Event ID 1003 — TS Session Broker Communication

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Terminal Services Session Broker (TS Session Broker) is a Terminal Services role service in Windows Server 2008 that supports session load balancing between terminal servers in a farm, and reconnection to an existing session in a load-balanced terminal server farm. For TS Session Broker to work properly, the terminal server must be able to communicate with the TS Session Broker server across the network.

Note:  TS Session Broker was formerly called Terminal Services Session Directory.

Event Details

Diagnose

This error might be caused by one of the following conditions:

• There is a network connectivity problem between the terminal server and the TS Session Broker server.
• There is an issue with DNS.
• The Terminal Services Session Broker service is not running on the TS Session Broker server.
• An incorrect name or IP address is listed for the TS Session Broker server.

Note:  This condition might only indicate a temporary communication issue. Therefore, first try to reconnect to an existing session. If you are able to reconnect to the existing session, the terminal server is successfully communicating with the TS Session Broker server, and the temporary communication issues have been resolved. If you are unable to reconnect, refer to the following sections to determine the root cause of the problem.

There is a network connectivity problem between the terminal server and the TS Session Broker server

Note:  The following procedure includes steps for using the ping command to perform troubleshooting. Therefore, before performing these steps, check whether the firewall or Internet Protocol security (IPsec) settings on your network allow Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic. ICMP is the TCP/IP protocol that is used by the ping command.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To determine if there is a network connectivity problem between the terminal server and the TS Session Broker server:

1. On the terminal server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. At the command prompt, type ping IP_address, where IP_address is the IP address of the TS Session Broker server, and then press ENTER.

   If the ping was successful, you will receive a reply similar to the following:

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=59

If you cannot successfully ping the TS Session Broker server by IP address, see the section titled "Identify and fix network connectivity issues."

There is an issue with DNS

Note: The following procedure includes steps for using the ping command to perform troubleshooting. Therefore, before performing these steps, check whether the firewall or Internet Protocol security (IPsec) settings on your network allow Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic. ICMP is the TCP/IP protocol that is used by the ping command.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To determine if there is a DNS issue:

1. On the terminal server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.

2. At the command prompt, type ping server_FQDN, where server_FQDN is the fully qualified domain name of the TS Session Broker server (for example, server1.contoso.com), and then press ENTER.

   If the ping was successful, you will receive a reply similar to the following:

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=20ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=59

   Reply from IP_address: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=59

If you cannot successfully ping the TS Session Broker server by FQDN, see the section titled "Identify and fix DNS issues."

The Terminal Services Session Broker service is not running on the TS Session Broker server

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To check if the Terminal Services Session Broker service is running:

1. On the TS Session Broker server, open the Services snap-in. To open the Services snap-in, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
2. 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 Services pane, if the Status column for the Terminal Services Session Broker service does not display Started, see the section titled "Start the Terminal Services Session Broker service."

An incorrect name or IP address is listed for the TS Session Broker server

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To determine if an incorrect name or IP address is listed for the TS Session Broker server:

1. On the terminal server, open Terminal Services Configuration. To open Terminal Services Configuration, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Terminal Services, and then click Terminal Services Configuration.
2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
3. Under TS Session Broker, double-click Member of farm in TS Session Broker.
4. On the TS Session Broker tab, under TS Session Broker server name or IP address, if the computer name or IP address listed is incorrect, see the section titled "Specify the correct name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server."

Resolve

To resolve this issue, use the resolution that corresponds to the cause you identified in the Diagnose section. After performing the resolution, see the Verify section to confirm that the feature is operating properly

Identify and fix network connectivity issues

To resolve this issue, identify and fix any network connectivity problems between the terminal server and the TS Session Broker server.

Note:  The following procedures include steps for using the ping command to perform troubleshooting. Therefore, before performing these steps, check whether the firewall or Internet Protocol security (IPsec) settings on your network allow Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic. ICMP is the TCP/IP protocol that is used by the ping command.

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

If you cannot successfully ping the TS Session Broker server by IP address, this indicates a possible issue with network connectivity, firewall configuration, or IPsec configuration.

The following are some additional troubleshooting steps that you can perform to help identify the root cause of the problem:

• Ping other computers on the network to help determine the extent of the network connectivity issue.
• If you can ping other servers but not the TS Session Broker server, try to ping the TS Session Broker server from another computer. If you cannot ping the TS Session Broker server from any computer, first ensure that the TS Session Broker server is running. If the TS Session Broker server is running, check the network settings on the TS Session Broker server.
• Check the TCP/IP settings on the local computer by doing the following:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
  2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all, and then press ENTER. Make sure that the information listed is correct.
  3. Type ping localhost to verify that TCP/IP is installed and correctly configured on the local computer. If the ping is unsuccessful, this may indicate a corrupt TCP/IP stack or a problem with your network adapter.
  4. Type ping IP_address, where IP_address is the IP address assigned to the computer. If you can ping the localhost address but not the local address, there may be an issue with the routing table or with the network adapter driver.
  5. Type ping DNS_server, where DNS_server is the IP address assigned to the DNS server. If there is more than one DNS server on your network, you should ping each one. If you cannot ping the DNS servers, this indicates a potential problem with the DNS servers, or with the network between the computer and the DNS servers.
  6. If the TS Session Broker server is on a different subnet, try to ping the default gateway. If you cannot ping the default gateway, this might indicate a problem with the network adapter, the router or gateway device, cabling, or other connectivity hardware.
• In Device Manager, check the status of the network adapter. To open Device Manager, click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
• Check network connectivity indicator lights on the computer and at the hub or router. Check network cabling.
• Check firewall settings by using the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in.
• Check IPsec settings by using the IP Security Policy Management snap-in.

Identify and fix DNS issues

To resolve this issue, identify and fix any issues related to DNS.

Note:  If you cannot ping the TS Session Broker server by FQDN, this indicates a DNS issue.

To determine whether DNS servers are configured and accessible:

1. On the terminal server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all, and then press ENTER.
3. In the results, make sure that DNS servers are listed, and that the IP addresses of the DNS servers are correct.
4. Ping the listed DNS servers to determine whether they are accessible.
5. If you cannot ping the DNS server, ensure that the DNS server is running. You can also test connectivity from other computers in your network to help isolate the issue. If the DNS server responds to IP address ping requests but does not resolve host names, make sure that the DNS Server service is running on the DNS server.

For general information about identifying and resolving DNS issues for Windows Server 2008, see DNS Troubleshooting. For general information about troubleshooting DNS in Window Server 2003, see Troubleshooting DNS on the Microsoft Web site.

Start the Terminal Services Session Broker service

To resolve this issue, start the Terminal Services Session Broker service on the TS Session Broker server.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To start the Terminal Services Session Broker service:

1. On the TS Session Broker server, open the Services snap-in. To open the Services snap-in, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
2. 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 Services pane, right-click Terminal Services Session Broker, and then click Properties.
4. On the General tab, ensure that Startup type is set to Automatic. If it is not, click Automatic, and then click Apply.
5. Under Service status, click Start.
6. Click OK to close the Terminal Services Session Broker Properties dialog box.
7. Confirm that the Status column for the Terminal Services Session Broker service displays Started.

Specify the correct name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server

To resolve this issue, specify the correct name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server. TS Session Broker setttings can be configured either by using the Terminal Services Configuration tool or by using Group Policy.

Specify the TS Session Broker server by using Terminal Services Configuration

Use the following procedure to specify the correct name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server if you used Terminal Services Configuration to configure TS Session Broker settings.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in the local Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To specify the correct name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server:

1. On the terminal server, open Terminal Services Configuration. To open Terminal Services Configuration, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Terminal Services, and then click Terminal Services Configuration.
2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue.
3. Under TS Session Broker, double-click Member of farm in TS Session Broker.
4. On the TS Session Broker tab, under TS Session Broker server name or IP address, enter the correct computer name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server. The TS Session Broker server is the computer where the TS Session Broker role service is installed.
5. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.

Specify the TS Session Broker server by using Group Policy

If the name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server has been specified by using Group Policy, change the Group Policy setting that is being applied to the terminal server so that the correct name or IP address is entered for the TS Session Broker server.

The name or IP address of the TS Session Broker server can be specified in the Configure TS Session Broker server name Group Policy setting. This Group Policy setting is located in Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\TS Session Broker. Note that the Group Policy setting will take precedence over the setting configured in Terminal Services Configuration.

To configure the Group Policy setting in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), use the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). To configure the Group Policy setting locally on a terminal server, use the Local Group Policy Editor. For more information about configuring Group Policy settings, see either the Local Group Policy Editor Help (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=101633) or the GPMC Help (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=101634) in the Windows Server 2008 Technical Library.

Verify

To verify that the terminal server can successfully communicate with the TS Session Broker server:

1. On the terminal server that has been joined to the farm in TS Session Broker, start a new Terminal Services session.
2. After the session is established, disconnect the session.
3. On a different terminal server, but one that is also a member of the same farm in TS Session Broker, try to reconnect to your existing session. If you are able to reconnect to the existing session, the terminal server is successfully communicating with the TS Session Broker server.

Related Management Information

TS Session Broker Communication

Terminal Services