How to troubleshoot pcAnywhere connection issues
|Article:HOWTO30289|||||Created: 2010-06-16|||||Updated: 2012-07-20|||||Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO30289|
You are having trouble connecting to a pcAnywhere host and need suggestions for troubleshooting
Following are some steps which we can ask the remote users, such as the IT help desk, to follow and report back to Symantec Support.
If you (the remote user) see an error when connecting to a computer with pcAnywhere, please note the error message and follow these steps:
1. ping the host computer by name, and then if that fails, by IP address
a. If ping succeeds, go to step 2
b. If the ping fails by hostname, then the issue may be with name resolution (DNS)
c. If ping fails by IP, then there may be an issue with network connectivity
2. test with telnet to the pcAnywhere port (telnet hostname 5631)
a. If telnet succeeds, go to step 3
b. If the telnet test fails, then there is an issue with the network, or the pcAnywhere host program is not listening on the expected port. Verify that the Symantec pcAnywhere Host Service is running on the host computer. Gather the evidence listed in this article from the host computer:
"Evidence to collect for pcAnywhere Solution agent issues" at http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO26053
3. try to connect to the same host computer using another pcAnywhere remote program
a. If you originally tried pcA Quick Connect, then try the Symantec Management Console (SMC) from the same remote computer
b. If you originally tried the SMC, then try pcA Quick Connect from the same computer
Does the connection still fail? If telnet succeeds, and one remote program succeeds but the other fails, then we can investigate this remote-side issue further.
Note which remote program fails
In addition, the administrator of pcAnywhere Solution can:
- Ensure the managed computer is a target for one, and only one, pcAnywhere Settings - Windows policy. By default, the only people who can connect remotely are people in the local admins group. If you can connect but cannot authenticate, try using a local account which belongs to the Administrators group.
- Ensure that the managed computer has received the pcAnywhere Settings - Windows policy after the initial pcAnywhere Agent installation.
- Ensure the pcA port is open and accessible on the host/agent machine: http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH107907
See the Related Articles section below for more information about certain error messages.
Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO30289