Symptoms

You are getting the following warnings in summary reports:

"Warning Failed to process DC: xxxxxxx.domain.local. The error is: Failed to connect to remote service control manager. Error details: The RPC server is unavailable."


"Failed to open the event log. Error details: The RPC server is  unavailable" 

Cause

Common causes of RPC errors include:

• Errors resolving a DNS or NetBIOS name.
• The RPC service or related services may not be running.
• Problems with network connectivity.
• File and printer sharing is not enabled.

Resolution

Review some typical issues and solutions for the "RPC server is unavailable" error:

The remote computer may be blocked by the firewall

Solution: Configure firewall properly.

NOTE: If you are using WIndows firewall, open the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in (gpedit.msc) to edit the Group Policy object (GPO) that is used to manage Windows Firewall settings in your organization.

Navigate to Computer Configuration - Administrative Templates - Network - Network Connections - Windows Firewall, and then open either Domain Profile or Standard Profile, depending on which profile you are using.

Enable the following exceptions: Allow Remote Administration Exception and Allow File and Printer Sharing Exception.

Hostname or IP address is wrong or the remote computer is shutdown

Solution: Make sure that hostname and IP address. are correct, make sure the machine is turned on and reachable. Also make sure FQDN name is resolved to correct IP address.

The Windows Management Instrumentation service is not running on the remote computer

Solution: Verify that the Windows Management Instrumentation service is running and set to auto start after restart.

The TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service is not running

Solution: Verify that TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service is running and set to auto start after restart.

The Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service is not running on the remote computer

Solution: Verify that Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service is running and set to auto start after restart.

To check that machine is reachable, perform the following steps:

• Go to Start --> Run and type eventvwr and click OK.
• Right-click Event Viewer (Local) and select Connect To Another Computer.
• In the Select Computer dialog, type the name of the domain controller reporting the error in the Another Computer entry field. Click OK to connect to the domain controller.
• Select Security log. The list should show you valid events.

RPC Service Not Running

After a reboot, check to see if the RPC Service is causing the problem.

• Open the Task Manager by right-clicking on the Task Bar and selecting it from the list.
• Navigate to the Services tab and then open Services.
• Scroll to the Remote Procedure Call service. It should be running and set to Automatic. If it’s not, change it.
• Navigate to the DCOM Server Process Launcher. This too should be running and set to Automatic. Again, if results are different, make the necessary changes.