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🔐 Site-to-Site VPN Using Certificates (Step-by-Step)

In this video, we configure a site-to-site VPN using certificate-based authentication instead of pre-shared keys.
This approach reflects how real enterprise VPNs are deployed in production environments.

Rather than relying on a shared secret, both gateways authenticate each other using digital certificates issued by trusted Certificate Authorities (CAs).

🧩 Lab Overview – What We Will Build
Two companies connected via a site-to-site VPN
Each company has its own Certificate Authority
Gateways authenticate using certificates, not passwords
Mutual trust is established using exchanged Root CA certificates

⚠️ Why Pre-Shared Keys Are Avoided
Pre-shared keys are simple but insecure and difficult to manage:
A leaked key compromises the tunnel
Rotation requires changes on both sides
Poor scalability for multiple VPNs
No true identity validation
Certificate-based VPNs eliminate these issues.

🛠️ Step 1: Create Root Certificate Authorities
Each company creates its own Root CA.
This CA is responsible for signing gateway certificates and establishing trust.

🔁 Step 2: Exchange Root CA Certificates
The Root CA certificates are exchanged between both companies.

This step is mandatory:
Without it, gateways cannot validate each other
Authentication will fail during VPN negotiation
Only public Root certificates are exchanged — never private keys.

📦 Step 3: Import Root Certificates as Trusted CAs
Each firewall imports the remote company’s Root CA certificate and creates a Trusted CA object.

This tells the firewall:
“I trust certificates signed by this authority.”

📄 Step 4: Generate Certificate Signing Requests (CSR)
Each gateway generates a CSR:
A key pair is created locally
The private key stays on the gateway
The public key and identity are sent to the CA
The CA signs the request and issues a gateway certificate.

🏢 Step 5: Sign Gateway Certificates Using a Central CA
Instead of using an internal firewall CA, certificates are signed by a central Windows CA.

This allows:
Centralized identity management
Easier auditing and compliance
Certificate revocation from one location
Alignment with enterprise security policies

🔒 Step 6: Install Gateway Certificates
The signed certificates are installed on each VPN gateway.
At this point, each gateway has:
Its own identity certificate
A trusted Root CA for the remote gateway

🔐 Step 7: VPN Authentication and Tunnel Establishment
When a VPN connection is initiated:
Gateways exchange certificates
Each gateway verifies the certificate signature
Trusted CA objects are checked

If trust is valid → VPN tunnel is established
If trust is missing → connection is rejected

✅ Final Result

You now have a secure, scalable site-to-site VPN using certificate-based authentication — without shared secrets.

This is the recommended approach for enterprise and production networks.

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