Accessing a RemoteApp or Cloud Server is Slow

If you are experiencing "slowness" the first step is identifying the symptoms:

• Is typing lagging?
• This is typically a slow connection to the server (see below).
• Are you seeing "grey" or "white" screens?
• This is typically a slow connection to the server (see below).
• Are you seeing frequent disconnection errors like the one below?
  
• These error messages come in some different variations. The error message text is important. See the error message descriptions below.

Diagnosing a Slow Connection:

The first step in diagnosing a slow connection is to check for latency. Latency is the time it takes for data to reach our data centers. Many factors can contribute to high latency. Likewise, latency can cause differing symptoms.

Latency is not bandwidth. You can have a lot of bandwidth and still have high latency. Think of bandwidth as the size of a water pipe and latency as the time it takes the water to travel from point A to point B.

If you have a 20Mbps Internet connection, 20Mb is the amount of data every second that can enter the pipe. How long it takes that 20Mb to reach its destination is latency.

It is also worth noting that Mbps stands for Megabits per second. A byte has 8 bits. So if you have a 1GB (GB= Gigabytes) file that is 1024MB (MB=Megabytes) or 1,024,000,000 Bytes or 8,192,000,000 bits.

AND then there is overhead. Networks need to add data to know where the data came from, where it is going and error correction data to make sure what is received is the same as what was sent. This can increase the data size by 10% or more.

This is why many people are confused when they have a 20Mbps Internet connection but are not able to send a 20MB (Megabyte) file in one second. At best it would take 8 seconds and in reality it will take longer than that.

In order to check for latency, see these articles:

• http://help.mgcld.com/hc/en-us/articles/216287577-Running-Tracert
• http://help.mgcld.com/hc/en-us/articles/215645258-Reading-Tracert-Data

If you have trouble getting results you may need to talk to an IT professional who can ensure your router and/or firewall are allowing the tests to take place.

You may notice that browsing the web and/or watching a video online work fine while connecting to your cloud server is "slow". Browsing is generally static. Meaning the web page loads and you read it, click and it loads more data. It is not continuously loading data.

Streaming a video or music generally works even with higher latency because they use buffering. Buffering is a process where the video or audio is downloaded to your computer ahead of time - sometimes just a few seconds worth. This way if there is a delay the PC is playing from the buffer and the PC has time to wait for more data without interrupting the stream.

Remote Desktop and related technologies are more like a video however the data is not predetermined. This makes buffering impossible and therefore it is more sensitive to latency.

Reconnecting Error Messages:

If you have not already, you should review the section above Diagnosing a Slow Connection because it is mostly about latency and this can cause "Reconnecting" error message if the latency is high enough.

Microsoft has provided information on most of the message you will see:

General Error Messages

• Because of an error in data encryption, this session will end. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• The remote connection has timed out. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• The remote session was disconnected because the total logon time limit was reached. This limit is set by the server administrator or by network policies.
  
  
• The specified computer name contains invalid characters. Please verify the name and try again.
  
  
• The specified remote computer could not be found. Verify that you have typed the correct computer name or IP address, and then try connecting again.
  
  
• The remote session to the remote computer was ended by means of an administration tool. Your administrator might have ended your connection.
  
  
• The remote session was disconnected because your session was logged off at the remote computer. Your administrator or another user might have ended your session.
  
  
• The remote session was disconnected because another user has connected to the session.
  
  
• The remote session was disconnected because the total logon time limit was reached. This limit is set by the server administrator or by network policies.
  
  
• The local computer is low on memory. Close some programs, and then connect to the remote computer again.
  
  
• The connection was ended because of a network error. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• The client could not connect. You cannot connect to the console from a console session of the same computer.
  
  
• The client could not connect to the remote computer. Remote connections might not be enabled or the computer might be too busy to accept new connections. It is also possible that network problems are preventing your connection. Please try your connection again later. If the problem continues to occur, contact your administrator.
  
  
• Error: Out of memory. The remote session will be disconnected. Close some programs on the local computer, and then try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• An internal state error has occurred. The remote session will be disconnected. Your local computer might be low on memory. Close some programs, and then try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• Because of a protocol error, this session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• Because of a protocol error (error_code), the remote session will be disconnected. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• Because of a security error, the client could not connect to the remote computer. Verify that you are logged on to the network, and then try connecting again.
  
  
• The remote session was disconnected because the remote computer is low on memory.
  
  
• Because of an unknown error, the remote session will be disconnected. The local computer might be low on memory. Close some programs, and then try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• An unrecoverable error occurred while the client was attempting to connect. Close some programs, and then try connecting to the remote computer again.
  
  
• An error occurred when the client attempted to connect to the remote computer. Check your system memory and then try the connection again.
  
  
• Unable to allocate window resources. The remote session will be disconnected. Close some programs on the local computer, and then try connecting to the remote computer again.

This post has the same list plus more information on error messages and troubleshooting: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/5550.common-ws08-r2-remote-desktop-services-error-messages.aspx