SMS: Unable to Remote Control Computers at Remote Site (276054)

SUMMARY

As a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) administrator, when you attempt to initiate a remote control session on a client workstation that is located at a remote site on a different physical network, the session is not successful, and you receive the error message "Remote Control Agent not found." Although the workstations client components include the Remote Control component, and it displays a status of installed, you may still be unable to initiate the remote control session.

If you first establish a remote control session with the remote site server, and then you attempt the remote control session to the client, this method will be successful. In addition, attempts to establish a remote control session by using a command line such as remote.exe 2 192.168.32.55 might not succeed. After you successfully establish a connection with the computer, subsequent connections to that computer are successful.

MORE INFORMATION

This issue may be the result of NetBIOS name resolution issues. When SMS attempts to initiate a remote control session, it first attempts to resolve the hostname to IP address. If name resolution is not possible, you receive the error message "Remote Control Agent not found." NetBIOS name resolution problems can include any of the following possible causes:

There is corruption in the Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) database that is preventing SMS Remote Control from correctly resolving the computer.
An improperly configured Lmhosts file exists.
There are workstations that are not configured to reference the WINS servers for the local and remote location.

In addition, if the local router is not configured with a static route to the remote subnet, the local SMS site server may not be able to determine a route to the remote client.