RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE - Uwe Gradenegger

Troubleshooting for automatic certificate request (autoenrollment) via RPC/DCOM

Assume the following scenario:

A certificate template is configured for automatic certificate request (autoenrollment).
The certificate template is published on a certification authority (Enterprise Certification Authority) integrated into Active Directory.
However, the users or computers configured for automatic Certificate Enrollment do not apply for certificates as intended.

The following is a troubleshooting guide.

The role configuration for the Certificate Enrollment Web Service (CES) fails with error message "The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE".

Assume the following scenario:

A role configuration for the Certificate Enrollment Web Service (CES) is performed.
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

The Certificate Enrollment Web Service Setup failed because the CA "CA02.intra.adcslabor.de\ADCS Labor Issuing CA 1" cannot be contacted. Check the name, and confirm that the CA is properly configured and available. The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Details of the event with ID 2 of the source Microsoft-Windows-EnrollmentWebService

Event Source:	Microsoft Windows EnrollmentWebService
Event ID:	2 (0x2)
Event log:	Microsoft-Windows-EnrollmentWebService/Admin
Event type:	Error
Event text (English):	The Certificate Enrollment Web Service failed to start. Confirm that the Certificate Enrollment Web Service is properly installed, and restart Internet Information Services (IIS) by using iisreset.exe. If the problem persists, enable tracing in the web.config file, restart IIS, attempt to enroll for a certificate again from any client, and then contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support with the trace file information. %1
Event text (German):	Error starting the certificate registration web service. Ensure that the Certificate Enrollment Web Service is installed correctly and restart Internet Information Services (IIS) by using the iisreset.exe file. If the problem persists, enable tracing in the web.config file, restart IIS, retrieve policy information again from any client, and then contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support with the information in the tracing file. %1

Certificate request fails with error message "The certificate request could not be submitted to the certification authority. Error: The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Assume the following scenario:

A user requests a certificate from an Active Directory integrated certification authority (Enterprise Certification Authority)
The certificate request fails with the following error message:

The certificate request could not be submitted to the certification authority. Error: The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Requesting certificates via Certificate Authority Web Enrollment (CAWE) fails with error code "RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE".

Assume the following scenario:

A Certificate Authority Web Enrollment (CAWE) server is installed on the network.
The role is installed on a separate server, not on the certification authority directly.
A user attempts to request a certificate via the certification authority web enrollment or submit an existing certificate request to the certification authority.
The request fails with the following error message:

Your request failed. An error occurred while the server was processing your request. Contact your administrator for further assistance.

In the details of the error message you will find the following note:

CCertRequest::Submit: The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Requesting certificates via Certificate Enrollment Web Service (CES) fails with error code "WS_E_ENDPOINT_FAILURE".

Assume the following scenario:

You try to request a certificate via a Certificate Enrollment Web Service (CEP) from an Active Directory-integrated certification authority (Enterprise Certification Authority).
The operation fails with the following error message:

The remote endpoint could not process the request. 0x803d000f (-2143485937 WS_E_ENDPOINT_FAILURE)

Role configuration for Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server
One has the necessary permissions to install the role (local administrator, enterprise administrator)
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Role configuration for the Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) fails with error message "Failed to enroll RA certificates. The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (Win32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Assume the following scenario:

One installs a Network Device Enrollment Service (NDES) server
One has the necessary permissions to install the role (local administrator, enterprise administrator)
The role configuration fails with the following error message:

Failed to enroll RA certificates. The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (Win32: 1722 RPC_S_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)

Requesting a certificate for domain controller fails with error message "The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)".

Here's the scenario:

Requesting a certificate for a domain controller fails.
On the certification authority, the certificate request is logged in the failed requests. The error message reads:

The RPC server is unavailable. 0x800706ba (WIN32: 1722 RPC_SERVER_UNAVAILABLE)