uberAgent - service startup and LAS activation issue

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Article ID: CTX696385

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Updated On:

Description

The uberAgent service is not running on the machine.

The error displayed during attempt to start service:

Windows could not start the uberAgent service on Local Computer.
Error 13: The data is invalid.

uberAgent.log located in C:\Windows\temp shows that service is shutting down because of licensing issue:

ReadConfiguration,No license or integration mode detected. Shutting down.

Attempt to activate with LAS:

CallLASRestAPI,LAS request URL: https://api-us.cloud.com/lasuberagent/activate
CallLASRestAPI,LAS request headers count: 4
CallLASRestAPI,Header[0]: Authorization: [MASKED]
CallLASRestAPI,Header[1]: Citrix-CustomerId: customer
CallLASRestAPI,Header[2]: Content-Type: application/json
CallLASRestAPI,Header[3]: Accept: application/json
PostDataToPage,curl_easy_perform failed with code: 5
CallLASRestAPI,Failed to send activation data.
CallLASRestAPI,Failed to call LAS REST API after 4 attempts.
AttemptLicenseReactivation,License reactivation failed

 

If we check the error code from this line: PostDataToPage,curl_easy_perform failed with code: 5

From CURL documentation:

CURLE_COULDNT_RESOLVE_PROXY (5)
Could not resolve proxy. The given proxy host could not be resolved.

This indicates that:

  • There is a proxy configured on the machine
  • There is an issue with DNS resolution

 

 

DNS resolution check

cmd.exe:

nslookup dev-proxy.domain
DNS Server can't find dev-proxy.domain: Non-existent domain

Wireshark (filter "dns"):

DNS        82        Standard query 0x5783 A dev-proxy.domain.local
DNS        157        Standard query response 0x5783 No such name A dev-proxy.domain.local

 

Proxy server has not been configured in any of known location, examples:

NETSH:

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Environmental variables (checking with admin account) - no http_proxy / https_proxy configured:

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uberAgent registry - no http_proxy / https_proxy configured:

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Process monitor trace captured during uberAgent startup shows that the process starts with http_proxy and https_proxy variables.

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Where are the variables coming from?

uberAgent service runs using Local System account.


Local System environmental variables in registry: Computer\HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Environment

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Default configuration in registry for system account : Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Environment

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Process Monitor trace filtered by services.exe process also shows that variable was in used from this registry location.

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Environment

"Caution! Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that might require you to reinstall your operating system. Citrix cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. Be sure to back up the registry before you edit it."

Cause

In this particular scenario; the proxy address was invalid and this is why DNS resolution failed.

Resolution

Make sure that valid proxy is configured for System account and DNS resolution is working.

 

Remove invalid entries from registry mentioned above. Please note that this change can affect other services running under Local System account.

*Caution! Refer to the Disclaimer at the end of this article before using the Registry Editor.

Issue/Introduction

The purpose of this article is to help customers to troubleshoot and resolve issues with uberAgent and LAS activation.
The steps apply to machines where Citrix VDA software is not installed.

Additional Information

uberAgent documentation: https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/uberagent/7-5-x/kb/architecture/using-uberagent-with-a-proxy.html