Client connectivity
A new client doesn’t appear in the Management Tool
The client installed cleanly but never registered with the Application Server.1
Confirm the service is running
On the endpoint, run
sc query SytecaClient. State must be RUNNING. If it isn’t, start it: sc start SytecaClient.2
Test network reachability
From the endpoint:
TcpTestSucceeded must be True. If not, you have a firewall or routing issue between the endpoint and the Application Server.3
Check the agent key
A wrong agent key means the server silently drops the registration. Re-copy the key from Clients → Add client and re-run the installer with
REPAIR=1.4
Inspect the client log
Open
%ProgramData%\Syteca\Client\logs\client.log. A registration rejection logs as RegisterFailed: <reason>.The client appears, then goes Offline within minutes
The client registers but the heartbeat fails. Almost always a network or TLS issue.TLS certificate problem
TLS certificate problem
The client requires a TLS certificate that chains to a trusted root on the endpoint.On the endpoint, run:Then inspect the certificate in Certificates (Local Computer) → Trusted Root Certification Authorities. The issuing CA must be present.
Outbound proxy stripping the connection
Outbound proxy stripping the connection
Some corporate proxies break long-lived TCP connections. Add the Application Server hostname to the proxy bypass list.
Time skew
Time skew
More than 5 minutes of clock drift between client and server invalidates the registration token. Confirm the endpoint syncs to a known time source.
Session recording
Sessions are recorded but the Session Player shows a black screen
Almost always a video codec or GPU driver issue on the playback machine, not on the recording endpoint.1
Try a different browser
The Session Player runs in the browser. Try the same session in Chromium and Firefox. If one works and the other doesn’t, you have a browser codec issue.
2
Confirm the file exists
In Sessions your session Storage, check the file size. A black-screen session with
0 KB was never written; see the next entry.3
Check the recording parameters
If Full-Motion Capture is enabled but the endpoint’s GPU is in software-rendering mode (RDP without GPU passthrough, for example), some frames may be black. Disable Full-Motion for affected endpoints.
Sessions aren’t being written to disk
The Application Server is accepting the session start event but the file isn’t growing.1
Check storage capacity
The session-store volume must have at least 10% free space. The server stops writing at 90% usage to avoid corrupting in-flight sessions.
2
Confirm the storage path is writable
The Syteca Application Server service account must have Modify rights on the session-store path.
3
Review the server log
Open
C:\ProgramData\Syteca\Server\logs\server.log and search for SessionWriter. Errors there name the cause.Alerts and notifications
Alerts trigger in the UI but no email is sent
SMTP not configured
SMTP not configured
Check Settings → Notifications → SMTP. A blank server here means no email backend is configured.
SMTP credentials rejected
SMTP credentials rejected
The server log records SMTP failures as
SmtpFailed: 5.7.1 .... If you see this, regenerate the SMTP password or app-password and update Syteca.Alert rule has no recipients
Alert rule has no recipients
A rule with an empty Notify list triggers in the UI but sends nothing. Edit the rule and assign at least one recipient or distribution list.
PAM and secrets
A user can’t retrieve a secret they should have access to
Permissions on secrets are layered (user → role → project). Check each layer.1
Confirm the user is enabled and not locked
Locked or expired users see secrets in the UI but cannot retrieve them. Users user Status must be Active.
2
Inspect direct secret permissions
Open the secret. The Permissions tab lists every principal with explicit access.
3
Inspect role-inherited permissions
A user inherits secret permissions from every role they belong to. Use Users user Effective permissions to see the merged set.
4
Check project membership
Secrets scoped to a project require project membership. Projects project Members must include the user or one of their roles.
Database
The Application Server logs database_unavailable errors
1
Confirm the database is up
Connect with
psql or SQL Management Studio from the Application Server host using the same credentials Syteca uses.2
Check connection limits
PostgreSQL’s
max_connections must be at least 200 for a medium deployment. The Application Server reports connection_limit_reached when it can’t get a connection.3
Validate the NOSUPERUSER setup on 7.23+
On Syteca 7.23 and later, the database user must be configured as
NOSUPERUSER with explicit grants. See PostgreSQL NOSUPERUSER setup.Collecting a diagnostic bundle
If you need to open a support ticket, attach a diagnostic bundle. Run on the Application Server:The bundle never contains recorded session data, secrets, or user passwords.