NS_E_MAX_FUNNELS_ALERT (0XC00D0060) — Stream limit hit

30-Second Fix — Check the obvious

This error pops up when Windows Media Services (or the older NetShow server) hits its configured limit for concurrent streams. The culprit here is almost always a throttling limit that’s set too low. Before you dig into the registry, do this:

1. Open Windows Media Services management console (wmsserver.msc).
2. Find your publishing point (usually “Default Publishing Point” or custom one).
3. Right-click it → Properties → Limit tab.
4. Check Maximum number of concurrent streams. If it’s set too low (like 10 or 50), bump it to something higher — 500 is safe unless you have hardware limits. Click OK.
5. Restart the publishing point or trigger a recycle.

If you don’t see the Limit tab, check the server-level properties. Right-click the server node → Properties → Limits tab. Raise the value there. This fix works 60% of the time.

5-Minute Fix — Registry tweak

Still hitting the error? The limit might be hiding in the registry. Windows Media Services stores some stream limits under:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Media\Server\Properties\Limits

Look for these DWORD values:

• MaxOutgoingFunnels — default is typically 1000. If you’re seeing the error under heavy load, lower it? No — raise it. Try 5000 or 10000.
• MaxFunnelStreams — same deal. Increase to match your expected peak.

Set both to 0 for “unlimited” — but be careful. Unlimited doesn’t mean infinite; it just disables the check. Hardware or network bandwidth will still cap you. Change the values, close regedit, and restart the Windows Media Services service from services.msc.

One more thing: if you’re running Windows Server 2012 R2 or 2016 and using multicast streams, the limit might be in a plugin. Go to the publishing point properties → Plugins tab → select the WMS Multicast Data Writer plugin → Properties → Limits. Bump the stream count there too.

15+ Minute Fix — Firewall and port exhaustion

If the error persists after raising those limits, you’ve got a different animal. The NetShow server uses a range of UDP/TCP ports for streaming. If Windows Firewall or a third-party firewall is dropping new connections because the port pool is exhausted, you’ll see this exact error under load.

First, check the current port range used by Windows Media Services:

netsh int ipv4 show dynamicportrange udp

Default range is 49152–65535. If you have a ton of short-lived streams, that range can fill up. Increase it:

netsh int ipv4 set dynamicport udp start=1025 num=64000

That gives you 64,000 ports. Reboot the server or restart the services for it to take effect.

Also check the firewall rules — make sure you’ve allowed the full port range for the WMStreaming protocol (usually TCP 80 or 443 for HTTP streaming, but UDP 1024-65535 for RTSP and MMS). If you’re using NAT or a load balancer, the same applies — those devices can run out of source ports.

Finally, if you’re on Server 2008 R2 or older, there’s a known bug where the limit ignores registry changes after a certain load. Patch to the latest service pack or roll forward to Server 2012 R2. No workaround for that — it’s a dead end.

Real-world trigger: This error shows up during livestream events when 500+ viewers connect within 2 minutes. The server’s default funnel limit (1000) isn’t enough for that burst. Raising it to 5000 or switching to unlimited fixes it instantly.

If none of this works, check the Windows Media Services logs at %SystemRoot%\System32\LogFiles\WMS for more context. Also verify you’re not hitting a per-server license cap (yes, that’s still a thing on some old Volume Licensing editions). That’s a whole different headache — call Microsoft if that’s your case.