Unable to remote control devices by DNS address

  • 7007315
  • 06-Dec-2010
  • 27-Apr-2012

Environment

Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management Remote Management
Novell ZENworks 11 Configuration Management Remote Management

Situation

  • Error:  Failed to connect to server <device name>
  • When remote controlling a device, the wrong domain name is appended to the workstation name; e.g.
    • The correct machine name is winbox.northregion.digitalairlines.com 
    • When remote controlling the device, digitalairlines.com is appended, incorrectly forming winbox.digitalairlines.com
    • ZCC > Devices > Workstations > select workstation named winbox> Action > Remote Control gives error Failed to connect to server winbox.digitalairlines.com

    Resolution

    Ensure that the workstation is registered with the correct address and that this matches what is in DNS.

    Workaround
    From the Remote Control dialogue (ZCC > Devices > Workstations > select workstation named winbox> Action > Remote Control) use the IP address from the Device drop-down.

    Additional Information

    Troubleshooting steps

    At the workstation, ipconfig /all showed that the workstation name was winbox.digitalairlines.com:

    C:\>ipconfig /all
    Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : winbox
    Primary DNS Suffix  . . . . . . . :
    DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : digitalairlines.com
    Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : digitalairlines.com
    IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.150.15.56

    nslookup showed that the workstation name was winbox.northregion.digitalairlines.com:

    C:\>nslookup 10.150.15.56
    Name:    winbox.northregion.digitalairlines.com

    One possible cause might be an inconsistently configured Dynamic DNS (DDNS).

    ZCM Remote Control uses the address it has stored in its database, which is what the workstation actually had when it last checked-in and not necessarily what DNS says it has.  This can be verified by browsing the ZCM database directly.  See KB 7001842 - https://www.novell.com/support/search.do?searchString=7001842 - for further details.