Terminal Services problem since I added tsweb


I have a Windows Server 2003 that I use for a terminal server.  it has
been running for8 months now with no problem.  I added 5 CALs about 4
months ago and am now running the license manager program.  Everything
was working great.  We would connect from Macs , PC, from all kinds of
places.  no prob.


Then I activated the TSweb to be able to access it over a web site
using the Active X plug in.  This is served up by IIS of course.

Now I have a weird problem.  

70% of the time everything works great, both connections via tsweb and
using the RDC program, but 30% of the time I can?t connect from either
one.  I get the following error.

the remote session was disconnected because the local computer's
client access license could not be upgraded...

This happens both for connections via tsweb and using the RDC program

We only connect from XP or MacOSX computers. I can?t find any rhyme or
reason why it happens sometime and sometimes not.

thanx in advnce,

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 23 Apr 2004 08:22 PDT

sherpaj-ga:

This may sound a bit silly, but please try following the instructions
in this MS Knowledge Base article to point your Terminal Server
machine to your License Server machine.... I say silly because I
interpret that you are using the same machine for both Terminal Server
and License Server:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=239107

Just try pointing the machine's Terminal Service back at itself for licenses.

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 23 Apr 2004 11:42 PDT

I looked at the link.  It says it applies to windows 2000 server. 
Does this still apply and is still safe for 2003 server?

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 23 Apr 2004 19:43 PDT

That KB article refers Windows Server 2003 issues to this other article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=279561

where the registry contents are a bit different. The idea behind this
is that the Terminal Service looks for a License Server through
NetBIOS broadcast normally, unless a default license server is defined
in the registry. Since this is an addition to the register, it should
not be harmful (as opposed to removing something from the Registry);
in any case, export the registry to a backup file, first.

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 26 Apr 2004 13:55 PDT

I did the registry edit, and put in the netbios name, and rebooted,
but it still says, "The remote session was disconnected because the
local computer's
client access license could not be upgraded..."

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 26 Apr 2004 23:16 PDT

sherpaj-ga:

Haven't found the smoking gun yet... but check this out to see if it
matches your situation:

http://www.thincomputing.net/newsitem191.html

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Clarification of Question by sherpaj-ga on 27 Apr 2004 08:37 PDT

It didn't work.  I entered a vaule of 4, replacing the 0 that was in
there.  If i call MS for the hotfix, will they charge me for the call?

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 27 Apr 2004 13:24 PDT

No, there's no immediate need to ask MS for the new file if the
registry change didn't help. The new file will be included in the next
Windows Server 2003 service pack, all it does is prevent the
configuration wizard from setting this registry key to the wrong value
again.

Still no closer to finding the smoking gun, unfortunately, the
uncertainty here is whether the issue is due to how TSweb acquires and
releases licenses, or if this is instead another issue introduced by
MS late last year that is starting to manifest itself as temporary
licenses (which are supposed to be used when there is a problem with
the license server) expire. Still looking...

If any of my fellow Researchers are following along, pipe up if you
find something that can help!

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 27 Apr 2004 13:26 PDT

With regards to the question you asked in the comments, about the
licensing type to use: per-user is recommended if you have remote
profiles, and users log in and out of multiple machines throughout the
day/week/month. Per-device is recommended if you have specific
machines that are used with Terminal Services, and they are the only
machines allowed. The one part that I'm not sure about is how TSweb is
affected by this setting... and that's the avenue I'm investigating
now.

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 27 Apr 2004 14:14 PDT

Well, other than reinforcing my existing belief that MS licensing
schemes were created only to frustrate everyone to no end, there's no
single cause that may be causing this problem that I can find. So,
time to investigate further on your own, to see if there are any clues
that come up.

First though, I neglected to ask before... what type of CALs did you
buy from MS? Since your terminal server is set to per-device, I hope
that's the CAL type you have as well.... otherwise that would be the
cause! As well, in per-device mode you need one CAL per device... so
how many devices do you have accessing the Terminal Server? There is a
possibility that your devices are using temporary licenses, which
expire after 120 days (ie. 4 months). We'll have to look for this
while debugging.

OK, back to debugging. You need to download the Windows Server 2003
Resource Kit Tools from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&DisplayLang=en

You'll also need this MS article/document here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/termservlic.mspx

Run the TSTCST.EXE program on each of your client PCs to see what type
of license it is using... temporary, permanent, when it expires, etc.

From your Terminal Server machine (which is also your License Server
machine), run the LSVIEW.EXE program to see if it can see your license
server (ie. itself).

Without posting any specific license info, please let me know what you find!

Regards,

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Question Clarification by aht-ga on 27 Apr 2004 23:56 PDT

It's best to download the Resource Kit and use the TSTCST.EXE program
on the clients to see what state their licenses are in. According to
MS, if a device has received a temporary license once, it will work
using the temporary license until it expires. It will then attempt to
upgrade that temporary license to a permanent license of the
appropriate type (per-device or per-user). If it cannot, it will fail
to connect to the Terminal Server. This is different from your current
situation, of course, since you indicate that 30% of the time you CAN
connect from either source. Which is why my first inclination was that
it was a communications problem between the Terminal Server and the
license management service running on the same machine.

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

sherpaj-ga:

So it turns out that MS tweaked something else in that patch file in
addition to the 'advertised' fixes, since the problem is now gone.
Well, it wouldn't be the first time that things go undocumented with
MS software.

The article that pointed towards the eventual solution, is found at
the Thin Computing website:

http://www.thincomputing.net/newsitem191.html

This article, in turn, points to a MS Knowledge Base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=834651

While the Knowledge Base article indicates that the registry tweak is
the manual remedy to the problem, when you tried the registry tweak it
did not seem to make a difference. With the hotfix file in place
(which according to the KB article contains only the fix for this
registry problem), the issue has gone away, leading me to think that
MS may have slipped a few other fixes into the file. The alternative
is that the KB article is wrong/incomplete, and the registry tweak
alone does NOT remedy the situation.

Regardless, it's good to know that this problem is resolved! Let's
hope that it stays away for good.

Thank you for allowing me to help you with this, and to post the Answer.

aht-ga
Google Answers Researcher

problem is resolved! and has stayed resolved.  Thanks much for the great research.

This just started happening to me too - just today.  I noticed that
your question was just posted as well - maybe it is related to a
service pack or other update?

it comes at a bad time. need to get this resolved.  i don't remeber
installing an update, but maybe i forgot.

aht-ga  
I just implimented the workaround, i'll test it this afternoon.  very excited!

My server is set to "per device" licensing.  In the Term server config
it shows this.

Should i change it to per user?

By looking in the TS licensing manager, i know it is set to Per
device, and is handing out unlimited per device temp licensing.  must
have been doing this for many months, but the problem is new.

I don't remember what kind of CALs I bought.  I'll research this.  

Should I just switch it to per user licensing and see what happens?

SOLVED

Even though you advised me not to bother, I called MS, got the hotfix,
installed it, and it fixed the prob after i restarted.

so, can aht-ga pls post that tip with that link as the answer and we
can consider the case closed.

Thanks so much to all that posted and helped solve this mystery, I am very grateful.