Network Computers report "The RPC server is unavailable" and do not appear in MetaLAN.

If this error is reported for Windows 7 (and later) computers this can be because WMI is blocked by the Advanced Firewall.  


To add the correct configuration through Group Policy do the following:

  1. Create a new Group Policy or edit an existing policy using the Group Policy Editor on Server 2008 R2 or later.
  2. In the Group Policy expand the Computer Config\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Windows Firewall with Advanced Security\Windows Firewall with Advanced Security\Inbound Rules node.
  3. Create a new rule.
  4. Choose the Predefined option, select Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) from the drop-down list.
  5. Select the (WMI-In) option with the Domain profile value.
  6. Click the Next button.
  7. Allow the connection.
  8. Click the Finish button.


Make sure this policy applies to the computers that are reporting with the "The RPC server is unavailable" error.