F5 BIG-IP APM RADIUS Integration with AuthPoint

Deployment Overview

This document describes how to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) for F5 BIG-IP APM with AuthPoint as an identity provider. F5 BIG-IP APM must already be configured and deployed before you set up MFA with AuthPoint.

F5 BIG-IP APM can be configured to support MFA in several modes. For this integration, we set up RADIUS authentication with AuthPoint.

This integration was tested with BIGIP-15.0.1-0.0.11.

F5 BIG-IP APM Authentication Data Flow with AuthPoint

AuthPoint communicates with various cloud-based services and service providers with the RADIUS protocol. This diagram shows the data flow of an MFA transaction for a F5 BIG-IP APM.

Before You Begin

Before you begin these procedures, make sure that:

• You have installed BIG-IP APM and finished the initialization setup (Setup Utility)
• You have installed and configured the AuthPoint Gateway (see About Gateways)
• Make sure the AuthPoint Gateway has an Internet connection
• A token is assigned to a user in AuthPoint

Configure F5 BIG-IP APM

In the F5 BIG-IP Setup Utility, in the Resource Provisioning step, you must change Access Policy (APM) to Nominal. The default is Local Traffic (LTM).

Configure a RADIUS Server

To use the RADIUS authentication with F5 BIG-IP, you must configure a RADIUS server (AuthPoint Gateway) in the AAA Server Groups. This enables F5 BIG-IP APM to authenticate users so they can access their resources through the RADIUS server.

1. Log in to the BIG-IP APM web UI from the management port (https://management port IP address).
2. Select Access > Authentication > RADIUS.

3. Click Create.
4. In the Name text box, type a name for the RADIUS server. In our example, we type AuthPoint_Gateway.
5. For Mode, select Authentication.
6. For Server Connection, select Direct.
7. In the Server Address text box, type the IP address of the AuthPoint Gateway.
8. In the Authentication Service Port text box, type the port that the AuthPoint Gateway uses. The default port is 1812.
9. In the Secret and Confirm Secret text box, type a shared secret key to use for communication with the RADIUS server (AuthPoint Gateway).
10. In the Timeout text box, type 60.

12. Click Finished.

Configure a Lease Pool

You configure a lease pool to associate a group of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses with a network access resource. When a lease pool is assigned to a network access resource, network access clients are automatically assigned unallocated IP addresses from the pool during the network access session.

To create a lease pool to provide internal network addresses for network access tunnel users:

1. Select Access > Connectivity/VPN > Network Access (VPN) > IPV4 lease Pools.

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name for the lease pool.
4. For Type, select IP Address Range.
5. Type the Start IP Address and End IP Address.
6. Click Add.

8. Click Finished.

Configure Network Access

The BIG-IP APM Network Access feature provides users with the functionality of a traditional IPSec VPN client. With Network Access, employees, partners, and customers can securely access corporate resources from any location using a standard web browser or the BIG-IP Edge Client.

1. Select Access > Connectivity/VPN > Network Access (VPN) > Network Access Lists.

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name.
4. Select the Auto launch check box.

5. Click Finished.
6. Select the Network Settings tab.
7. From the IPV4 Lease Pool drop-down list, select the lease pool that you created.

8. Click Update.

Configure a Connectivity Profile

A connectivity profile is the profile that is selected in a virtual server definition to define connectivity and client settings for a network access session.

1. Select Access > Connectivity/VPN > Connectivity > Profiles

2. Click Add.
3. Type a name.
4. From the Parent Profile drop-down list, select /Common/connectivity.

5. Click OK.

Configure Webtop

A Webtop is a remote implementation of a desktop environment that provides the functionality of a local machine. You connect to a Webtop with a web browser.

You can define three types of webtops in BIG-IP APM:

• A network access only Webtop
• A portal access Webtop
• A full Webtop

To configure a Webtop:

1. Select Access > Webtops > Webtop Lists.

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name for the webtop.
4. From the Type drop-down list, select Full.

5. Click Finished.

Configure Webtop Links

Webtop links are the links to the resources that you add to the Webtop. After the user authenticates, they see links to the resources on their Webtop.

1. Select Access > Webtop > Webtop Links.

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name for the webtop link.
4. From the Link Type drop-down list, select Application URL.

5. Click Finished

Configure an Access Profile

The Access Profile is where you define the criteria for granting or denying access to the various servers, applications, and other resources on the network.

1. Select Access > Profiles/Policies > Access Profiles (Per-Session Policies).

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name.
4. From the Profile Type drop-down list, select SSL-VPN.
5. In the Language Settings, add English to Accepted Languages.

6. Click Finished.

Edit the Access Profile

You can use an Access Policy to define a sequence of checks to enforce the required level of security on a user’s system before that user is granted access to servers, applications, and other resources on the network.

An access policy can also include authentication checks to authenticate a user before access to network resources is granted.

1. In the row of the Access Profile that you added, click Edit.

2. Click +.

The first page for a user will be a logon page. To add a logon page to the local traffic virtual server:

1. Under the Logon tab, select Logon Page.

2. Click Add Item.
3. Type a name. In our example, we type AuthPoint Logon Page.
4. From the Language drop-down list, select en.

5. Click Save.

For server authentication, you must add a logon page action and then a AAA server action. The logon page action shows the user a logon page with customizable fields and text. When the user types their logon credentials (for example, a user name and a password), the credentials are passed to the specified AAA server in the AAA server action. If the user is successfully authenticated, the user continues on the Successful branch. A user who is not authenticated continues on the Fallback branch.

1. Click the + next to the name of your logon page.
2. Select the Authentication tab.
3. Select RADIUS Auth.

4. Click Add Item.
5. Type a name.
6. From the AAA Server drop-down list, select the AAA server configured before.

7. Click Save.

8. Click Deny next to Successful.
9. Select Allow.

10. Click Save.

When a user successfully authenticates, they see a Webtop with customized resources and a Network Access.

To add a webtop and a Network Access:

1. Click the + next to Successful.
2. Select the Assignment tab.
3. Select Advanced Resource Assign.

4. Click Add Item.

5. Click Add new entry.
6. Under Expression, click Add/Delete.

7. Select the Webtop Links tab.
8. Select the check box for the Webtop link that you created in the previous section.

9. Select the Webtop tab.
10. Select the Webtop that you created.

11. Select the Network Access tab.
12. Select the Network Access that you created.

13. Click Update.
14. Click Save.

12. Click Close.

Configure Virtual Server

With BIG-IP APM, virtual servers are configured with specific settings for network access connections or web application access. The IP address assigned to a host virtual server is the one that is usually exposed to the Internet.

You can configure a remote access connection to one or more internal web applications. With web applications, you create an Access Policy and local traffic virtual server so that end users can access internal web applications through a single external virtual server.

1. Select Local Traffic > Virtual Servers > Virtual Server List.

2. Click Create.
3. Type a name.
4. From the Type drop-down list, select Standard.
5. For Source Address, select Host.
6. Type 0.0.0.0/0.
7. For Destination Address/Mask ,select Host.
8. Type the virtual server host IP address.
9. For Service Port, select Port.
10. From the drop-down list, select HTTPS.
11. From the HTTP Profile (Client) drop-down list, select http.
12. From the HTTP Profile (Server) drop-down list, select Use Client Profiles.
13. In the SSL Profile (Client) select the clientssl profile to use with this virtual server.
14. In the SSL Profile (Server) select the serverssl profile to use with this virtual server.

15. From the Access Profile drop-down list, select the Access Profile that was previously created
16. From the Connectivity Profile drop-down list, select the Connectivity Profile that was previously created

17. Click Finished.

Configure AuthPoint

Before AuthPoint can receive authentication requests from BIG-IP APM, you must:

• Specify BIG-IP APM as a RADIUS client resource In AuthPoint, resources are the applications and services that your users connect to. in AuthPoint.
• Add an authentication policy Authentication policies specify which resources users can authenticate to and which authentication methods they can use (Push, QR code, and OTP). for the BIG-IP APM RADIUS client resource or add the BIG-IP APM RADIUS client resource to an existing authentication policy.
• Bind the BIG-IP APM RADIUS client resource to the AuthPoint Gateway.

Add a RADIUS Resource in AuthPoint

From the AuthPoint management UI:

1. From the navigation menu, select Resources. Click Add Resource.
   The Add Resource page opens.

2. From the Type drop-down list, select RADIUS Client.
   Additional fields appear.

3. On the RADIUS Client page, in the Name text box, type a name for this resource.
4. In the RADIUS client trusted IP or FQDN text box, type the F5 BIG-IP APM Internal VLAN IP address.
5. In the Value sent for RADIUS attribute 11 (Filter-Id) drop-down list, select User's AuthPoint group.
6. In the Shared Secret text box, type the shared secret that you configured for F5 BIG-IP APM in the previous section. This key is used by F5 BIG-IP APM and the RADIUS server (AuthPoint Gateway) for communication.

7. Click Save.

Add a Group in AuthPoint

You must have at least one user group in AuthPoint to configure MFA. If you already have a group, you do not have to add another group.

To add a group to AuthPoint:

1. From the navigation menu, select Groups.
2. Click Add Group.
   The New Group page appears.

3. In the Name text box, type a descriptive name for the group.
4. (Optional) In the Description text box, type a description of the group.

5. Click Save.
   Your group is listed on the Groups page.

Add an Authentication Policy to AuthPoint

Authentication policies specify which resources users can authenticate to and which authentication methods they can use (Push, QR code, and OTP).

You must have at least one authentication policy in AuthPoint that includes the F5 BIG-IP RADIUS client resource. If you already have authentication policies, you do not have to create a new authentication policy. You can add this resource to your existing authentication policies.

Users that do not have an authentication policy for a specific resource cannot authenticate to log in to that resource.

To configure an authentication policy:

1. From the navigation menu, select Authentication Policies.
   The Authentication Policies page opens.

2. Click Add Policy.
   The Add Policy page opens.

3. In the Name text box, type a name for this policy.
4. From the Select the Authentication Options drop-down list, select Authentication Options, then select which authentication options users can choose from when they authenticate.

   If you enable the push and OTP authentication methods for a policy, RADIUS client resources associated with that policy use push notifications to authenticate users.

   QR code authentication is not supported for RADIUS client resources.

5. From the Groups drop-down list, select which groups this policy applies to. You can select more than one group. To configure this policy to apply to all groups, select All Groups.
6. From the Resources drop-down list, select the resource that you created in the previous section. If you want this policy to apply to additional resources, select each resource this policy applies to. To configure this policy to apply to all resources, select All Resources.

7. (Optional) If you have configured policy objects such as a Network Location, select which policy objects apply to this policy. When you add a policy object to a policy, the policy only applies to user authentications that match the conditions of the policy objects. For example, if you add a Network Location to a policy, the policy only applies to user authentications that come from that Network Location. Users who only have a policy that includes a Network Location do not get access to the resource when they authenticate outside of that Network Location (because they do not have a policy that applies, not because authentication is denied).

   For RADIUS authentication, policies that have a Network Location do not apply because AuthPoint does not have the IP address of the user.

   If you configure policy objects, we recommend that you create a second policy for the same groups and resources without the policy objects. The policy with the policy objects should have a higher priority.

8. Click Save.
   Your policy is created and added to the end of the policy list.

   When you create a new policy, we recommend that you review the order of your policies. AuthPoint always adds new policies to the end of the policy list.

Bind the RADIUS Resource to a Gateway

To use RADIUS authentication with AuthPoint, you must have the AuthPoint Gateway installed on your corporate network and you must assign your RADIUS resources to the Gateway in the AuthPoint management UI. The Gateway functions as a RADIUS server.

If you have not configured and installed the AuthPoint Gateway, see About Gateways.

1. From the navigation menu, select Gateway.
2. Select the Name of the Gateway.

3. From the RADIUS section, in the Port text box, type the port number used to communicate with the Gateway. The default ports are 1812 and 1645.

   If you already have a RADIUS server installed that uses port 1812 or 1645, you must use a different port for the AuthPoint Gateway.

4. From the Select a RADIUS Resource drop-down list, select your RADIUS client resource.
5. Click Save.

Add Users to AuthPoint

Before you assign users to a group, you must add the users to AuthPoint. There are two ways to add AuthPoint user accounts:

• Sync users from an external user database
• Add local AuthPoint users

Each user must be a member of a group. You must add at least one group before you can add users to AuthPoint.

Test the Integration

To test AuthPoint MFA with F5 BIG-IP APM, you can authenticate with a mobile token on your mobile device. For RADIUS resources, you can choose one-time password (OTP) or a push notification.

In this example, we show the OTP authentication method (users append the OTP for their token to their password).

1. Open a web browser and go to https://<virtual server IP address> .
2. In the Username text box, type your user name.
3. In the Password text box, type your password and the OTP for your token (shown in the AuthPoint mobile app). Do not add a space between your password and your OTP.

4. Click Logon.
5. Click Network Access.

5. Click Open F5 Network Access.