Session Recording

Search for recordings using the player fails

If you experience difficulties when searching for recordings using the Session Recording player, the following error messages might appear:

  • Search for recorded session files failed. The remote server name could not be resolved: servername. The servername is the name of the server to which the Session Recording player is attempting to connect. The Session Recording player cannot contact the Session Recording server. Two possible reasons are an incorrectly typed server name or that the DNS cannot resolve the server name.

    Resolution: From the player menu bar, choose Tools > Options > Connections and verify that the server name in the Session Recording Servers list is correct. If it is correct, from a command prompt, run the ping command to see if the name can be resolved. When the Session Recording server is down or offline, the search for recorded session files failed error message is Unable to contact the remote server.

  • Unable to contact the remote server. This error occurs when the Session Recording server is down or offline.

    Resolution: Verify that the Session Recording server is connected.

  • Access denied. An access denied error can occur if the user was not given permission to search for and download recorded session files.

    Resolution: Assign the user to the Player role using the Session Recording Authorization Console.

  • Access denied when the Player role is assigned. This error occurs when you install the Session Recording player on the same machine with the Session Recording server, and you have enabled UAC. When you assign the Domain Admins or Administrators user group as the Player role, a non-built-in administrator user in that group might fail to pass the role-based check.

    Resolutions:

    • Run the Session Recording player as an administrator.

    • Assign specific users as the Player role rather than the entire group.

    • Install the Session Recording player in a separate machine rather than the Session Recording server.

  • Search for recorded session files failed. The underlying connection was closed. Could not establish a trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel. The error occurs when the Session Recording server uses a certificate that is signed by a CA that the client device does not trust or have a CA certificate for.

    Resolution: Install the correct or trusted CA certificate workstation where the Session Recording player is installed.

  • The remote server returned an error: (403) forbidden. This error is a standard HTTPS error that occurs when you attempt to connect using HTTP (nonsecure protocol). The server rejects the connection because, by default, it is configured to accept only secure connections.

    Resolution: From the Session Recording Player menu bar, choose Tools > Options > Connections. Select the server from the Session Recording Servers list, and click Modify. Change the protocol from HTTP to HTTPS.

Troubleshoot MSMQ

If a notification message is given but the viewer cannot find any recordings after a search in the Session Recording player, there is a problem with MSMQ. Verify that the queue is connected to the Session Recording server (Storage Manager). Use a Web browser to test for connection errors (if you are using HTTP or HTTPS as your MSMQ communication protocol).

To verify that the queue is connected:

  1. Log on to the server hosting the Session Recording Agent and view the outgoing queues.
  2. Verify that the queue to the machine hosting the Session Recording server has a connected state.
    • If the state shows waiting to connect, there are messages in the queue, and the protocol is HTTP or HTTPS (corresponding to the protocol selected on the Connections tab in Session Recording Agent Properties), perform Step 3.
    • If the state shows connected and there are no messages in the queue, there might be a problem with the server hosting the Session Recording server. Skip Step 3 and perform Step 4.
  3. If there are messages in the queue, open a Web browser and type the following address:

    • For HTTPS: https://servername/msmq/private$/CitrixSmAudData, where servername is the name of the machine hosting the Session Recording server.

    • For HTTP: http://servername/msmq/private$/CitrixSmAudData, where servername is the name of the machine hosting the Session Recording server.

    If the page returns an error such as The server only accepts secure connections, change the MSMQ protocol listed in Session Recording Agent Properties to HTTPS. If the page reports a problem with the website security certificate, there might be a problem with a trust relationship for the TLS secure channel. In that case, install the correct CA certificate or use a CA that is trusted.

  4. If there are no messages in the queue, log on to the machine hosting the Session Recording server and view private queues. Select citrixsmauddata. If there are messages in the queue (Number of Messages Column), verify that the Session Recording StorageManager service is started. If it is not, restart the service.
Search for recordings using the player fails