RDS sessions freezing after patching

Question

Hope someone can help. We have an on-premises Windows Server 2019 based Remote Desktop Services deployment. HA all the way, gateway, web interface, and brokers. We have a few collections for different apps, one of which is accessed 24/7 365. We recently applied updates (KB5052000, KB890830, KB5050182) to a few session hosts and have been getting reports from end users of session freezing ever since. Seems to be completely random but impacts all patched servers. We'd been behind on patching (October), see screenshot.

I ran into one other spiceworks article that seems to characterize our issue exactly. We have implemented the TCP only suggestion. It seems to have helped, but not completely resolve this problem.
https://community.spiceworks.com/t/2025-01-cumulative-update-for-windows-server-2019-kb5050008-causing-freezing/1167452

Answer 1

Hello,

1、Uninstall Problematic Updates:

If the issue started after applying these updates, consider uninstalling them temporarily to test:

Open Settings > Update & Security > View update history.

Locate the updates and click Uninstall.

Restart the server and monitor for improvements.

2. Configure TCP-Only RDP

You mentioned implementing the TCP-only suggestion, which is a good step. Ensure it's configured correctly:

Open Group Policy Management (gpedit.msc).

Navigate to:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections

Enable Use both UDP and TCP for RDP and set it to TCP only.

Apply the policy and restart the RDS servers.

3. Check Network Configuration

Verify Network Adapters:

Ensure the network adapters on the RDS servers are configured correctly.

Check for any errors or warnings in Device Manager.

Test Network Latency:

Use tools like ping or tracert to test network latency between the RDS servers and clients.

High latency or packet loss can cause session freezing.

Disable UDP for RDP:

If TCP-only configuration didn't fully resolve the issue, disable UDP entirely:

Open Registry Editor (regedit).

Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp

Create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named fDisableUDP.

Set its value to 1.

Restart the server.

4. Optimize RDS Session Host Settings

Increase Session Limits:

Open Group Policy Management.

Navigate to:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections

Configure Limit number of connections and Set time limit for active but idle RDS sessions.

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

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