What if your organization is not using Microsoft OneDrive (yet) and you want to give users the possibilities to access corporate files that are stored on-premises on a file server from BYOD devices? You also want to stay in control of the corporate data and want to enforcing device policies like encryption and screen lock settings? In that case Work Folders can be a good solution for you.
In this blog I will show you step-by-step how to deploy Work Folders on Windows Server 2019.
My environment
Before we start, let me tell you some more about my test/demo environment. I have a new Windows Server 2019 (EMSFile01) with the File Server role installed and configured on it. The IP address of this server is 10.100.1.61. I also have a fresh installed Windows 10 device that I will use to test the results of the configuration in this blog.
The internal domain of this test environment is a “.local” domain. The external domain name is a “.nl” domain. On the internal DNS servers, there is also a DNS zone for the external domain. All test users have a primary UPN prefix of the external domain name. I have a wildcard certificate available for the external domain that I will use for the Work Folders server.
All devices are joined to the local domain (remote access will be covered in the next blog).
In this blog
I will cover the following steps in this blog;
- Create a DNS record for the Work Folders
- Install the Work Folder server role
- Install and configure the SSL Certificate
- Configure the Work Folders server
- Testing the results
Step 1 : Create a DNS record for the Work Folders
To use Autodiscover for Work Folders during the Work Folders setup on a client device, a DNS record must exist. If the DNS record exist within the domain a user can setup Work Folders based on his/her email address / UPN.
To add the correct DNS record login to a domain controller and open the DNS Manager.
Add a new A record for the relevant domain and fill in the following information;
Name : workfolders (otherwise Autodiscovery will not work!)
IP address : The IP address of the server you will be use as Work Folder server
Click Add Host
Note: If you have a different internal and external domain name you can add the DNS record for both domains so users can setup Work Folders with both UPN prefixes.
Click OK
Step 2 : Install the Work Folder server role
In the following steps I will install the Work Folders server role. I will also install the IIS role. IIS is not a requirement for Work Folders, it is just an easy way for me to use it for installing the SSL certificate. For the following steps, login to the new installed server and start the Server Manager.
Click Add roles and features
Select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next
Make sure that the local server is selected and click Next
Expand Files and Storage Services > File and iSCSI Services and select Work Folders
Click Add Features
Scroll down and select Web Server (IIS) (once again this one is optionally)
Click Add Features
Click Next
Click Next
Click Next
Leave everything default and click Next
Click Install
Click Close
Step 3 : Install and configure the SSL Certificate
In the first step we have created a DNS record. To secure the connection between the Work Folders server and the clients, we need a SSL Certificate. In this case I will import an SSL certificate I already have (wildcard certificate). You can also request a new certificate, but I will not cover the steps to do that is this blog.
In the next few steps, I show you how to make the necessary steps for configure an existing SSL Certificate for use with the Work Folders server. There are several ways to do this, I will do this via IIS as you can see in the steps below.
Op the Internet Information Service (IIS) Manager and select the server name. From the Home blade open Server Certificates.
At the right click Import
Browse to your certificate file, fill in the password and click Ok
The certificate will now be displayed.
Open the Default Web Site, at the right click Bindings
Click Add…
Fill in the following information;
Type : https
IP address : All Unassigned
Port : 443
Host name : workfolders.<domain name>
SSL certificate : select the just imported SSL certificate
Click OK
Click Close
On the Default Web Site blade, click Stop at the right.
Step 4 : Configure the Work Folders server
Login to the server where the Work Folders role is installed. I will create a new folder for the Work Folders first.
On the E drive of my server I will create a new folder in the root with the name WorkFolders.
Now we need to add folder permissions for users to this folder. A best practice is to create an AD Security Group for the Work Folders users, but for this demo I will give the Domain Users group the Full control permissions.
Open the Server Manager and click File and Storage Services
Click Work Folders
At the right, click TASKS and New Sync Share…
Click Next
Select Enter a local path and click Browse…
Select the E:\workfolders folder and click Next
Select User alias@domain if you want to make Work Folders available for different domains and click Next.
Give the sync share a name and click Next
Click Add to grant sync access to the users
In this demo I will add the Domain Users group, but a best practice is to have a separate security group for it. Click Next.
Here you have the option to apply device policies like to Encrypt Work Folder on the client and to enforce a lock screen and password policy. For this demo I do not enforce device policies. Click Next.
Click Create
Click Close
Step 5 : Testing the results
In this final part I will test the results on a fresh installed Windows 10 machine.
On a Windows device, search for Work Folders
Click Set up Work Folders
Fill in the user’s email address (you must have created the DNS record for that domain as described in step one of this blog). Click Next
Select if files needs to be available on-demand or not (if not selected, all files will be downloaded to the client). In this case I will not enable on-demand file access. Click Next
Select I accept these policies on my PC and click Set up Work Folders
Click Close
I have copied some files onto the Work Folders and as you can see in the Status column, all the files are synced with the Work Folders server.
You can also check the status here; Control Panel > System and Security > Work Folders
On the Work Folders server you can see that there is now a sub folder with the username@domain with his/her files in it.