USB Audio cutting out on Multipoint Server 2012

[AndiMarv]

Hi all,

 

I am a bit stumped by an issue I'm having and don't even know where to go to get support for this one, I hope someone here has had a similar experience and can offer some advice.

 

I have a number of multipoint server 2012 setups with direct connections to the monitor and USB Keyboard/Mouse/Headset.

They are experiencing an issue where the USB audio cuts out and resumes at random intervals.

 

Is this something anyone else has seen or has any ideas about?

I've tried changing the USB hub, changing the USB port on the computer which the hubs are plugged into, I've even tried changing to brand new USB headsets to rule out any faulty headsets.

 

I appreciate any help and advice.

[Steve21]

Only thing I would say have you tried disabling the "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" option within the speaker settings? Wonder if one is stealing the others effectively.

 

Steve

[AndiMarv]

Thanks for the suggestion, I have disabled the option you have suggested but even after a restart there was no change.

[Axel]

...you could try RDP'ing into your Multipoint server from a PC - RDP'ing requires a lot less resources on the server than a USB connection - so if that works possibly the server is being overloaded....

[AndiMarv]

Thank you, I did a test and can see that audio works without error over RDP.

The audio cutting out seems to happen whether there is one user or five on these Multipoint systems, the system is not being stretched and is often nowhere near high usage on the RAM or CPU.

I suspect this is something hardware or driver related but I have updated everything I can think of.

[VeryPC_Colin_M]

Hi. Are you using powered USB Hubs with Audio or dedicated Multipoint server devices? I've seen this happen where non-powered USB hubs are being used in addition to a USB sound card attached to the hub to offer up the headphones.

[AndiMarv]

I have been using the USB hubs built into my Dell monitors and plugging Logitech H340 headsets into them, I don't exactly know if they are powered USB or not but I might lean towards not.

Is this setup likely be causing a problem?

[VeryPC_Colin_M]

It sounds plausible, and would explain the intermittent nature of the fault. Are the Dell monitors 'proper' Multipoint server zero clients with USB and audio jacks? If so perhaps have a chat with their support? I would have suggested a remapping of the connected devices and updating of the drivers on the host but it seems you've tried that. I think the issue could lie at the device side pal if your host server is all configured correctly. I've seen audio issues in the past caused by distance from the host too. If you're using a direct to host server set up (ie all monitors are directly connected to the PC graphics card) You could do a test by replacing the Dells with some old monitors whack some USB hubs for the KB/M, plus a USB sound card to attach the headsets and test it that way? In fact what's your set up like? PC with multiple graphics cards or PC with PCIe connection cards to zero clients or PC to clients over the LAN? I've never know it done with a monitor that has USB ports before :-)

[AndiMarv]

The monitors are connected directly to my Multipoint host with multiple graphics cards, the monitors themselves have a USB hub built into them which is connected back to the multipoint host, I then usse the USB ports on the monitor to connect a USB mouse/kb/headset. It's a fairly tidy setup with good performance but for the sound.

 

I will try a powered USB hub as you suggest and see what that does, I'll have to buy one in I think.

 

thanks for the ideas.

[VeryPC_Colin_M]

Nice set up! And using multiple graphics cards with direct connection is the best way of delivering the maximum performance to each client. Top job and I hope the powered hubs work

[twin--turbo]

Sounds like what I had on 2008 using citrix with audacity... theres a windows fix for it.... see if I can find my citrix thread.

 

TT

[twin--turbo]

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/2538047

[AndiMarv]

Thank you for this suggestion, the hotfix would not apply to my setup as all of my systems are running Windows Server 2012.

[AndiMarv]

Unfortunately changing the USB hub for a powered one seemed to change nothing.

Is there anyone else out there running direct connected stations with USB audio? if so, what model of USB headphones are being used? I'd like to try a different headset.