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Event ID 18205 — COM Remote Service Availability

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

COM+ applications use Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) technology in Microsoft Windows operating systems to communicate and take advantage of Windows services. COM technologies include COM+, DCOM, and ActiveX Controls.

COM+ Network Access enables remote invocation of applications that are built with COM+. The firewall exception rule, COM+ Network Access (DCOM In), must be turned on for the TCP protocol and LocalPort 135.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 18205
Source: Microsoft-Windows-COMRuntime
Version: 6.0
Symbolic Name: EVENT_COM_INVALID_ENDPOINT_DATA
Message: DCOM server attempted to listen on an invalid endpoint. Protocol sequence: %1 Endpoint: %2 Flags: %3

Resolve

Ensure that the remote computer is available

There is a problem accessing the COM Service on a remote computer. To resolve this problem:

  • Ensure that the remote computer is online.
  • This problem may be the result of a firewall blocking the connection. For security, COM+ network access is not enabled by default. Check the system to determine whether the firewall is blocking the remote connection.
  • Other reasons for the problem might be found in the Extended Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Error information that is available in Event Viewer.

To perform these procedures, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

Ensure that the remote computer is online

To verify that the remote computer is online and the computers are communicating over the network:

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt window. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
  2. At the command prompt, type ping, followed by a space and the remote computer name, and then press ENTER. For example, to check that your server can communicate over the network with a computer named ContosoWS2008, type ping ContosoWS2008, and then press ENTER.
  3. A successful connection results in a set of replies from the other computer and a set of ping statistics.

Check the firewall settings and enable the firewall exception rule

To check the firewall settings and enable the firewall exception rule:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type wf.msc, and then click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
  3. In the console tree, click Inbound rules.
  4. In the list of firewall exception rules, look for COM+ Network Access (DCOM In).
  5. If the firewall exception rule is not enabled, in the details pane click Enable rule, and then scroll horizontally to confirm that the protocol is TCP and the LocalPort is 135. Close Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

Review available Extended RPC Error information for this event in Event Viewer

To review available Extended RPC Error information for this event in Event Viewer:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. Type comexp.msc, and then click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.

  3. Under Console Root, expand Event Viewer (Local).

  4. In the details pane, look for your event in the Summary of Administrative Events, and then double-click the event to open it.

  5. The Extended RPC Error information that is available for this event is located on the Details tab. Expand the available items on the Details tab to review all available information.

    For more information about Extended RPC Error information and how to interpret it, see Obtaining Extended RPC Error Information (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=105593).

Verify

You can verify that the COM service is available remotely by running the Component Services administrative tool and ensuring that the required properties for remote access are configured.

To perform these procedures, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To open Component Services and verify that the required properties for remote access are configured:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type comexp.msc, and then click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
  3. To locate your computer, click Component Services, click Computers, and then click My Computer.
  4. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
  5. Click the Default Protocols tab, and confirm that the appropriate communication protocols are listed.
  6. Click each protocol, and then click Properties to verify that the settings for the protocol are correct.

You can verify that the COM+ Network Access firewall exception rule is enabled so that components can communicate over the network.

To open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and verify that the firewall exception rule for COM+ Network Access is enabled:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type wf.msc, and then click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
  3. In the console tree, click Inbound rules.
  4. In the list of firewall exception rules, locate COM+ Network Access (DCOM In).
  5. Ensure that this firewall exception rule is enabled, and then scroll horizontally to confirm that the protocol is TCP and the LocalPort is 135.

COM Remote Service Availability

Application Server