Remote Admin Connectivity

Aug 14, 2017

This topic provides troubleshooting tips for when there is a problem connecting to Remote Admin on the virtual machine during an Install Capture. Typically this will manifest as the “Before snapshot” failing to run.

Note: Remote Admin is an AppDNA agent that runs within the virtual machine during operations (such as Install Capture) that take place on a virtual machine. Remote Admin provides support for AppDNA to communicate with the virtual machine.

  • If the virtual machine was started from a powered off state, check whether it has finished starting. Displaying the virtual machine in the console makes it easier to determine when the virtual machine has started.
  • Check whether RemoteAdmin.exe is running on the virtual machine. To do this, open the Windows Task Manager on the virtual machine.
  • If Remote Admin is running, check that the version of the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration installed in the virtual machine matches the version of AppDNA you are using. To check the version of the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration on the virtual machine, open Control Panel > Programs and Features. Click Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration in the list of programs to view the support information. To check the version of AppDNA you are running, from the AppDNA menus, choose Help > About.
  • If Remote Admin is not running and you installed the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration MSI on the virtual machine while you were working through this wizard, make sure that you have restarted the virtual machine. If you have done this and Remote Admin is not running, you may need to start Remote Admin manually. To do this, locate RemoteAdmin.exe in Windows Explorer on the virtual machine, and then double-click it. By default, RemoteAdmin.exe is located in C:\Program Files\Citrix\AppDNA\VM Configuration (or C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\AppDNA\VM Configuration on a 64-bit virtual machine). Then use the Windows Task Manager to check that it is running.
  • Otherwise if Remote Admin is not running, it generally means that you need to install the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration MSI on the virtual machine.
  • If Remote Admin is running, check that you can ping the virtual machine from the AppDNA machine using the IP address or host name entered here, as described in “Ping the virtual machine” below. If the ping fails, check that the IP address or host name entered above is correct. If the virtual machine is connected to the domain, you must use the fully qualified domain name.
  • Ensure that there is no firewall in the virtual machine or on the AppDNA client machine that is blocking the TCP communication with Remote Admin.
  • If you chose not to display the virtual machine in the console, cancel out of the wizard and then start again. This time use the option to display the virtual machine in the console.

Confirm TCP communication is available to Remote Admin

You can use the Windows telnet command to confirm that TCP communication is available to Remote Admin. With the virtual machine running, from another Windows machine (but not the virtual machine) use telnet to connect to the machine.

To do this, type the following syntax at a command prompt:

``` pre codeblock telnet


For example:

``` pre codeblock
telnet InstallCaptureOS 54593

If the command console turns blank, it means a connection has been made. You should then immediately close the console using CTRL+] (If you do not do this, AppDNA will not be able to connect until Remote Admin is restarted in the virtual machine.)

Note: If telnet is not installed, you can install it from Control Panel > Programs and Features. Click Turn Windows features on or off. This opens the Windows Features dialog box. Select the Telnet Client check box and click OK.

If telnet reports an error such as “Connecting to <machine>…Could not open connection to the host, on port <port>: Connect failed”, check that Remote Admin is running in the virtual machine, and ensure that it is listening on the correct port.

To do this, run the following at a command prompt in the virtual machine:

pre codeblock netstat –ab

If these conditions are satisfied, ensure that name resolution is working correctly, and that the correct name or IP address is being used. In addition, ensure that there is no firewall in the virtual machine or on the AppDNA client machine that is blocking the TCP communication with Remote Admin.