(RDS) Tip of the Day: Detailed troubleshooting steps for remote desktop connection issues to Windows VMs in Azure

Today's Tip...

You may encounter a Remote Desktop error message that does not resemble any of the specific error messages covered in the basic Remote Desktop troubleshooting guide. Follow these steps to determine why the Remote Desktop (RDP) client is unable to connect to the RDP service on the Azure VM.

Components of a Remote Desktop connection

Before proceeding, it might help to mentally review what has changed since the last successful Remote Desktop connection to the VM. For example:

• The public IP address of the VM or the cloud service containing the VM (also called the virtual IP address VIP) has changed. The RDP failure could be because your DNS client cache still has the old IP address registered for the DNS name. Flush your DNS client cache and try connecting the VM again. Or try connecting directly with the new VIP.
• You are using a third-party application to manage your Remote Desktop connections instead of using the connection generated by the Azure portal. Verify that the application configuration includes the correct TCP port for the Remote Desktop traffic. You can check this port for a classic virtual machine in the Azure portal, by clicking the VM's Settings > Endpoints.

Preliminary steps

• Before proceeding to the detailed troubleshooting,
• Check the status of the virtual machine in the Azure portal for any obvious issues.
• Follow the quick fix steps for common RDP errors in the basic troubleshooting guide.
• Try reconnecting to the VM via Remote Desktop after these steps.

Detailed troubleshooting steps

The Remote Desktop client may not be able to reach the Remote Desktop service on the Azure VM due to issues at the following sources:

• Remote Desktop client computer
• Organization intranet edge device
• Cloud service endpoint and access control list (ACL)
• Network security groups
• Windows-based Azure VM

Follow this link to view complete article: /en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/detailed-troubleshoot-rdp

References:

• Detailed troubleshooting steps for remote desktop connection issues to Windows VMs in Azure - /en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/detailed-troubleshoot-rdp
• Basic troubleshoot steps for remote desktop connection issues to Windows VMs in Azure - /en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/troubleshoot-rdp-connection
• How to set up endpoints on a classic Windows virtual machine in Azure - /en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/classic/setup-endpoints?toc=/azure/virtual-machines/windows/classic/toc.json
• Check if traffic is allowed or denied to or from a VM with IP Flow Verify a component of Azure Network Watcher - /en-us/azure/network-watcher/network-watcher-check-ip-flow-verify-portal
• Troubleshoot Network Security Groups using the Azure Portal - /en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-network-nsg-troubleshoot-portal#using-effective-security-rules-to-troubleshoot-vm-traffic-flow
• Configures Secure Remote PowerShell Access to Windows Azure Virtual Machines - https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Configures-Secure-Remote-b137f2fe
• How to reset a password or the Remote Desktop service for Windows virtual machines - /en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows/reset-rdp