Connecting to a remote server failed and WinRM cannot process the request: Error code 0x8009030e occurred while using Kerberos authentication, and a specified logon session does not exist

I have put together three similar error types I simulated in my Test laboratory. When you are prompted with the following error when using the invoke-command, the following solutions and explanation below will help you resolve this issue. In this article, we will discuss how to resolve “Connecting to a remote server failed and WinRM cannot process the request: Error code 0x8009030e occurred while using Kerberos authentication, and a specified logon session does not exist”. Here are some interesting guides: How to request a certificate signing request in Windows using Microsoft Management Console, and how to troubleshoot and fix Windows Admin Center that cannot be reached.

For Windows Remote Management (WinRM) scripts to run, and for the Winrm command-line tool to perform data operations. WinRM is automatically installed with all currently-supported versions of the Windows operating system and must be configured for all clients. Please take a look at the Test-WASMan page for more information.

Various Errors

Connecting to a remote server failed and WinRM cannot process the request: Code 0x8009030e occurred while using Kerberos authentication, and a specified logon session does not exist

In the sections below, I will reproduce and discuss the various errors associated. Please see some related articles: How to Test Network Connection to the Windows Admin Center (WAC) Gateway, how to configure a remote server (windows) to Support Ansible, and How to enable or disable WinRM via the command-line.

1st Error: Below is the command run to install and reboot the TechDArchive

Invoke-Command -ComputerName TechDArchive -Script {ipmo PSWindowsUpdate; Get-WUInstall -AcceptAll -AutoReboot | Out-File C:\PSWindowsUpdate.log  } -Verbose

2nd Error: When you also run the Enter-PSSession to initiate a connection to the remote server the following error above will also be displayed.

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName TechDArchive

3rd Error: The invoke-command used to run the script locally or on remote computers. Once remoting is enabled on remote machines, we can run Invoke-Command as shown below to query the WinRM service. But WE are FACED with an ERROR.

Invoke-Command -ComputerName ServerDC -ScriptBlock {Get-Service winrm}

Please see this article on the Various Ansible Authentication Options. Also see What to note when settings up Ansible to work with Kerberos.

How do we solve this? | Solution

This error is a result of my login method as you can see in the error message above. Run the “whoami” command to display your account login information.

The follwoing issue was a result of the host machine (Ansibleserver) from where I was trying to connect. I was logged into the server as a local user with the administrator’s account. Whereas the remote machine to which I was trying to connect was running as a domain user. 

So, when I switched to the domain user account (Chris) on the host machine, Kerberos started working and the issue got resolved.

As you can see below, the invoke-command is working correctly to get the WinRM service.

Also, the invoke-command to have Windows updates installed is running and executing as well.

Below are the tips to ensure you are able to use the invoke-command

• Please ensure PSRemoting is enabled on the remote device.
• Also ensure that the WinRM is running on the remote device. To determine this, run WinRM using the following command.
• Ensure the computers (servers) are added in the TrustedHosts. Instead of adding an individual host, use the asterisk to all subsequent hosts

Please see a similar error where the computer account could not be found. Also, see the following articles “How to install Chocolatey” and “How to install, upgrade and uninstall software with Chocolatey“. You may also be interested in Winglet, which is also a Windows Package manager “Winglet”. See how to install Winglet and how to install applications with Winglet CLI. 

I hope you found this blog post helpful on how to fix “Connecting to a remote server failed and WinRM cannot process the request: Error code 0x8009030e occurred while using Kerberos authentication, and a specified logon session does not exist”. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.