Forum FAQ: When you use Disk Management to connect to a remote computer in the same domain, you receive the error message saying “RPC server is unavailable”.

Symptom

Considering the following scenario:

ComputerA: Windows Server 2008 (Administration client)
ComputerB: Windows Server 2008 Core    (Remote server to be managed)
Both computers are in the same domain.

When you use Disk Management to connect to a remote computer, you receive the error message saying “RPC server is unavailable”.

Cause

Firewall blocks the remote communication to virtual disk service.

Resolution

Please perform the following steps to enable remote management via Disk Management:

On ComputerA do the following:
1. Type in the following command to configure the firewall
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Remote Volume Management" new enable=yes

On ComputerB do the following:
1. Type in the following command to set the VDS service to automatic and start it:
sc config vds start= auto
net start vds

2. Type in the following command to configure the firewall to enable "Remote Volume Management":
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="remote volume management" new enable=yes

More Information

When you remotely manage a computer, the VDS Loader on the client loads VDS on the server side. VDS calls CoCreateInstance, which passes an interface pointer back to the Disk Management snap-in, which then allows remote management of the server.

As a result, there is a loopback RPC connection from the RPC server to client when you remotely manage the VDS. You need to open the corresponding firewall on management client too. For more information on how Virtual Disk Services works, please refer to the following link:

How Virtual Disk Service Works

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc739923(WS.10).aspx

Applies to