsec tunnel to the on-premises VPN device using its second public IP address.
75+
7376
## <a name="generatecert"></a>Certificates
7477

7578
Site-to-site certificate authentication architecture relies on both inbound and outbound certificates.
@@ -105,14 +108,14 @@ Use PowerShell locally on your computer to generate certificates. The following
105108
Use the New-SelfSignedCertificate cmdlet to create a self-signed root certificate. For more information about parameters, see [New-SelfSignedCertificate](/powershell/module/pki/new-selfsignedcertificate).
106109

107110
1. From a computer running Windows 10 or later, or Windows Server 2016, open a Windows PowerShell console with elevated privileges.
108-
1. Create a self-signed root certificate. The following example creates a self-signed root certificate named 'VPNRootCA01', which is automatically installed in **Certificates-Current User\Personal\Certificates**. Once the certificate is created, you can view it by opening *certmgr.msc*, or *Manage User Certificates*.
111+
1. Create a self-signed root certificate. The following example creates a self-signed root certificate named 'AzRootCA1', which is automatically installed in **Certificates-Current User\Personal\Certificates**. Once the certificate is created, you can view it by opening *certmgr.msc*, or *Manage User Certificates*.
109112

110113
Make any needed modifications before using this example. The 'NotAfter' parameter is optional. By default, without this parameter, the certificate expires in one year.
111114

112115
```powershell
113116
$params = @{
114117
Type = 'Custom'
115-
Subject = 'CN=VPNRootCA01'
118+
Subject = 'CN=AzRootCA1'
116119
KeySpec = 'Signature'
117120
KeyExportPolicy = 'Exportable'
118121
KeyUsage = 'CertSign'
@@ -138,7 +141,7 @@ These examples use the [New-SelfSignedCertificate](/powershell/module/pki/new-se
138141
139142
$params = @{
140143
Type = 'Custom'
141-
Subject = 'CN=Outbound-certificate'
144+
Subject = 'CN=az-outbound-cert1'
142145
KeySpec = 'Signature'
143146
KeyExportPolicy = 'Exportable'
144147
KeyLength = 2048
@@ -158,7 +161,7 @@ These examples use the [New-SelfSignedCertificate](/powershell/module/pki/new-se
158161
159162
$params = @{
160163
Type = 'Custom'
161-
Subject = 'CN=Inbound-certificate'
164+
Subject = 'CN=on-prem-s2s-1'
162165
KeySpec = 'Signature'
163166
KeyExportPolicy = 'Exportable'
164167
KeyLength = 2048
@@ -224,7 +227,7 @@ This configuration requires Azure Key Vault. The following steps create a key va
224227

225228
1. In the Azure portal, search for **Key Vaults**. On the **Key vaults** page, select **+Create**.
226229
1. On the **Create a key vault** page, fill out the required information. The resource group doesn't have to be the same as the resource group that you used for your VPN gateway.
227-
1. On the **Access configuration** tab, for Permission model, select **Vault access policy**.
230+
1. On the **Access configuration** tab, for Permission model, select **Azure role-based control (recommended)**.
228231
1. Don't fill out any of the other fields.
229232
1. Select **Review + create**, then **Create** the key vault.
230233

@@ -242,6 +245,19 @@ The following steps help you upload the outbound certificate information to Azur
242245
1. Input the password used to protect the certificate information.
243246
1. Select **Create** to upload the certificate file.
244247

248+
## Grant the user-assigned managed identity access to the Key Vault using built-in RBAC roles
249+
250+
1. Open the Key Vault and select **Access control (IAM)**.
251+
1. Select **Add**, then choose **Add role assignment**.
252+
1. In **Search by role name**, enter **Key Vault Secrets User**, select the built-in role, then select **Next**.
253+
1. On the **Members** tab, for **Assign access to**, select **Managed identity**.
254+
1. Select **+ Select members**. In **Select managed identities**, set **Managed identity** to **User-assigned managed identity**, then choose the user-assigned managed identity you created earlier.
255+
1. Select **Next**, review the settings, then select **Review + assign** to apply the role assignment.
256+
1. Repeat the steps above to assign the **Key Vault Certificate User** role to the same user-assigned managed identity. This is required; otherwise, the managed identity won't be able to access the outbound certificate stored in Key Vault.
257+
258+
> [!NOTE]
259+
> RBAC role assignment changes aren't applied immediately to Key Vault. Before proceeding to the next step, verify under **Role assignments** that both built-in roles **Key Vault Secrets User** and **Key Vault Certificate User** are present.
260+
245261
## Add the Managed Identity to your key vault
246262

247263
1. Go to your key vault. In the left pane, open the **Access policies** page.
@@ -275,7 +291,7 @@ Before moving forward, gather the following information for the required configu
275291
1. Click the line for your certificate version.
276292
1. Copy the path next to **Certificate Identifier**. The path is specific to the certificate.
277293

278-
Example: `https://s2s-vault1.vault.azure.net/certificates/site-to-site/<certificate-value>`
294+
Example: `https://s2s-vault1.vault.azure.net/certificates/az-outbound-cert1/<certificate-value>`
279295

280296
* **Inbound certificate subject name**: This is the CN for the inbound certificate. To locate this value:
281297

0 commit comments

Comments
 (0)