IY68077: AFTER RUNNING MICROSOFT REMOTE DESKTOP SESSION AGAINST RC TARGET, YOU MAY EXPERIENCE A BLACK SCREEN WHEN ATTEMPTING RC.

APAR status

• Closed as documentation error.

Error description

• We deeply discussed with Microsoft support in order to find a
  solution about the compatibility problem between Tivoli Remote
  Control and MS Remote Desktop (MS RD).
  MS support stated that, for performance reasons (connecting and
  disconnecting a terminal session to/from the physical console is
  a very expensive operation), they restore the state previous to
  MS Remote Desktop session with console option, only if someone
  locally logs in to the physical console. At the moment Remote
  Control shows a black screen when the target machine is in the
  new state (after a MS Remote Desktop session with console
  option).
  
  We discussed technically what changes should be necessary in the
  RC code in order to completely address this problem. The
  conclusion is that invasive RC design changes are necessary. So,
  this could be considered only a long-term solution.
  
  In order to have a short-term solution, we studied the following
  solution:
  
  After having used a MS RD session with console option the
  following batch program restores the initial state (previous to
  the RD session) that is required to start a RC session.
  The initial state is restored, using only Microsoft commands
  (like query.exe, logoff.exe and reset.exe), by logging off the
  user (if any) remotely connected to the console, thus closing
  all user applications. Anyway, if you use the batch program
  together with RC scripts and grace period option you can allow
  the user remotely connected to the console via RD to accept or
  deny the RC session and then his log off (further details are
  below).
  
  Following is our suggested batch:
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  ----------------------------
  @echo off
  set sessionname=noset
  rem Query the session zero state.
  for /F "skip=1 tokens=1" %%i in ('call query session 0') do set
  sessionname="%%i"
  
  rem Check if the Session zero is connected to the console
  session. If so, exit
  if /i %sessionname% EQU ">console" exit 1
  
  rem Find out the session ID where the console is connected.
  call query session console | find "console" > console.out
  for /F "tokens=2" %%i in (console.out) do set sessionnumber=%%i
  del console.out
  
  rem Logoff the user remotely connected to the console.
  rem Using logoff 0 command tries to logoff normally.
  rem Applications will be closed. The user profile will be
  written. Application data could rem be lost, however.
  rem You can even use reset session 0 command to free session
  zero immediately.
  rem You lose all user profile changes. Applications are not
  terminated gracefully, and
  rem you lose data.
  if %sessionnumber% NEQ 0 logoff 0
  
  rem Attach the session zero to the physical console.
  rem This command takes a lot of time to be completed.
  if %sessionnumber% NEQ 0 echo yes | reset session
  %sessionnumber%
  
  exit 1
  ----------------------------------------------------------------
  ----------------------------
  
  There are two ways we suggest to run this script.
  1. Using RC scripts.
  - Create a new RC tool setting the rc_def_scripts policy method
  to ENABLED or FORCE.
  - On the Windows 2003 target machine, create the pre_script.bat
  into the <lcf-tivoli>\PCREMOTE\w32-ix86\scripts directory
  containing the above batch program.
  - When starting the RC session using the RC tool having the
  scripts enabled, the state of the target machine is
  automatically restored in order to allow the RC session to
  work correctly.
  - Moreover, you can run the RC session using the grace period
  option (i.e. setting the rc_def_grace_time and
  rc_def_timeout_op) in order to give to the remote user
  connected to the console via RD session, the possibility to
  accept or deny the RC session; of course, only when the RC
  session is accepted, the remote user will be
  logged off.
  
  2. Using a Tivoli Task Library.
  - Create a new Task Library;
  - Create a new Task for windows platform setting Managed Node
  name, path file name of the above batch and the roles required
  to execute it;
  - When the target machine is in the state caused by RD session,
  you can execute the task in order to restore the initial state.
  - Start a RC session.
  
  Using this batch program, RC product is always able to remote
  control a Windows 2003 box regardless its state.
  
  By MS design, only one user can use console (locally or
  remotely) at the same time. So, the following are the possible
  Windows 2003 states:
  1. User locally logged in.
  2. User locally logged off.
  3. User remotely logged in via RD session with console option;
  4. User disconnected a RD session with console option;
  5. User remotely logged off a RD session with console option.
  
  All these cases are now supported using the above-described
  batch program, but, of course, in the 3, 4 cases the user remote
  logged in will be logged off.
  
  As already said, MS stated that the connecting and disconnecting
  a terminal session to/from the physical console is a very
  expensive operation, this is the reason why this operation (MS
  reset command on the session attached to physical console) takes
  about 2 minutes to be completed. For instance, using the RC
  scripts, you are able to run a RC session immediately, even if
  the remote machine will be ready (displaying of Winlogon panel)
  only after about 2 minutes.
  

Local fix

Problem summary

• After using Microsoft Remote Desktop on Windows
  XP or on Windows 2003 with "console" option, the IBM Tivoli
  Remote Control might display a black screen on the Remote
  Control window of the controller machine
  

Problem conclusion

• The problem will be fixed in the next
  3.8.1 User's guide
  

Temporary fix

Comments

APAR Information

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Fix information

Applicable component levels