After a random period of time of many days or even weeks, RD users begin to get “File Cannot be Opened” errors via mapped drives on SMB Shares.

SNP 1 Reputation point
2020-08-24T12:11:28.48+00:00

Setup as follows:
Windows 2019 RDS with manually created persistent drive mappings on Windows 2016 File Server. ERP software with flat file databases is stored on the file server and runs through these mappings, so there is a lot of SMB network traffic going on between the two servers.

After a random period of time of many days or even weeks, RD users begin to get “File Cannot be Opened” errors when the ERP tries to open files on the File server (or “Read error” when trying to open file from file explorer). The same files open normally from internal Lan pcs via SMB. After restarting the RDS server, everything works fine again.

Also seen that happening with 2008r2 Terminal Server with drive mappings on 2008r2 File server.

We suspect issues with the SMB client on the RDS side.

Do you have any idea why this happens?
Can we adjust something via the registry in order to avoid this behavior?

Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop
A Microsoft app that connects remotely to computers and to virtual apps and desktops.
4,389 questions
Windows Server Storage
Windows Server Storage
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Storage: The hardware and software system used to retain data for subsequent retrieval.
643 questions

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Karlie Weng 16,091 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2020-08-25T08:14:49.67+00:00

    Hi，

    1. May I know how many RD users connecting with file server at the same time?
    2. When one user gets errors, what about other users?
    3. Try log off users, does this have the same effect as restarting RDS server?
    4. Is there any event logs on SMB Client and SMB Server when this issue occurred? Please first ensure you enabled all the logs. Session host server: Application and Services Logs->Microsoft ->Windows ->SMB Client
      File server: Application and Services Logs->Microsoft ->Windows ->SMB Server 20193-image.png
    5. It is also recommended use the following link to collect some data for further analysis.
      https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/file-server/troubleshoot/troubleshooting-smb

    If the issue is related with the performance of file servers, here's REG_DWORD registry settings for your reference:
    https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/performance-tuning/role/file-server/

    0 comments
  2. SNP 1 Reputation point
    2020-09-02T07:40:55.587+00:00

    Hi,

    To answer your questions:

    1. There are about 20 RD users connecting with file server at the same time.
    2. By the time the first user starts getting errors on a file, all other newly connected users also get errors on the same file. The already connected users, do not see the issue. Also, only some files get affected by this and not only writable database ones but also the exe & dll files.
    3. Next time we will try to log off all users and see what happens.
    4. We will check and enable the logs and post back our findings.
    5. We'll see if needed.

    Taking all the above in mind concerning the performance of file server parameters, do you have any suggestions of what to tweak?