RDP Connections - Freeze or Reconnect

[Sarah Kingswell]

I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a Windows 2003
SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has been working well but
just recently remote users have been complaining that the RDP session
frequently lock up or reconnects with a big red x in the top right hand
corner of the screen. It is happening so frequently that accessing the
terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen this before and
it happens very occassionally. LAN users access the terminal server with
RDP without issue. This makes me believe it has something to do with the
Router or ADSL Line.

I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
Applied all of the latest updates to windows
Updated network drivers etc
Rebooted server
Changed MTU settings

Nothing seems to be making any improvements.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1





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[moncho]

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a Windows
> 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has been working
> well but just recently remote users have been complaining that the RDP
> session frequently lock up or reconnects with a big red x in the top
> right hand corner of the screen. It is happening so frequently that
> accessing the terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have
> seen this before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users access
> the terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes me believe it
> has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>
> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
> Updated network drivers etc
> Rebooted server
> Changed MTU settings
>
> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1

Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
switch that the LAN users are on?

If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.

moncho

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving me
crazy!!!

I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has got
much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until all of the
internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting to session' windows
when they were logged onto the terminal server. It was reconnecting very
frequently (every 2 minutes or so). Internal Users have never experienced
this in all the 5 years that they have been running the server/ I left site
thinking I had fixed the issue by replacing the Network cable. I noticed
that the network connection had a red x on the server and would then
reconnect intermittently. To be sure I plugged a new cable into a different
ethernet port on the server. This seemed to work.

I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop. The
RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3 seconds past
the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc. Thinking this was
an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection from my other XP laptop. Same
type of thing happens.

I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets say
computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote location. From
computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with RDP. Therefore connecting
to the terminal server with a different internet connection. This was
stable and didn't reconnect.

I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the theory that
the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building is the problem?

Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The licences
were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to fix this but I
don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.

If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!


"moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a Windows
>> 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has been working
>> well but just recently remote users have been complaining that the RDP
>> session frequently lock up or reconnects with a big red x in the top
>> right hand corner of the screen. It is happening so frequently that
>> accessing the terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen
>> this before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users access the
>> terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes me believe it has
>> something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>
>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>> Updated network drivers etc
>> Rebooted server
>> Changed MTU settings
>>
>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>
> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
> switch that the LAN users are on?
>
> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>
> moncho

 

[moncho]

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving me
> crazy!!!
>
> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has got
> much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until all of
> the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting to session'
> windows when they were logged onto the terminal server. It was
> reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so). Internal Users
> have never experienced this in all the 5 years that they have been
> running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed the issue by
> replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the network connection had
> a red x on the server and would then reconnect intermittently. To be
> sure I plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the
> server. This seemed to work.
>
> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop.
> The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3
> seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc.
> Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection from my
> other XP laptop. Same type of thing happens.

This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
reference.

Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?

>
> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets say
> computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote location. From
> computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with RDP. Therefore
> connecting to the terminal server with a different internet connection.
> This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>
> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the theory
> that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building is the problem?

This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.

>
> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to fix
> this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.

Do you use User or Device Licenses?

What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?

>
> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!

I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
place to look (IMO).

Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?

Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
second one if it is not in use already?

Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
NIC drivers?

Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?

moncho
>
>
> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has
>>> been working well but just recently remote users have been
>>> complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects
>>> with a big red x in the top right hand corner of the screen. It is
>>> happening so frequently that accessing the terminal server remotely
>>> is becoming unusable. I have seen this before and it happens very
>>> occassionally. LAN users access the terminal server with RDP without
>>> issue. This makes me believe it has something to do with the Router
>>> or ADSL Line.
>>>
>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>> Rebooted server
>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>
>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>
>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>
>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>
>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>
>> moncho
>

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd warnings
but nothing that I haven't seen before.

I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the customer
to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the connection with the
internal users.

Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the latest
version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software thinking this
was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may be related is that the
server lost power from the UPS because the UPS connections on the back are
really poor and the power cable just fell out. This mean't the server
shutdown without warning. I have reset winsock thinking this might be
corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but with no improvements. Could it
be the switch?

One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server console
and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.

"moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving me
>> crazy!!!
>>
>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has got
>> much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until all of
>> the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting to session'
>> windows when they were logged onto the terminal server. It was
>> reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so). Internal Users
>> have never experienced this in all the 5 years that they have been
>> running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed the issue by
>> replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the network connection had a
>> red x on the server and would then reconnect intermittently. To be sure
>> I plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the server. This
>> seemed to work.
>>
>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop. The
>> RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3 seconds
>> past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc. Thinking
>> this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection from my other XP
>> laptop. Same type of thing happens.
>
> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
> reference.
>
> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>
>>
>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets say
>> computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote location. From
>> computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with RDP. Therefore
>> connecting to the terminal server with a different internet connection.
>> This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>
>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the theory
>> that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building is the
>> problem?
>
> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>
>>
>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to fix
>> this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.
>
> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>
> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>
>>
>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>
> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
> place to look (IMO).
>
> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>
> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
> second one if it is not in use already?
>
> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
> NIC drivers?
>
> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>
> moncho
>>
>>
>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a Windows
>>>> 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has been
>>>> working well but just recently remote users have been complaining that
>>>> the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects with a big red x in
>>>> the top right hand corner of the screen. It is happening so frequently
>>>> that accessing the terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I
>>>> have seen this before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users
>>>> access the terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes me
>>>> believe it has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>
>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>> Rebooted server
>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>
>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>
>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>
>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>
>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>
>>> moncho
>>

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal users
accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently. Nothing logged
in event viewer for both server and on client end.

If I look at the licence manager for TS I see

Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
Type=Open
Total=20
Available=20
Issued=0

Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I have
re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in the event log
since doing this. Does this look right to you?

Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the session
reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back to where it was
when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere suggesting a problem. I am
going to run a ping -t to see if any packets are being lost over the LAN.
May imply it is an issue with the switch as everything else has been
replaced.

Any ideas where I go next?

"Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>
> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
> connection with the internal users.
>
> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the latest
> version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software thinking
> this was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may be related is
> that the server lost power from the UPS because the UPS connections on the
> back are really poor and the power cable just fell out. This mean't the
> server shutdown without warning. I have reset winsock thinking this might
> be corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but with no improvements.
> Could it be the switch?
>
> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server
> console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>
> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving me
>>> crazy!!!
>>>
>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has got
>>> much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until all of
>>> the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting to session'
>>> windows when they were logged onto the terminal server. It was
>>> reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so). Internal Users
>>> have never experienced this in all the 5 years that they have been
>>> running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed the issue by
>>> replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the network connection had
>>> a red x on the server and would then reconnect intermittently. To be
>>> sure I plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the server.
>>> This seemed to work.
>>>
>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop.
>>> The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3
>>> seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc.
>>> Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection from my
>>> other XP laptop. Same type of thing happens.
>>
>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>> reference.
>>
>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>
>>>
>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets say
>>> computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote location. From
>>> computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with RDP. Therefore
>>> connecting to the terminal server with a different internet connection.
>>> This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>>
>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the theory
>>> that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building is the
>>> problem?
>>
>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
>> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>>
>>>
>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to fix
>>> this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.
>>
>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>
>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>>
>>>
>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>
>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>> place to look (IMO).
>>
>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>
>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>
>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>> NIC drivers?
>>
>> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>>
>> moncho
>>>
>>>
>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has
>>>>> been working well but just recently remote users have been complaining
>>>>> that the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects with a big red x
>>>>> in the top right hand corner of the screen. It is happening so
>>>>> frequently that accessing the terminal server remotely is becoming
>>>>> unusable. I have seen this before and it happens very occassionally.
>>>>> LAN users access the terminal server with RDP without issue. This
>>>>> makes me believe it has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>
>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>
>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>
>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>
>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>
>>>> moncho
>>>
>

 

[moncho]

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>
> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>
> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
> Type=Open
> Total=20
> Available=20
> Issued=0
>
> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I have
> re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in the event
> log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>
> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the session
> reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back to where it
> was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere suggesting a problem.
> I am going to run a ping -t to see if any packets are being lost over
> the LAN. May imply it is an issue with the switch as everything else has
> been replaced.
>
> Any ideas where I go next?

You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are at.

Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
if anything weird is going on?

Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port
forward to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?

I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.

Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
issue too, correct?

Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
some testing without messing with the rest of the users?

I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make sure
it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.

Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
from a remote site, not a VNC connection?

As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.

moncho

>
> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>
>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>> connection with the internal users.
>>
>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the latest
>> version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software thinking
>> this was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may be related
>> is that the server lost power from the UPS because the UPS connections
>> on the back are really poor and the power cable just fell out. This
>> mean't the server shutdown without warning. I have reset winsock
>> thinking this might be corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but
>> with no improvements. Could it be the switch?
>>
>> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server
>> console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>
>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving
>>>> me crazy!!!
>>>>
>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has
>>>> got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until
>>>> all of the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting
>>>> to session' windows when they were logged onto the terminal server.
>>>> It was reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so).
>>>> Internal Users have never experienced this in all the 5 years that
>>>> they have been running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed
>>>> the issue by replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the
>>>> network connection had a red x on the server and would then
>>>> reconnect intermittently. To be sure I plugged a new cable into a
>>>> different ethernet port on the server. This seemed to work.
>>>>
>>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop.
>>>> The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3
>>>> seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03
>>>> etc. Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection
>>>> from my other XP laptop. Same type of thing happens.
>>>
>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>> reference.
>>>
>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets
>>>> say computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote
>>>> location. From computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with
>>>> RDP. Therefore connecting to the terminal server with a different
>>>> internet connection. This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>>>
>>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the
>>>> theory that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building
>>>> is the problem?
>>>
>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
>>> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>>>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to
>>>> fix this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.
>>>
>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>
>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>>>
>>>>
>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>
>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>
>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>
>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>
>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>> NIC drivers?
>>>
>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>>>
>>> moncho
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server
>>>>>> has been working well but just recently remote users have been
>>>>>> complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects
>>>>>> with a big red x in the top right hand corner of the screen. It
>>>>>> is happening so frequently that accessing the terminal server
>>>>>> remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen this before and it
>>>>>> happens very occassionally. LAN users access the terminal server
>>>>>> with RDP without issue. This makes me believe it has something to
>>>>>> do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>
>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>
>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>
>>>>> moncho
>>>>
>>
>

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

Thanks for all your advice, I do appreciate your help.

The customer has another Partner coming in tomorrow to look at the issue and
they believe the problem is because the server is overloaded as it also runs
Exchange. It has been running exchange for 5 years on the same box and
never has it had a problem, so I completely disagree with them! I am really
keen to find an answer today.

Lan users connect directly to internal IP of server through RDP.
Remote users connect with VPN and then the RDP.
I have also connected directly with the server with a port forward on 3389.

All instances cause problems.

I asked them to find the old switch that was upgraded a few years ago to
test but typically they can't find it. I can logon to the server with a
modem and then RDP to see if this makes any difference. Not sure what this
will prove. Seriously think something is corrupted or there is a hardware
issue. Testing the switch will be the best idea. I just hope the company
going in tomorrow can do this without having to sell the customer a new
system!

"moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
news:q5t8k.6564$cW3.4198@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
>> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
>> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>>
>> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>>
>> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
>> Type=Open
>> Total=20
>> Available=20
>> Issued=0
>>
>> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I have
>> re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in the event
>> log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>>
>> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the session
>> reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back to where it
>> was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere suggesting a problem. I
>> am going to run a ping -t to see if any packets are being lost over the
>> LAN. May imply it is an issue with the switch as everything else has been
>> replaced.
>>
>> Any ideas where I go next?
>
> You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are at.
>
> Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
> if anything weird is going on?
>
> Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port forward
> to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?
>
> I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
> but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.
>
> Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
> issue too, correct?
>
> Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
> some testing without messing with the rest of the users?
>
> I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make sure
> it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.
>
> Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
> from a remote site, not a VNC connection?
>
> As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
> these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.
>
> moncho
>
>>
>> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>>
>>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>>> connection with the internal users.
>>>
>>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the latest
>>> version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software thinking
>>> this was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may be related is
>>> that the server lost power from the UPS because the UPS connections on
>>> the back are really poor and the power cable just fell out. This mean't
>>> the server shutdown without warning. I have reset winsock thinking this
>>> might be corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but with no
>>> improvements. Could it be the switch?
>>>
>>> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server
>>> console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>>
>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving me
>>>>> crazy!!!
>>>>>
>>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has
>>>>> got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until
>>>>> all of the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting to
>>>>> session' windows when they were logged onto the terminal server. It
>>>>> was reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so). Internal
>>>>> Users have never experienced this in all the 5 years that they have
>>>>> been running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed the issue
>>>>> by replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the network connection
>>>>> had a red x on the server and would then reconnect intermittently. To
>>>>> be sure I plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the
>>>>> server. This seemed to work.
>>>>>
>>>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop.
>>>>> The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3
>>>>> seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc.
>>>>> Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection from my
>>>>> other XP laptop. Same type of thing happens.
>>>>
>>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>>> reference.
>>>>
>>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets say
>>>>> computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote location.
>>>>> From computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with RDP. Therefore
>>>>> connecting to the terminal server with a different internet
>>>>> connection. This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the theory
>>>>> that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building is the
>>>>> problem?
>>>>
>>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
>>>> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>>>>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to fix
>>>>> this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped working.
>>>>
>>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>>
>>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>>
>>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>>
>>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>>
>>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>>
>>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>>> NIC drivers?
>>>>
>>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>>>>
>>>> moncho
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server has
>>>>>>> been working well but just recently remote users have been
>>>>>>> complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects
>>>>>>> with a big red x in the top right hand corner of the screen. It is
>>>>>>> happening so frequently that accessing the terminal server remotely
>>>>>>> is becoming unusable. I have seen this before and it happens very
>>>>>>> occassionally. LAN users access the terminal server with RDP without
>>>>>>> issue. This makes me believe it has something to do with the Router
>>>>>>> or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> moncho
>>>>>
>>>
>>

 

[moncho]

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> Thanks for all your advice, I do appreciate your help.
Welcome.

>
> The customer has another Partner coming in tomorrow to look at the issue
> and they believe the problem is because the server is overloaded as it
> also runs Exchange. It has been running exchange for 5 years on the
> same box and never has it had a problem, so I completely disagree with
> them! I am really keen to find an answer today.
>
> Lan users connect directly to internal IP of server through RDP.
> Remote users connect with VPN and then the RDP.
> I have also connected directly with the server with a port forward on 3389.
>
> All instances cause problems.
>
> I asked them to find the old switch that was upgraded a few years ago to
> test but typically they can't find it. I can logon to the server with a
> modem and then RDP to see if this makes any difference. Not sure what
> this will prove. Seriously think something is corrupted or there is a
> hardware issue. Testing the switch will be the best idea. I just hope
> the company going in tomorrow can do this without having to sell the
> customer a new system!

Were you able to run a ping test?

moncho
>
> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:q5t8k.6564$cW3.4198@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
>>> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
>>> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>>>
>>> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>>>
>>> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
>>> Type=Open
>>> Total=20
>>> Available=20
>>> Issued=0
>>>
>>> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I
>>> have re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in
>>> the event log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>>>
>>> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the
>>> session reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back
>>> to where it was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere
>>> suggesting a problem. I am going to run a ping -t to see if any
>>> packets are being lost over the LAN. May imply it is an issue with
>>> the switch as everything else has been replaced.
>>>
>>> Any ideas where I go next?
>>
>> You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are at.
>>
>> Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
>> if anything weird is going on?
>>
>> Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port
>> forward to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?
>>
>> I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
>> but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.
>>
>> Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
>> issue too, correct?
>>
>> Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
>> some testing without messing with the rest of the users?
>>
>> I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make sure
>> it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.
>>
>> Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
>> from a remote site, not a VNC connection?
>>
>> As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
>> these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.
>>
>> moncho
>>
>>>
>>> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>>>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>>>
>>>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>>>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>>>> connection with the internal users.
>>>>
>>>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the
>>>> latest version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software
>>>> thinking this was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may
>>>> be related is that the server lost power from the UPS because the
>>>> UPS connections on the back are really poor and the power cable just
>>>> fell out. This mean't the server shutdown without warning. I have
>>>> reset winsock thinking this might be corrupted. Also now using a
>>>> second NIC but with no improvements. Could it be the switch?
>>>>
>>>> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server
>>>> console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>>>
>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving
>>>>>> me crazy!!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it
>>>>>> has got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well
>>>>>> until all of the internal terminal users started getting a
>>>>>> 'reconnecting to session' windows when they were logged onto the
>>>>>> terminal server. It was reconnecting very frequently (every 2
>>>>>> minutes or so). Internal Users have never experienced this in all
>>>>>> the 5 years that they have been running the server/ I left site
>>>>>> thinking I had fixed the issue by replacing the Network cable. I
>>>>>> noticed that the network connection had a red x on the server and
>>>>>> would then reconnect intermittently. To be sure I plugged a new
>>>>>> cable into a different ethernet port on the server. This seemed to
>>>>>> work.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista
>>>>>> laptop. The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the
>>>>>> connection at 3 seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03,
>>>>>> 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc. Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I
>>>>>> tried RDP connection from my other XP laptop. Same type of thing
>>>>>> happens.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>>>> reference.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets
>>>>>> say computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote
>>>>>> location. From computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with
>>>>>> RDP. Therefore connecting to the terminal server with a different
>>>>>> internet connection. This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the
>>>>>> theory that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building
>>>>>> is the problem?
>>>>>
>>>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
>>>>> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>>>>>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to
>>>>>> fix this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped
>>>>>> working.
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>>>
>>>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>>>
>>>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>>>
>>>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>>>
>>>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>>>> NIC drivers?
>>>>>
>>>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>>>>>
>>>>> moncho
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server
>>>>>>>> has been working well but just recently remote users have been
>>>>>>>> complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up or
>>>>>>>> reconnects with a big red x in the top right hand corner of the
>>>>>>>> screen. It is happening so frequently that accessing the
>>>>>>>> terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen this
>>>>>>>> before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users access the
>>>>>>>> terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes me believe
>>>>>>>> it has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> moncho
>>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

I am just running it now and will post back in 30 mins or so. If I connect
to the TS Server via a modem using RRAS and then RDP the to the TServer, I
presume I would be bypassing the switch? I'd like to see if this is stable
the same as running RDP to the localhost address directly from the server

"moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
newsHt8k.14537$Ri.1010@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> Thanks for all your advice, I do appreciate your help.
> Welcome.
>
>>
>> The customer has another Partner coming in tomorrow to look at the issue
>> and they believe the problem is because the server is overloaded as it
>> also runs Exchange. It has been running exchange for 5 years on the same
>> box and never has it had a problem, so I completely disagree with them!
>> I am really keen to find an answer today.
>>
>> Lan users connect directly to internal IP of server through RDP.
>> Remote users connect with VPN and then the RDP.
>> I have also connected directly with the server with a port forward on
>> 3389.
>>
>> All instances cause problems.
>>
>> I asked them to find the old switch that was upgraded a few years ago to
>> test but typically they can't find it. I can logon to the server with a
>> modem and then RDP to see if this makes any difference. Not sure what
>> this will prove. Seriously think something is corrupted or there is a
>> hardware issue. Testing the switch will be the best idea. I just hope
>> the company going in tomorrow can do this without having to sell the
>> customer a new system!
>
> Were you able to run a ping test?
>
> moncho
>>
>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:q5t8k.6564$cW3.4198@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
>>>> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
>>>> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>>>>
>>>> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>>>>
>>>> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
>>>> Type=Open
>>>> Total=20
>>>> Available=20
>>>> Issued=0
>>>>
>>>> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I have
>>>> re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in the
>>>> event log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>>>>
>>>> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the session
>>>> reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back to where it
>>>> was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere suggesting a problem.
>>>> I am going to run a ping -t to see if any packets are being lost over
>>>> the LAN. May imply it is an issue with the switch as everything else
>>>> has been replaced.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas where I go next?
>>>
>>> You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are at.
>>>
>>> Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
>>> if anything weird is going on?
>>>
>>> Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port
>>> forward to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?
>>>
>>> I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
>>> but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.
>>>
>>> Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
>>> issue too, correct?
>>>
>>> Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
>>> some testing without messing with the rest of the users?
>>>
>>> I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make sure
>>> it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.
>>>
>>> Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
>>> from a remote site, not a VNC connection?
>>>
>>> As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
>>> these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.
>>>
>>> moncho
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>>>>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>>>>
>>>>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>>>>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>>>>> connection with the internal users.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the latest
>>>>> version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and software thinking
>>>>> this was the problem. What did happen yesterday which may be related
>>>>> is that the server lost power from the UPS because the UPS connections
>>>>> on the back are really poor and the power cable just fell out. This
>>>>> mean't the server shutdown without warning. I have reset winsock
>>>>> thinking this might be corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but
>>>>> with no improvements. Could it be the switch?
>>>>>
>>>>> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the server
>>>>> console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>>>>
>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now driving
>>>>>>> me crazy!!!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it has
>>>>>>> got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was well until
>>>>>>> all of the internal terminal users started getting a 'reconnecting
>>>>>>> to session' windows when they were logged onto the terminal server.
>>>>>>> It was reconnecting very frequently (every 2 minutes or so).
>>>>>>> Internal Users have never experienced this in all the 5 years that
>>>>>>> they have been running the server/ I left site thinking I had fixed
>>>>>>> the issue by replacing the Network cable. I noticed that the
>>>>>>> network connection had a red x on the server and would then
>>>>>>> reconnect intermittently. To be sure I plugged a new cable into a
>>>>>>> different ethernet port on the server. This seemed to work.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista laptop.
>>>>>>> The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the connection at 3
>>>>>>> seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03, 10:14:03, 10:15:03
>>>>>>> etc. Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I tried RDP connection
>>>>>>> from my other XP laptop. Same type of thing happens.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>>>>> reference.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC (lets
>>>>>>> say computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a remote
>>>>>>> location. From computer Z I logged into the Terminal Server with
>>>>>>> RDP. Therefore connecting to the terminal server with a different
>>>>>>> internet connection. This was stable and didn't reconnect.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the
>>>>>>> theory that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server building
>>>>>>> is the problem?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be compensating
>>>>>> for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing it immediately.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences. The
>>>>>>> licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will need to
>>>>>>> fix this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden stopped
>>>>>>> working.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual there?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>>>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>>>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>>>>> NIC drivers?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was updated/upgraded?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> moncho
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal Server
>>>>>>>>> has been working well but just recently remote users have been
>>>>>>>>> complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up or reconnects
>>>>>>>>> with a big red x in the top right hand corner of the screen. It
>>>>>>>>> is happening so frequently that accessing the terminal server
>>>>>>>>> remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen this before and it
>>>>>>>>> happens very occassionally. LAN users access the terminal server
>>>>>>>>> with RDP without issue. This makes me believe it has something to
>>>>>>>>> do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> moncho
>>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>

 

[TP]

Hi Sarah,

Everything you have described so far points to a networking
issue, and has nothing to do with TS. I suspect if you have
your users do a continuous ping the problems will be apparent.

Some key points:

- Having Exchange on the same server will *not* cause frequent
disconnects/reconnects. The other Partner is dead wrong on
this point.

- You mentioned seeing a red X on the server's network
connection in an earlier post. I assume you are referring to the
NIC connection object on the server (if I understood you correctly).
This is another sign of a network issue and is unrelated to TS,
Exchange, etc.

- Have you tried plugging the server into a different port on the
switch, preferrably one that is several ports away from the current
one? I say several ports away because in some cases adjacent
switch ports will share the same [faulty] part.

- Are there any messages in the server's or workstation's logs
related to networking? Like entries from the adaptor saying that
it has been disconnected, followed by a message saying it has
been reconnected, or from dnsapi, dhcp, tcpip saying it has
resumed normal operation, etc?

- Have you tried manually setting the speed of the server's NIC,
for example, backing it down from Gigabit to 100Mbps? Is Spanning
Tree disabled on the switch?

- You mentioned replacing the server's network cable, what about
the patch cable leading from the punchdown block to the switch
(if it exists--disregard if the server connects directly to the switch)?

- If there are any network jacks between the server's NIC and
the switch port, try using a long network cable in order to bypass
them and connect directly to the switch. Sometimes network jacks
can be pulled a bit and then the signal will be poor.

From everything you have said my guess would be the switch
is having a problem. This is based on you updating drivers, changing
out cables, switching to a different NIC, etc., and your statement
that the switch is the only thing left unchanged.

Thanks.

-TP

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> Thanks for all your advice, I do appreciate your help.
>
> The customer has another Partner coming in tomorrow to look at the
> issue and they believe the problem is because the server is
> overloaded as it also runs Exchange. It has been running exchange
> for 5 years on the same box and never has it had a problem, so I
> completely disagree with them! I am really keen to find an answer
> today.
>
> Lan users connect directly to internal IP of server through RDP.
> Remote users connect with VPN and then the RDP.
> I have also connected directly with the server with a port forward on
> 3389.
>
> All instances cause problems.
>
> I asked them to find the old switch that was upgraded a few years ago
> to test but typically they can't find it. I can logon to the server
> with a modem and then RDP to see if this makes any difference. Not
> sure what this will prove. Seriously think something is corrupted or
> there is a hardware issue. Testing the switch will be the best idea.
> I just hope the company going in tomorrow can do this without having
> to sell the customer a new system!
>
> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:q5t8k.6564$cW3.4198@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
>>> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
>>> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>>>
>>> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>>>
>>> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
>>> Type=Open
>>> Total=20
>>> Available=20
>>> Issued=0
>>>
>>> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I
>>> have re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in
>>> the event log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>>>
>>> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the
>>> session reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back
>>> to where it was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere
>>> suggesting a problem. I am going to run a ping -t to see if any
>>> packets are being lost over the LAN. May imply it is an issue with
>>> the switch as everything else has been replaced.
>>>
>>> Any ideas where I go next?
>>
>> You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are
>> at.
>>
>> Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
>> if anything weird is going on?
>>
>> Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port
>> forward to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?
>>
>> I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
>> but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.
>>
>> Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
>> issue too, correct?
>>
>> Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
>> some testing without messing with the rest of the users?
>>
>> I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make
>> sure it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.
>>
>> Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
>> from a remote site, not a VNC connection?
>>
>> As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
>> these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.
>>
>> moncho
>>
>>>
>>> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>>>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>>>
>>>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>>>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>>>> connection with the internal users.
>>>>
>>>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the
>>>> latest version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and
>>>> software thinking this was the problem. What did happen yesterday
>>>> which may be related is that the server lost power from the UPS
>>>> because the UPS connections on the back are really poor and the
>>>> power cable just fell out. This mean't the server shutdown
>>>> without warning. I have reset winsock thinking this might be
>>>> corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but with no improvements.
>>>> Could it be the switch?
>>>>
>>>> One thing that I have noticed is that if I go directly to the
>>>> server console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>>>
>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now
>>>>>> driving me crazy!!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it
>>>>>> has got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was
>>>>>> well until all of the internal terminal users started getting a
>>>>>> 'reconnecting to session' windows when they were logged onto the
>>>>>> terminal server. It was reconnecting very frequently (every 2
>>>>>> minutes or so). Internal Users have never experienced this in
>>>>>> all the 5 years that they have been running the server/ I left
>>>>>> site thinking I had fixed the issue by replacing the Network
>>>>>> cable. I noticed that the network connection had a red x on the
>>>>>> server and would then reconnect intermittently. To be sure I
>>>>>> plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the
>>>>>> server. This seemed to work.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I got home and logged onto the terminal server with my Vista
>>>>>> laptop. The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the
>>>>>> connection at 3 seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03,
>>>>>> 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc. Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I
>>>>>> tried RDP connection from my other XP laptop. Same type of
>>>>>> thing happens.
>>>>>
>>>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>>>> reference.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC
>>>>>> (lets say computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a
>>>>>> remote location. From computer Z I logged into the Terminal
>>>>>> Server with RDP. Therefore connecting to the terminal server
>>>>>> with a different internet connection. This was stable and didn't
>>>>>> reconnect.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule out the
>>>>>> theory that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server
>>>>>> building is the problem?
>>>>>
>>>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be
>>>>> compensating for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing
>>>>> it immediately.
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences.
>>>>>> The licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will
>>>>>> need to fix this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden
>>>>>> stopped working.
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>>>
>>>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual
>>>>> there?
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>>>
>>>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>>>
>>>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>>>
>>>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>>>> NIC drivers?
>>>>>
>>>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was
>>>>> updated/upgraded?
>>>>>
>>>>> moncho
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal
>>>>>>>> Server has been working well but just recently remote users
>>>>>>>> have been complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up
>>>>>>>> or reconnects with a big red x in the top right hand corner of
>>>>>>>> the screen. It is happening so frequently that accessing the
>>>>>>>> terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen
>>>>>>>> this before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users
>>>>>>>> access the terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes
>>>>>>>> me believe it has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> moncho

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

Thanks TP for your advice, much appreciated.

I agree with you, I think this is network related. Just running another
ping test as I forgot to set the -t parameter and walked away from the
screen! It's been a long hot day!

Yes the Red X was against the 1GB LAN connection icon. The cable comes from
the switch and then connects into what I can only describe as an extension
cable with a female/female connector. I immediately swapped the connector
and cable out and plugged the cable coming out of the switch into the spare
100mb NIC adapter but still using the connector and extra cable. The old
extension cable is still connected. Everything else has been replaced with
equipment which was not in use.

The connection of the 100mb LAN from then on appeared much more stable. I
didn't see any red x's appearing at any time. I also adjusted the
autodetect setting from auto to 100mb Full Duplex on the spare 100mb adapter
and disabled the 1GB adapter. I cannot figure out which switch port the
cable is using because nothing is labeled! It is now however plugged into a
different port but not sure where in relation to the 1GB switch port. I
could have got them to check the port lights when I turned the server off.
I might do that tomorrow. I don't know if I can manage the switch in
anyway. Not sure if it is managed or what model/make it is or what the IP
Address is. Another company provided the switch and cabling. This is the
partner coming in tomorrow.

Unfortunately nothing is logged in the event viewer. I was hoping to find
something about the adapter.

Still running ping test...

If I logon and test the RDP connection with a dialup modem through RRAS
(Terminal server is also a RAS Server), would you expect it to misbehave if
it was I switch problem? I am guessing my dial up connection doesn't go
through the switch in anyway?


"TP" <tperson.knowspamn@mailandnews.com> wrote in message
news:uPSZX4t1IHA.3884@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hi Sarah,
>
> Everything you have described so far points to a networking issue, and has
> nothing to do with TS. I suspect if you have your users do a continuous
> ping the problems will be apparent.
>
> Some key points:
>
> - Having Exchange on the same server will *not* cause frequent
> disconnects/reconnects. The other Partner is dead wrong on this point.
>
> - You mentioned seeing a red X on the server's network connection in an
> earlier post. I assume you are referring to the NIC connection object on
> the server (if I understood you correctly). This is another sign of a
> network issue and is unrelated to TS, Exchange, etc.
>
> - Have you tried plugging the server into a different port on the switch,
> preferrably one that is several ports away from the current one? I say
> several ports away because in some cases adjacent switch ports will share
> the same [faulty] part.
>
> - Are there any messages in the server's or workstation's logs related to
> networking? Like entries from the adaptor saying that it has been
> disconnected, followed by a message saying it has been reconnected, or
> from dnsapi, dhcp, tcpip saying it has resumed normal operation, etc?
>
> - Have you tried manually setting the speed of the server's NIC, for
> example, backing it down from Gigabit to 100Mbps? Is Spanning Tree
> disabled on the switch?
>
> - You mentioned replacing the server's network cable, what about the patch
> cable leading from the punchdown block to the switch (if it
> exists--disregard if the server connects directly to the switch)?
> - If there are any network jacks between the server's NIC and the switch
> port, try using a long network cable in order to bypass them and connect
> directly to the switch. Sometimes network jacks can be pulled a bit and
> then the signal will be poor.
>
> From everything you have said my guess would be the switch is having a
> problem. This is based on you updating drivers, changing out cables,
> switching to a different NIC, etc., and your statement that the switch is
> the only thing left unchanged.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -TP
>
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> Thanks for all your advice, I do appreciate your help.
>>
>> The customer has another Partner coming in tomorrow to look at the
>> issue and they believe the problem is because the server is
>> overloaded as it also runs Exchange. It has been running exchange
>> for 5 years on the same box and never has it had a problem, so I
>> completely disagree with them! I am really keen to find an answer
>> today. Lan users connect directly to internal IP of server through RDP.
>> Remote users connect with VPN and then the RDP.
>> I have also connected directly with the server with a port forward on
>> 3389. All instances cause problems.
>>
>> I asked them to find the old switch that was upgraded a few years ago
>> to test but typically they can't find it. I can logon to the server
>> with a modem and then RDP to see if this makes any difference. Not
>> sure what this will prove. Seriously think something is corrupted or
>> there is a hardware issue. Testing the switch will be the best idea.
>> I just hope the company going in tomorrow can do this without having
>> to sell the customer a new system!
>>
>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:q5t8k.6564$cW3.4198@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...
>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>> The client has disconnected the router from the network and internal
>>>> users accessing the TS over RDP are still reconnecting frequently.
>>>> Nothing logged in event viewer for both server and on client end.
>>>>
>>>> If I look at the licence manager for TS I see
>>>>
>>>> Windows 2003 - Terminal Serer Per User CAL
>>>> Type=Open
>>>> Total=20
>>>> Available=20
>>>> Issued=0
>>>>
>>>> Not sure if this should be showing a number of issued licences. I
>>>> have re-actived the licences and the error has not been reported in
>>>> the event log since doing this. Does this look right to you?
>>>>
>>>> Every user accessing the terminal server via RDP is seeing the
>>>> session reconnect. It reconnects in seconds and the screen is back
>>>> to where it was when it left it. Nothing is logged anywhere
>>>> suggesting a problem. I am going to run a ping -t to see if any
>>>> packets are being lost over the LAN. May imply it is an issue with
>>>> the switch as everything else has been replaced.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas where I go next?
>>>
>>> You mentioned that the server is at a remote site from where you are
>>> at. Is there anyone who can watch the power lights on the switch to see
>>> if anything weird is going on?
>>>
>>> Are the remote users connecting via a VPN or does the router port
>>> forward to the TS server? Also what type of router is it?
>>>
>>> I have had similar disconnect problems with ADSL and Cisco SSL-VPN
>>> but the reconnects only happen 2 or 3 times a day or less.
>>>
>>> Based on what you stated above, the internal users are now having
>>> issue too, correct?
>>>
>>> Do you have an extra switch that you plug into the router and do
>>> some testing without messing with the rest of the users?
>>>
>>> I am wondering if you need a new UPS for the switch, just to make
>>> sure it is not loosing power or if the power is fluctuating.
>>>
>>> Do you have the ability to do an RDP session to a local machine
>>> from a remote site, not a VNC connection?
>>>
>>> As for your User Licensing situation, Windows does not keep track of
>>> these (not until W2K8). What you have looks fine.
>>>
>>> moncho
>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Sarah Kingswell" <sarahkingswell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:%23tNLHds1IHA.3860@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>>> There is nothing logged in the event viewer about this. A few odd
>>>>> warnings but nothing that I haven't seen before.
>>>>>
>>>>> I will run another windows update tonight and I have just asked the
>>>>> customer to turn off the ADSL router to see if this improves the
>>>>> connection with the internal users.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yesterday we put a new APC-UPS on the server and installed the
>>>>> latest version of powerchute. I have since removed UPS and
>>>>> software thinking this was the problem. What did happen yesterday
>>>>> which may be related is that the server lost power from the UPS
>>>>> because the UPS connections on the back are really poor and the
>>>>> power cable just fell out. This mean't the server shutdown
>>>>> without warning. I have reset winsock thinking this might be
>>>>> corrupted. Also now using a second NIC but with no improvements.
>>>>> Could it be the switch? One thing that I have noticed is that if I go
>>>>> directly to the
>>>>> server console and run RDP to 127.0.0.1 - it is stable.
>>>>>
>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>> news:5Mq8k.14504$Ri.10985@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>> This problem is getting more bizzare by the day and is now
>>>>>>> driving me crazy!!!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I thought this problem was resolved but today it would appear it
>>>>>>> has got much worse. I went out to the site today and all was
>>>>>>> well until all of the internal terminal users started getting a
>>>>>>> 'reconnecting to session' windows when they were logged onto the
>>>>>>> terminal server. It was reconnecting very frequently (every 2
>>>>>>> minutes or so). Internal Users have never experienced this in
>>>>>>> all the 5 years that they have been running the server/ I left
>>>>>>> site thinking I had fixed the issue by replacing the Network
>>>>>>> cable. I noticed that the network connection had a red x on the
>>>>>>> server and would then reconnect intermittently. To be sure I
>>>>>>> plugged a new cable into a different ethernet port on the
>>>>>>> server. This seemed to work. I got home and logged onto the terminal
>>>>>>> server with my Vista
>>>>>>> laptop. The RDP session keeps reconnecting but it drops the
>>>>>>> connection at 3 seconds past the minute everytime. 10:13:03,
>>>>>>> 10:14:03, 10:15:03 etc. Thinking this was an issue with Vista, I
>>>>>>> tried RDP connection from my other XP laptop. Same type of
>>>>>>> thing happens.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This is an interesting issue. Please post follow ups for future
>>>>>> reference.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Is there anything in any of the Event Logs?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I then used my Vista laptop from home to logon to another PC
>>>>>>> (lets say computer Z - Windows XP) using VNC which is in a
>>>>>>> remote location. From computer Z I logged into the Terminal
>>>>>>> Server with RDP. Therefore connecting to the terminal server
>>>>>>> with a different internet connection. This was stable and didn't
>>>>>>> reconnect. I am not sure what this means exactly but could it rule
>>>>>>> out the
>>>>>>> theory that the ADSL line / Router in the Terminal Server
>>>>>>> building is the problem?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This could rule out the ADSL and router but VNC may be
>>>>>> compensating for the bad connection where as RDP is just killing
>>>>>> it immediately.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Today I also notice that the TS is issuing temporary licences.
>>>>>>> The licences were installed and activated 5 years ago. I will
>>>>>>> need to fix this but I don't know why this has all of a sudden
>>>>>>> stopped working.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you use User or Device Licenses?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What is the status of your license server? Anything unusual
>>>>>> there?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If anyone can save me from going mad... please HELP!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am trying to stick with hardware because that is the easiest
>>>>>> place to look (IMO).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you have an extra ADSL router that you could test with?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Are there multiple NIC's in the server? If so could you use the
>>>>>> second one if it is not in use already?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Has the server been updated with the latest Windows Updates and
>>>>>> NIC drivers?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Did this start when some software or hardware was
>>>>>> updated/upgraded? moncho
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "moncho" <moncho@NOspmanywhere.com> wrote in message
>>>>>>> news:BCP7k.5301$L_.830@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>>>>>>> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>>>>>>>>> I am having a really frustrating issue with RDP connecting to a
>>>>>>>>> Windows 2003 SP2 Server. For several years the Terminal
>>>>>>>>> Server has been working well but just recently remote users
>>>>>>>>> have been complaining that the RDP session frequently lock up
>>>>>>>>> or reconnects with a big red x in the top right hand corner of
>>>>>>>>> the screen. It is happening so frequently that accessing the
>>>>>>>>> terminal server remotely is becoming unusable. I have seen
>>>>>>>>> this before and it happens very occassionally. LAN users
>>>>>>>>> access the terminal server with RDP without issue. This makes
>>>>>>>>> me believe it has something to do with the Router or ADSL Line.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have upgraded the router firmware to the latest version
>>>>>>>>> Applied all of the latest updates to windows
>>>>>>>>> Updated network drivers etc
>>>>>>>>> Rebooted server
>>>>>>>>> Changed MTU settings
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Nothing seems to be making any improvements.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Does anyone have any ideas how I can troubleshoot this further.
>>>>>>>>> Workstations are a mixture of XP sp2 and Vista Sp1
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does the Router from the ADSL line go into the same network
>>>>>>>> switch that the LAN users are on?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If so and the LAN users are fine, I would suspect the ADSL line.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> moncho

 

[TP]

Hi Sarah,

Responses inline...

Sarah Kingswell wrote:
> Thanks TP for your advice, much appreciated.
>
> I agree with you, I think this is network related. Just running
> another ping test as I forgot to set the -t parameter and walked away
> from the screen! It's been a long hot day!
>
> Yes the Red X was against the 1GB LAN connection icon. The cable
> comes from the switch and then connects into what I can only describe
> as an extension cable with a female/female connector. I immediately
> swapped the connector and cable out and plugged the cable coming out
> of the switch into the spare 100mb NIC adapter but still using the
> connector and extra cable. The old extension cable is still
> connected. Everything else has been replaced with equipment which
> was not in use.

The server is one of the most critical parts of the network and as such
it should have a professional high-quality cable connection to the switch.
A female/female connector with an extension does not meet this
requirement. In a very *rare* pinch I have used female/female
connectors with success before, however, this is not professional quality
and I would *not* use it to connect a server. It adds more potential
failure points and more chance of loose wires and/or reduced signal
quality.

I'm not saying that the cable is *definately* the cause of the problem,
but there is no reason for it so swap it out and do it the correct way.
This and the lack of proper labeling is an indication of low-quality work.
I wonder if the cabling was certified for Gigabit or even 100Mbps using
a proper test tool (something like Fluke CableIQ, NetTool II, EtherScope).

>
> The connection of the 100mb LAN from then on appeared much more
> stable. I didn't see any red x's appearing at any time. I also
> adjusted the autodetect setting from auto to 100mb Full Duplex on the
> spare 100mb adapter and disabled the 1GB adapter. I cannot figure
> out which switch port the cable is using because nothing is labeled!
> It is now however plugged into a different port but not sure where in
> relation to the 1GB switch port. I could have got them to check the
> port lights when I turned the server off. I might do that tomorrow.
> I don't know if I can manage the switch in anyway. Not sure if it is
> managed or what model/make it is or what the IP Address is. Another
> company provided the switch and cabling. This is the partner coming
> in tomorrow.
>
> Unfortunately nothing is logged in the event viewer. I was hoping to
> find something about the adapter.
>
> Still running ping test...

You can also use netmon (or similar software) to look at the traffic. The
built-in netmon is okay, but the latest version is more feature-rich and
easier to use. You can download it for free from microsoft.

>
> If I logon and test the RDP connection with a dialup modem through
> RRAS (Terminal server is also a RAS Server), would you expect it to
> misbehave if it was I switch problem? I am guessing my dial up
> connection doesn't go through the switch in anyway?

If RRAS is configured properly there is no reason for the dialup traffic
to go through the switch.

You should consider bringing in your own switch as well as a few
long network cables for testing. I have switches and older hubs as well
as 50 and 100 foot cables just for this purpose.

With a spare switch you could connect a few of the workstations as
well as one of the two server NICs. This would allow you to test while
allowing most of the network to stay as-is.

-TP

 

[Sarah Kingswell]

Hi TP

Well I think I have fixed it after the ping showed no packet loss!!!!

About a week ago I made some changes to the Registry with an aim to improve
the performance at the time the site was having a few issues with RDP
freezing over the VPN. I didn't reboot the server until installing the UPS
when I was on-site Tuesday. It was immediately after the reboot that the
problems on the LAN started but I didn't relate it to the changes I had made
a week before. Last night I took the changes out of the Registry and
rebooted. The problems stopped immediately.

KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"KeepAliveTime"=dword:0000ea60
"KeepAliveInterval"=dword:000003e8

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]
"TcpMaxDataRetransmissions"=dword:0000000a

These new keys clearly had an adverse affect on the performance! Have you
ever adjusted or created these entries before? I found the advice on this
website
http://www.msterminalservices.org/articles/Poor-Bandwidth-Latency.html

I will get the customer to install a decent cable from the server to the
switch and the other partner can check the performance of the switch as per
your suggestions.

Thanks again for your help. I might be back on this forum later if the
Remote users have issues with freezing/drop outs over the VPN. I have
adjusted the MTU setting on the router and will test it over the next few
days.

Sarah

"TP" <tperson.knowspamn@mailandnews.com> wrote in message
news:ORETgjv1IHA.3884@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Hi Sarah,
>
> Responses inline...
>
> Sarah Kingswell wrote:
>> Thanks TP for your advice, much appreciated.
>>
>> I agree with you, I think this is network related. Just running
>> another ping test as I forgot to set the -t parameter and walked away
>> from the screen! It's been a long hot day!
>>
>> Yes the Red X was against the 1GB LAN connection icon. The cable
>> comes from the switch and then connects into what I can only describe
>> as an extension cable with a female/female connector. I immediately
>> swapped the connector and cable out and plugged the cable coming out
>> of the switch into the spare 100mb NIC adapter but still using the
>> connector and extra cable. The old extension cable is still
>> connected. Everything else has been replaced with equipment which
>> was not in use.
>
> The server is one of the most critical parts of the network and as such it
> should have a professional high-quality cable connection to the switch. A
> female/female connector with an extension does not meet this requirement.
> In a very *rare* pinch I have used female/female connectors with success
> before, however, this is not professional quality and I would *not* use it
> to connect a server. It adds more potential failure points and more
> chance of loose wires and/or reduced signal quality.
>
> I'm not saying that the cable is *definately* the cause of the problem,
> but there is no reason for it so swap it out and do it the correct way.
> This and the lack of proper labeling is an indication of low-quality work.
> I wonder if the cabling was certified for Gigabit or even 100Mbps using a
> proper test tool (something like Fluke CableIQ, NetTool II, EtherScope).
>
>>
>> The connection of the 100mb LAN from then on appeared much more
>> stable. I didn't see any red x's appearing at any time. I also
>> adjusted the autodetect setting from auto to 100mb Full Duplex on the
>> spare 100mb adapter and disabled the 1GB adapter. I cannot figure
>> out which switch port the cable is using because nothing is labeled! It
>> is now however plugged into a different port but not sure where in
>> relation to the 1GB switch port. I could have got them to check the
>> port lights when I turned the server off. I might do that tomorrow. I
>> don't know if I can manage the switch in anyway. Not sure if it is
>> managed or what model/make it is or what the IP Address is. Another
>> company provided the switch and cabling. This is the partner coming
>> in tomorrow. Unfortunately nothing is logged in the event viewer. I was
>> hoping to
>> find something about the adapter.
>>
>> Still running ping test...
>
> You can also use netmon (or similar software) to look at the traffic. The
> built-in netmon is okay, but the latest version is more feature-rich and
> easier to use. You can download it for free from microsoft.
>
>>
>> If I logon and test the RDP connection with a dialup modem through
>> RRAS (Terminal server is also a RAS Server), would you expect it to
>> misbehave if it was I switch problem? I am guessing my dial up
>> connection doesn't go through the switch in anyway?
>
> If RRAS is configured properly there is no reason for the dialup traffic
> to go through the switch.
>
> You should consider bringing in your own switch as well as a few long
> network cables for testing. I have switches and older hubs as well as 50
> and 100 foot cables just for this purpose.
>
> With a spare switch you could connect a few of the workstations as well as
> one of the two server NICs. This would allow you to test while allowing
> most of the network to stay as-is.
>
> -TP