Failure to retrieve Performance Counters after reboot of LoadGen Agents or System under Tests servers

In load test scenarios, performance counters may intermittently fail to be retrieved from certain machines (load-bots or Citrix servers) following a reboot. If the machines are not rebooted, the error does not occur.

In the Platform, per-machine counter collection is configured under Configuration > Systems Under Test > PerfCounter Settings: verify the affected machine's entry there (correct machine name and operating system, a valid Credential Profile, and the Collection active toggle enabled). Typical error indications in the agent logs include connection failures when attempting to reach remote machines for performance counter enumeration, for example network errors when establishing a connection to a remote machine.

Root Cause

After a reboot, the Windows Workstation service (LanmanWorkstation) does not always restore its network connections, so the machine cannot reach remote performance counters.

Resolution

To restore proper performance-counter access after a reboot, perform the following steps before initiating a load test:

1. On the machine (either LoadGen Agents or Systems under Test servers) where counters cannot be collected, open an elevated command prompt:net stop LanmanWorkstation net start LanmanWorkstationAlternatively, use Service Manager (services.msc) to locate the Workstation service and restart it.

2. Confirm the service startup type is set to Automatic so it starts properly on reboot.

3. Make sure dependent services such as Network Store Interface Service (NSI) or the SMB redirector (MrxSmb20) are also set to start automatically.

4. Retry your load test. Performance counters should now enumerate without error.

Additional best practices

• Verify that the LanmanWorkstation service status is Running and startup type is Automatic on all involved machines.
• Review the Event Log for errors such as "Error 2250: The service did not start due to a missing dependency". Microsoft Learn
• Perform a test enumeration of counters after reboot and before launching the load test, to validate connectivity ahead of test execution.