RAS RD Session Host Agent service fails to start

Symptoms

• The RAS RD Session Host Agent service fails to start.
• After restarting the server, the following message is displayed:

  RAS RD Session Host Agent not active, please inform your system administrator.

• When the RAS RD Session Host Agent service is started manually, the following message is displayed:

  The RAS RD Session Host Agent service on Local Computer started and then stopped.

• RAS reports that it failed to collect performance data.
• The Windows Application event log contains an error from the RAS Agent indicating that the performance layer or performance counters could not be initialized. The event ID may be 5000, depending on the RAS version.

Cause

The RAS RD Session Host Agent collects Windows performance data used by RAS for host monitoring and load-balancing decisions. If the Windows performance-counter subsystem cannot read or initialize the required counters, the agent may report a failed performance-counter state or fail during startup.

This condition is normally related to the Windows performance-counter subsystem. However, the RAS Agent logs and the Windows event log should be reviewed to confirm that performance-counter initialization is the reason for the service failure.

Resolution

1. In the RAS Console, open the affected RD Session Host and use Troubleshooting > Check agent. Confirm whether the agent reports a performance-counter failure.

2. On the affected RD Session Host, open Windows Performance Monitor:

   Start > Run > enter perfmon.

   Check whether Performance Monitor can load and display the required Windows counters. If Windows reports that the counters cannot be added or loaded, the problem is in the Windows performance-counter subsystem rather than in the RAS configuration.

3. Review the following logs for additional details:

   • Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application
   • RAS RD Session Host Agent logs on the affected host

4. Use the Microsoft procedure applicable to the installed Windows Server version to repair or rebuild the Windows performance counters.

   Important: Do not apply a performance-counter repair procedure from an older Windows Server version without confirming that it is applicable to the operating system in use. Back up the registry before modifying performance-counter registry values. If the RD Session Host is a virtual machine, take an appropriate snapshot according to the organization’s change-control and backup policies.

5. After Windows performance counters have been repaired, restart the RAS RD Session Host Agent service and confirm that it remains running.

6. Return to the RAS Console and run Troubleshooting > Check agent again. Confirm that the host no longer reports a performance-counter failure and that performance data is being collected.

Note: If the service still stops after the Windows counters have been repaired, collect the RAS Agent logs, Windows Application event log entries, the operating-system version, and the output of the Performance Monitor test for further investigation.