Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA/MFA) for Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN – RADIUS

Last updated on February 6, 2025

Overview

The purpose of this document is to enable Rublon Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for users logging in to Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN. In order to achieve that using RADIUS (e.g. FreeRADIUS) as your authentication source, you have to use Rublon Authentication Proxy, an on-premise RADIUS proxy server, which allows you to integrate Rublon with Pulse to add Two-Factor Authentication to your logins.

Supported Authentication Methods

Authentication Method	Supported	Comments
Mobile Push	✔	N/A
WebAuthn/U2F Security Key	–	N/A
Passcode	✔	N/A
SMS Passcode	–	N/A
SMS Link	✔	N/A
Phone Call	✔	N/A
QR Code	–	N/A
Email Link	✔	N/A
YubiKey OTP Security Key	✔	N/A

Before you start

You need to install and configure Rublon Authentication Proxy before configuring Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN to work with it. Read Rublon Authentication Proxy and follow the steps in Installation and Configuration sections. Afterwards, continue with this document.

Configuration

1. Log in to Pulse admin panel.

2. Go to Authentication → Auth. Servers.

3. Select RADIUS Server in the New dropdown, and click New Server….

4. Fill in the fields in the Settings tab. Refer to the following image and table.

Name	Enter a name for your authentication server, e.g. Rublon Authentication Proxy.
RADIUS Server	Enter the IP address of your Rublon Authentication Proxy.
Authentication Port	Enter the port of your Rublon Authentication Proxy.
Shared Secret	Enter the RADIUS Secret of your Rublon Authentication Proxy.
Timeout	Set to 180 seconds.
Retries	Set to 3.

5. Keep default values of all other fields. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click Save Changes.

6. Go to Users → User Realms → New User Realm….

7. Set a Name for your new realm, e.g. Rublon Authentication Proxy.

8. Select the previously created Rublon Authentication Proxy authentication server in the Authentication dropdown.

9. Click Save Changes.

10. Go to Authentication Policy → Password.

11. Select Allow all users (passwords of any length) and click Save Changes.

12. Select the Role Mapping tab and click New Rule….

13. Set a name of your choice for your new rule.

14. Set Rule:If username… to is *.

15. Assign a Users role. Select Users on the Available Roles list and click Add ->.

16. Click Save Changes.

17. Go to Authentication → Signing In → Sign-in Policies.

18. Click the */ URL in the User URLs table.

19. Select User picks from a list of authentication realms and select the Rublon Authentication Proxy realm you have created before. To do this, just select Rublon Authentication Proxy on the Available realms list and click Add ->.

20. Click Save Changes.

21. Your configuration is now complete. Your users can now log in to Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN with Rublon 2FA enabled.

Log in to Pulse Connect Secure with Rublon 2FA

This example portrays logging in to Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN via a web browser. Mobile Push has been set as the second factor in Rublon Authentication Proxy configuration (AUTH_METHOD was set to push).

1. Open the Pulse VPN login page in your browser.

2. Provide your username and password and click Sign In.

3. You will be sent an automatic push notification on your phone.

4. Tap APPROVE.

5. You will be logged in to Pulse SSL VPN.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues with your Rublon integration, please contact Rublon Support.

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Rublon Authentication Proxy

Rublon Authentication Proxy – Integrations