Intel® EMA CIRA Connection Issues

Intel® EMA CIRA Connection Issues

There may be occasions when the EMA CIRA connection will display the status as Not Connected in the Device tray - please refer to  Viewing Device information - Windows operating system. This troubleshooting article will help you resolve the Not Connected status.

Troubleshooting Intel® EMA Agent Connections

  1. Ensure that the Intel EMA Agent has a TCP connection to the swarm server on port 8080 by default
  2. Run the following commands to troubleshoot the EMA agent connectivity issues
Command
Usage
tasklist /fi "imagename eq EmaAgent.exe"
Test whether the Intel® EMA agent service is running
netstat "nao | find "
Test whether the Intel® EMA agent is connected to the swarm server on port 8080
EMAAgent.exe -swarmserver
Command will return the name of the swarm server that the EMA Agent is attempting to connect to.

Make sure you execute this command in the Intel® EMA Agent installation directory. The default location is C:\Program Files\Intel\EMA Agent
powershell.exe test-net connection emaserver.mydomain.com -port 8080
Command will test if the Intel® EMA swarm server is currently reachable or not.

Troubleshooting CIRA Connections

The endpoint CIRA connection is based on a TCP/TLS Connection from the Intel® AMT firmware to the Intel® EMA swarm server.
The following scenarios could cause the connectivity issues - 

Potential Issue
What to check for in the environment?
Endpoint must be plugged into power, or powered on
Make sure the laptop is connected to external power or if they are powered on in order for the Intel® AMT or Intel® Standard Manageability firmware to run and for CIRA to connect
Firmware should be provisioned successfully
Make sure the Intel® AMT setup status shows "Provisioning Completed". Also, make sure that the associated AMT Profile is configured to use CIRA and not TLS.
Intel® AMT or Intel® Standard Manageability firmware must be able to connect to the local network
Firmware must connect using supported network interfaces: Intel Ethernet or Wi-Fi. USB network adapters and most docking stations are not supported, except certain Thunderbolt 4 docks. Wi-Fi profiles, Wi-Fi profile syncing and/or 802.1x profiles need to be configured in the AMT profile if required.
Firmware needs to be able to resolve the IP of the Intel EMA swarm server via DNS
Run the command nslookup emaserver.mydomain.com in a comparable network situation as Intel® AMT (not on a VPN network).
Firmware needs to be able to initiate and maintain a TLS connection to the Intel EMA swarm server on port 8080
Run the command powershell.exe test-net connection emaserver.mydomain.com -port 8080 . 

Make sure that the Intel® EMA agent can connect to the EMA server in a comparable network situation as Intel® AMT (not on a VPN network).

Remote BIOS functionnality connects but results in blank screen and disconnects

CIRA may disconnect when utilizing remote BIOS access for laptops connected to wireless networks, disrupting the BIOS remote process. This issue varies depending on the specific type of laptop being used.

In general, desktops connected to cable networks will work more stable. Remote Bios is suggested only for desktops connected to cable networks.


General Suggestions

  1. Turn off and turn on the endpoint once again - There may be some pending Windows Update or some other issues might interfere with the CIRA connection.
  2. Network and Wi-Fi connectivity - These can affect the performance and the time taken for CIRA connection to be established or re-established. Make sure you have good network/Wi-Fi connectivity.
  3. Gathering endpoint and firmware metadata and status using the Intel® EMA Configuration Tool can help identify configuration issues.
We recommend you to watch this video or refer the Intel® Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel® EMA) Admin and Usage Guide for further assistance.

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