Meraki Anyconnect

Meraki Anyconnect Windows
Meraki Anyconnect Free

Posted by: Jackie Roewe

Announcing Cisco AnyConnect VPN with Meraki MX. Link to the article.https://documentation.meraki.com/MX/AnyConnectontheMXAppliance. Currently, when AnyConnect is enabled, the MX will automatically initiate a certificate-signing request to get a publicly trusted identity certificate; this is entirely transparent to the dashboard administrator. The MX uses the Meraki Dynamic DNS hostname when creating a CSR before getting it signed by a public CA. Meraki Community Solved: to configure SmartSecurity Anyconnect to Meraki. Avoid LAN overlap. DNS utilize technology to spur a AnyConnect connection MX - Cisco Community using DHCP- Forward for user VPN connections. Meraki Support Paradigm. All customers have an explicit support owner at all times. Normally this is a Cisco Meraki support team member; however, during pre-sales product it could be a Cisco Meraki Systems Engineer, VAR, or other field sales resource.

The newly released Cisco Meraki Systems Manager Enterprise gives organizations the ability to ensure the security of devices and the content on them. But what about employees on the go that need access to resources hosted on local networks that are typically retrieved using Cisco AnyConnect, which provides encrypted network connectivity to mobile devices?

With Systems Manager Enterprise, admins can ensure not only that the AnyConnect app is installed on the device, but that the device itself remains in compliance while the AnyConnect app is deployed. Systems Manager Enterprise allows organizations to ensure complete security of their devices. Admins can quickly create new security policies in dashboard or check against existing Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policies; devices must satisfy the defined security policy in order to have settings, content, and apps assigned.

Security compliance policies defined in dashboard are dynamic, meaning that should a compliant device violates its prescribed policy, applications can be removed/added and settings can be modified automatically. Employees use AnyConnect to securely access remote resources, so organizations will want the mobile device they are using to also be secure. For instance, if a device is jailbroken or rooted, an admin can easily create a policy that automatically removes the AnyConnect profile from the compromised mobile device.

Similarly, if a user installs a blacklisted app, they will be violating the predefined policy and the AnyConnect app will be removed from the device. With this added level of security, the user will no longer be able to use AnyConnect to connect to the VPN on their compromised device, ensuring the security of remote resources.

The possibilities are endless with Systems Manager Enterprise. Admins can easily establish any number of security policies and profiles that will automatically ensure enterprise security compliance for mobile devices as well as local and remote resources, all in a few clicks of the mouse. Learn more about Systems Manager Enterprise here.

For additional information, refer to the AnyConnect configuration guide.

Client Download

Unlike the ASA, the MX does not support web deploy or web launch, a feature that allows end users to access a web page on the AnyConnect server to download the AnyConnect client. With the MX, there are download links to the client software on the AnyConnect settings page on the dashboard, however, the download links are only available to the Meraki dashboard admin and not the end user. We do not recommend sharing the down link with users as the link expires after every five minutes of loading the AnyConnect settings page.

We recommend downloading the AnyConnect client directly from Cisco.com as there may be an updated version in the Cisco repository. Refer to the doc for the AnyConnect clientrelease notes. We also recommend using either Meraki Systems Manager, an equivalent MDM solution, or Active Directory to seamlessly push the AnyConnect software client to the end user's device.

AnyConnect requires a VPN client to be installed on a client device. The AnyConnect client for Windows, MacOS, and Linux are available on the Client Connection section of the AnyConnect configuration page on the dashboard and can be downloaded by a Meraki dashboard administrator. Please note, the download links on the Meraki dashboard expire after five minutes. The AnyConnect client for mobile devices can be downloaded via the respective mobile stores. You can also download other versions (must be version 4.8 or higher) of the AnyConnect client from Cisco.com if you have an existing AnyConnect license. AnyConnect web deploy is not supported on the MX at this time.

Installing the AnyConnect client

You only need the VPN box checked. Once the client has been installed on the device, open the AnyConnect application and specify the hostname or IP address of the MX (AnyConnect server) you need to connect to.

AnyConnect Profiles

An AnyConnect profile is a crucial piece for ensuring easy configuration of the AnyConnect client software, once installed. The MX does not support the use of custom hostnames for certificates (e.g. vpn.xyz.com). The MX only supports use of the Meraki DDNS hostname for auto-enrollment and use on the MX. With the Meraki DDNS hostname (e.g. mx450-xyuhsygsvge.dynamic-m.com) not as simply as a custom hostname, the need for AnyConnect profiles cannot be overemphasized. Profiles can be used to create hostname aliases, thereby masking the Meraki DDNS with a friendly name for the end user.

Cisco AnyConnect client features are enabled in AnyConnect profiles. These profiles can contain configuration settings like server list, backup server list, authentication time out, etc., for client VPN functionality, in addition to other optional client modules like Network Access Manager, ISE posture, customer experience feedback, and web security. It is important to note that at this time, the Meraki MX does not support other optional client modules that require AnyConnect head-end support. For more details, see AnyConnect profiles.

When a profile is created, it needs to get pushed to the end user's device. There are three ways to do this.

1. Through the AnyConnect server (MX): If profiles are configured on the dashboard, the MX will push the configured profile to the user's device after successful authentication.
2. Through an MDM solution: Systems Manager, an equivalent MDM solution, or Active Directory can be used push files to specific destinations on the end user's device. Profiles can also be pushed to the following paths:

Windows
%ProgramData%CiscoCisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility ClientProfile

Mac OS X
/opt/cisco/anyconnect/profile

Linux
/opt/cisco/anyconnect/profile

3. Manually: Profiles can also be preloaded manually to the same paths as listed above.

How to Create a Profile

Profiles can be created using the AnyConnect profile editor. The profile editor can be downloaded from the AnyConnect Settings page on dashboard or on cisco.com. Refer to this link for more details on AnyConnect profiles.

Using the profile editor: The profile editor can be downloaded from the AnyConnect Settings page on dashboard or on Cisco.com. The profile editor only runs on Windows operating systems. The screenshot below shows a configured server ton the Server List Entry option.