Event ID 86 — Remote Desktop License Server Discovery

Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

Remote Desktop license server discovery is the process by which a Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server contacts an available license server to request Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (RDS CALs) for the clients that are connecting remotely to the RD Session Host server. If the RD Session Host server cannot discover a license server, client connections may fail.

The recommended discovery scope for a license server is forest discovery scope. If you configure forest discovery scope, RD Session Host servers, without any additional configuration, can automatically discover a license server in the same forest, because the license server is published in Active Directory Domain Services. To configure forest discovery scope, you must be logged on as an enterprise administrator to the forest in which the license server is a member.

Event Details

Resolve

Identify and fix network connectivity issues

To resolve this issue, identify and fix any network connectivity problems between the Remote Desktop license server and the Active Directory domain controller by doing the following:

• Determine if there is a network connectivity problem by using the ping command.
• Perform additional troubleshooting steps, if necessary, to help identify the cause of the problem.

To perform these tasks, refer to the following sections.

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.

Determine if there is a network connectivity problem

To determine if there is a network connectivity problem between the license server and the domain controller:

1. On the license 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 (FQDN) of the domain controller (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

3. At the command prompt, type ping IP_address, where IP_address is the IP address of the domain controller, and then press ENTER.

If you can successfully ping the domain controller by IP address, but not by FQDN, this indicates a possible issue with DNS host name resolution.

If you cannot successfully ping the domain controller by IP address, this indicates a possible issue with network connectivity, firewall configuration, or IPsec configuration.

Perform additional troubleshooting steps

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 domain controller, try to ping the domain controller from another computer. If you cannot ping the domain controller from any computer, first ensure that the domain controller is running. If the domain controller is running, check the network settings on the domain controller.
• 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 domain controller 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.

Verify

To verify the discovery scope configuration of the license server, use Review Configuration in Remote Desktop Licensing Manager.

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

To verify the discovery scope configuration:

1. On the license server, open Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. To open Remote Desktop Licensing Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Remote Desktop Services, and then click Remote Desktop Licensing Manager.
2. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Yes.
3. In the left pane, click All Servers.
4. In the right pane, in the Configuration column, an entry of OK should appear in the row for the license server.
5. To review the configuration details of the license server, right-click the license server that you want to review, and then click Review Configuration.
6. There should not be any error or warning messages related to discovery in the Configuration dialog box.

Note:  To verify that the RD Session Host server can discover (contact) the license server, use Licensing Diagnosis in the Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration tool on the RD Session Host server.

Related Management Information

Remote Desktop License Server Discovery

Remote Desktop Services