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VisualCron Client Timeouts When Connecting​

Symptom​

The Client waits for the Server and then times out, and the login does not appear.

Cause​

The two most common causes are:

  • The VisualCron service was stopped, started or upgraded while the Client was connected, and the Server is not accepting connections yet
  • Another program is already using the Server port (default "16444"), so the Server cannot listen on it

Fix​

The service was restarted or upgraded​

To check the service, complete the following steps:

  1. On the computer where the VisualCron Server is installed, open services.msc.

  2. Check that the VisualCron service shows Running.

  3. If it does not, right-click VisualCron and select Start.

  4. If it is running but the Client still times out, wait until no Jobs are running, then right-click VisualCron and select Restart.

  5. Wait about one minute, then connect again from the Client.

    The Client connects and shows the login.

The Server port is in use​

To find the program that uses the port, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Server computer, open the Server log log_server<yyyyMMdd>.txt in the log folder. By default the log folder is "C:\Program Files (x86)\VisualCron\log". See Settings - Folders if it was moved.

  2. Look for "AddressAlreadyInUseException".

    When VisualCron can identify the other program, the log also contains a line that starts with The process '<name>' with PID '<pid>' is already using port '<port>'.

    If the entry has an inner exception, and the entry's own message contains "It is likely that certificate", the cause may be the Server certificate rather than another program. See Certificate error in the log. In that case the Server runs the same clean-up as Delete certificates, which shows a message before it removes anything. When the Server runs as the Windows service, that message cannot be shown, and nothing is removed. When the Server runs in the VisualCron Server window ("VisualCronService.exe" started by hand), every certificate in the computer's Personal store whose subject contains "vc" is removed, without further prompting. Before you open that window, check the store and export any certificate you need, as described on that page.

  3. Stop or reconfigure the other program, or change the Server port on the Main settings tab of the Settings window (see Main - Settings).

    If you change the port, update the port in the Server connection of each Client. Then check the inbound firewall rules for the new port. If a VisualCron rule allowed the old port, VisualCron moves that rule to the new port when you click Apply settings, and the moved rule allows any address. Limit it to the computers that run a Client, rather than adding another rule. If no rule exists, create an inbound TCP rule for the new port, only from those computers.

  4. When no Jobs are running, restart the VisualCron service.

  5. Connect again from the Client.

    The Server starts listening and the Client connects.

Collect a debug log for support​

If neither cause applies, turn on Extended debug logging: on the Server tab, click Settings, then select it on the Settings tab of the Log settings tab (see Settings - Log Settings). Try to connect again, and send log_server<yyyyMMdd>.txt to support@visualcron.com. Review the log for user names, paths and server names before you send it.

If no Client can connect, you can turn the setting on in the settings file. To edit the settings file, complete the following steps:

  1. When no Jobs are running, stop the VisualCron service.

  2. Copy "settings_server.xml" from the settings folder (default "C:\Program Files (x86)\VisualCron\settings") to a safe location.

  3. Start Notepad as an administrator, and open "settings_server.xml".

    warning

    Type "true" and "false" in lowercase only. The Server cannot read "True" and loads its backup or default settings instead. If that happens, stop the service and put back the copy you made in step 2.

  4. Change <ExtendedDebugging>false</ExtendedDebugging> to <ExtendedDebugging>true</ExtendedDebugging>.

  5. Save the file.

  6. Start the VisualCron service.

    The Server writes debug entries to log_server<yyyyMMdd>.txt.

Turn Extended debug logging off when support is done, because it slows the Server.