The left pane of Parallels DaaS contains categories that allow you to manage different aspects of your environment. This section describes these categories.

Parallels Cloud is a platform that allows IT organizations and users to use various cloud-based solutions offered by Parallels.

Parallels DaaS is a Parallels-assembled and hosted cloud-based Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution that provides a virtualization control plane for IT organizations to deploy their virtual workloads, desktops, and applications that can be accessed from any user from any device. It separates the control plane from the data plane, which provides superior security, scalability, and performance.

Parallels DaaS consists of two services:

• Parallels DaaS Management Portal for managing users and resources

• Parallels DaaS User Portal for accessing resources

This guide explains how to use Parallels DaaS Management Portal. We encourage you to send us feedback about your experience as described in the Providing feedback section.

To access Parallels DaaS, visit:

https://daas.parallels.com or https://daas.parallels.com/admin

All running virtual machines are displayed in the Virtual Machines category. You can use search and filtering to find specific virtual machines.

If you want to change the number of virtual machines that are deployed and available for users at at any time, see .

Desktops based on the Golden Image and all applications installed on it can be made available to users in the Applications category. This is called publishing resources.

To publish an application:

1. If you want to publish an application, make sure that it is installed on the Golden image. Desktops are always available for publishing.

2. Navigate to the Applications category. You will see the lists of available resources.

3. Toggle on the switch next to the resource you want to publish.

Next, you need to

Parallels DaaS is updated bi-weekly. The updates typically include bug fixes, stability improvements, and various enhancements to improve the service.

For a detailed list of changes and improvements, visit our Knowledge Base: .

Parallels DaaS supports several types of licenses. You can purchase a license for a specific duration and number of users.

The user license is consumed dynamically when the end user signs in to Parallels DaaS User Portal to access the resources. The license seat is persistently assigned to the named user. This provides the user the ability to access the resources from any device.

The differences between various types of licenses are explained below.

License comparison

Subscription

This type of license allows customers to use Parallels DaaS to provide access to resources to their end users. The maximum number of end users allowed to access resources is based on the number of user seats specified in the license and available for the duration of the contract.

Parallels SPLA

The SPLA (Service Provider License Agreement) is designed for service providers and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) offering Parallels DaaS to their customers. It allows you to pay for licenses based on the number of seats that you make available to your customers each billing period.

Trial

This type of license allows you to use Parallels DaaS for free for a short period of time.

How to edit the Golden Image

To edit the Golden Image:

1. In the Golden Image > Overview category, click the Edit button. Parallels DaaS will start a remote connection to the Golden Image. When you open the Golden Image for the first time, the connection will take about ten minutes. You can cancel the connection by clicking the Discard Changes button in the top right corner.

2. Modify the Golden Image as required. While you are connected to the Golden Image, you have access to Session Toolbar that allows you to perform various actions inside the Golden Image, such as exchanging files with the local computer or using keyboard shortcuts. For detailed information about Session Toolbar, see the subsection below.

1. Click the Save & Exit button in the top right corner to apply changes. Saving changes may take several minutes. If you installed new applications to the Golden Image, you will need to publish them in the Applications category. Users will see the changes next time they log in to their published desktops.

How to use Session Toolbar

When you are connected to the Golden Image, Session Toolbar appears on the right side of the screen. It gives you access to several popular functions:

• Enable/Disable fullscreen.

• Download a file from the Golden Image.

• Upload a file to the Golden Image.

• Keyboard shortcut menu.

• Remote clipboard. In most situations, copying text between the local computer and the Golden Image happens as it would with other web applications. If this is not possible, you can use the remote clipboard to copy the text:

  • To transfer text from the local computer to the Golden Image, paste the text to the Remote Clipboard window. Once pasted, the text will be automatically stored in the clipboard of the Golden Image.

  • To transfer text from the Golden Image to the local computer, copy the text in the Golden Image the usual way, and it will automatically appear in Remote Clipboard window.

• Session information such as resolution and bandwidth availability.

Versioning

Parallels DaaS automatically creates a new version of the Golden Image each time it is saved.

To restore a previous version:

1. Navigate to Golden Image > Versions.

2. Right-click the desired version.

3. Confirm the warning prompt to proceed with the restoration.

Note: It's recommended to regularly delete older Golden Image versions to free up storage. These versions consume Azure storage space, which may incur additional costs.

While Golden Image versioning provides a convenient way to revert to an earlier state, it should not be relied upon as a primary backup solution. Always use a dedicated backup strategy for long-term image protection.

Parallels DaaS Management Portal and Parallels Web Client can run in modern browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox. Note that this version supports desktop browsers only.

When you are invited to Parallels DaaS, you will receive an invitation email that contains a license key, a link to Parallels DaaS Management Portal sign-in page, and instructions on how to activate the license key in Parallels My Account.

To sign in:

1. Sign in to Parallels My Account (https://my.parallels.com/login).

2. On the Home page, click the Register a License Key button. You might be prompted to enter business information if you do not yet have a business account.

3. In the License Key field, specify the license key you received in the invitation email. Provide an optional description of the key in the Display name field.

4. Click Register.

5. Click Dashboard on the top of the page.

6. On the Parallels Cloud card, click Switch to Management Portal. You will be redirected to Parallels DaaS Management Portal.

7. Click Sign in as an owner.

Next, you need to configure prerequisites in Microsoft Azure.

In Parallels DaaS, the Golden Image has two important uses:

• It is the system image that is used on all virtual machines. To change the configuration of the virtual machines, you need to edit the Golden Image accordingly.

• It is the repository of all applications that are available to users. For a user to access an application, it must be installed on the Golden Image.

To edit the Golden Image:

1. Go to the Golden Image category, and click the Edit button. Parallels DaaS will start a remote connection to the Golden Image. When you open the Golden Image for the first time, the connection will take about ten minutes. You can cancel the connection by clicking the Discard Changes button in the top right corner.

2. Modify the Golden Image. For example, you can install new applications or edit desktop settings. While you are connected to the Golden Image, you have access to Session Toolbar.

3. Click the Save & Exit button in the top right corner to apply changes. Saving changes may take several minutes. You can safely close the tab during this operation. Once the operation is completed, the new applications will be visible when you try to add a new application from the Applications category.

Next, you need to publish resources that will be available to your users.

Desktops based on the Golden Image and all applications installed on it can be made available to users from the Applications category.

How to publish an application

To publish an application:

1. If you want to publish an application, make sure that it is installed on the Golden image. Desktops are always available for publishing.

2. Navigate to the Applications category. You will see the lists of available resources.

3. Toggle on the switch next to the resource you want to publish.

How to add an application manually

Sometimes, you may need to publish applications that cannot be installed on the Golden Image.

These applications may include:

• Applications located on a file share on the network.

• SaaS and/or other applications that run in a browser.

You might also need to manually add applications that were installed on the Golden Image, but not detected.

To add an application manually:

1. Navigate to the Application category.

2. Click Add Application.

3. Specify the following settings:

   • Name: The name of the application.

   • (Optional) Description: The description of the application.

   • Publish on User Portal: Whether the application is published or not.

   • Path: The path to the application.

   • (Optional) Parameters: The application parameters used during launch.

4. Click Save.

How to unpublish an application

To unpublish an application:

1. Navigate to the Applications category. You will see the lists of available resources.

2. Toggle off the switch next to the resource you want to unpublish.

How to edit application settings

To edit application settings:

1. Navigate to the Application category.

2. Navigate to the card with the application that you want to edit and click the three dots button ( ).

3. Click Manage and change the settings:

   • (Optional) Icon: The application icon.

   • Name: The name of the application.

   • (Optional) Description: The description of the application.

   • Publish on User Portal: Whether the application is published or not.

   • Path: The path to the application.

   • (Optional) Parameters: The application parameters used during launch.

4. Click Save.

How to duplicate an application

You might need to create several applications that differ only in launch parameters or icons. You can duplicate applications to quickly achieve that.

To duplicate an application:

1. Navigate to the Application category.

2. Locate the card of the application you wish to duplicate.

3. Click the three dots button ( ).

4. Select Duplicate from the dropdown menu.

The card with the copy of the application will appear.

How to delete an application

To remove an application:

• Delete the application from the Golden Image.

Dashboard provides summary information about the usage of Parallels DaaS.

It contains the following sections:

• Registered users: total number of users. For information on how to manage users, see section .

• Published resources: total number of resources (applications and a desktop, if published). For information on how to publish resources, see section .

• Running VMs: total number of running VMs (virtual machines). Virtual machines are managed automatically. For more information about virtual machines, see sections .

• Active sessions: total number of running user sessions. User sessions are managed automatically. For more information about user sessions, see section .

To connect a Microsoft Azure subscription:

1. Read through the Introduction page and click Continue.

2. Follow the instructions on the App registration page and click Continue.

3. On the Connection Details page, specify the connection details of your subscription.

4. Click Continue.

5. Wait until the subscription information is validated on the Connection Validation page and click Continue.

6. On the Select Resource Group page, configure the following:

   • Select a resource group for the infrastructure: specify the resource group that will be used for virtual machine infrastructure.

   • Select a resource group for the virtual machine: specify the resource group that will be used for virtual machines.

7. Click Continue.

8. On the Desktop Type page, select the following:

1. Multi-user configuration (Recommended).

2. Users will share a virtual machine, but will only see their own Applications and Desktop this gives the best combination between costs and performance.

3. Per-user configuration

   1. Each user will receive a personal (non-persistant) virtual machine this offers maximum performance and flexibility but at a significantly higher cost.

4. On the Gateway size page, select the size for the virtual machines that will be used as the Secure Gateway.

5. Click Continue.

6. On the Session Host Size page, select the size for the virtual machines that will be created for the user.

   1. Predefined recommendations are available e.g. Light, Medium and Heavy alternatively pick your own size by selecting Custom (This includes options with a GPU)

      1. Light: Ideal for budget-conscious needs, this plan is perfect for tasks like data entry and running simple applications. Deliver essential functionality without the extras—streamlined for simplicity and savings.

      2. Medium: Designed for the typical knowledge worker, this plan supports everyday tasks like document creation, email management, and video conferencing. Get the perfect balance of performance and value for your team.

      3. Heavy: Prioritize performance with this plan, tailored for resource-intensive workloads like data analysis, or development. Best for power users who need exceptional CPU and memory capabilities.

7. Click Continue.

8. On the Operating system page, select the operating system for virtual machines that will be created for your users.

9. Click Continue.

10. Wait until the final validation is completed and click Deploy.

Deploying a Microsoft Azure environment takes approximately 30-60 minutes.

Next, you need to edit your Golden Image.

This section explains everything you need to know to start using Parallels DaaS as quickly as possible.

To start using Parallels DaaS:

1. .

2. .

3. .

5. .

6. .

7. .

8. (Optional) Configure the and

You can open this documentation from Parallels DaaS Management Portal by clicking the Help icon ( ) in the top-right corner of the screen.

Problem

When trying to open an application in Parallels DaaS User Portal, a user sees the following error:

User [user_name] does not have rdp endpoint for published item [item_id]

Solution

1. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com.

2. Open the portal menu and select Quotas.

3. On the left pane, select My quotas.

4. In the Adjustable column, click on the pencil icon next to the word Yes.

5. Adjust the quota.

If you have comments or suggestions, we encourage you to send us feedback.

Sending feedback from Parallels DaaS Management Portal

To send feedback from Parallels DaaS Management Portal:

1. Click the "person" icon in the top-right corner.

2. From the menu that opens, select Provide Feedback.

3. Add your feedback and click Send.

Sending feedback from Parallels My Account

To send feedback from Parallels My Accounts:

1. Sign in to Parallels My Account.

2. Click Support on the page header (the red area).

3. Click the Parallels DaaS card.

4. Click a category that best suits your inquiry.

5. To see popular topics, expand a subcategory and click on a link to a topic. To search for a solution for an issue, type the issue description in the box at the top of the page.

Requesting support

If you haven't found a solution for your issue, you can request support as follows:

1. On a support category page (steps 3 and 4 above), type a short issue description and click Request Support. Note that you need to type a description, or the Request Support button will not take you to the next step.

2. Select a support method (a messenger, phone, email, etc.) and follow the onscreen instructions.

Problem

When trying to run the prerequisites PowerShell script a ParserError error is shown on line 41.

Solution

The file you downloaded from our GitHub page with the prerequisites contains HTML content rather than the PowerShell code.

To download the PowerShell script:

1. Go to the GitHub page https://github.com/Parallels/Parallels-DaaS/tree/main/Create_Parallels_DaaS_Prereqs_Azure.

2. Click the Create_Parallels_DaaS_Prereqs_Azure.ps1 file.

3. Click the Download raw file button.

4. Execute the file you just downloaded.

Problem

When initializing your Parallels DaaS environment for the first time after completing the connection wizard, the automated deployment fails with the following error:

Solution

We've identified that the Standard B1ms instance size that is used for Parallels DaaS Secure Gateway is not available for all regions and/or subscription types of Microsoft Azure. This might be applicable to free Microsoft Partner, free trial, and other sponsored subscription types. We're currently working on improvements that will allow you to select other instance sizes. If you encounter this issue, please reach out to our support team for more information.

Problem

In some cases, when you try to authenticate a user, an exception is shown:

Solution

1. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal at .

2. Open the portal menu and select Microsoft Entra ID.

3. On the left pane, select App registrations.

4. Click All applications.

5. Click the application you created for Parallels DaaS.

6. Select Authentication in the left blade.

7. Select ID tokens (used for implicit and hybrid flows).

8. Click Save.

Scaling Configuration

Parallels DaaS automatically manages the power state of virtual machines based on demand, helping you balance performance and cost. This is controlled by your organization’s business hours and expected user activity.

Accessing the Scaling Settings

To configure scaling:

1. Sign in to the Parallels DaaS Management Portal.

2. Navigate to: Virtual Machines > Scaling

Business Hours

Settings in this section apply during your defined business days and hours.

Time Zone

Set the time zone in which your business hours apply.

Business Days

Select the days users typically work (e.g., Monday to Friday).

Business Hours

Specify the active working hours (e.g., 09:00–17:00).

Instant Access Users (Business Hours)

Define the expected number of concurrent users during business hours. This ensures that enough virtual machines are pre-started for instant access.

Outside Business Hours

Settings here apply during off-hours (e.g., evenings, weekends).

Instant Access Users (Off Hours)

Set the number of users expected during off-peak times. Tip: Set this to 0 to enable on-demand startup and reduce costs.

Force Sign-Out Users

Automatically sign out users after business hours to save on resource costs.

Delay Before Force Sign-Out

Configure a grace period (in minutes) before forcefully signing out users.

Sign-Out Notification

Enter a custom message to display before signing out users forcefully.

Idle Shutdown

Disable When Idle

Automatically shut down idle environments during or outside business hours. Set the inactivity timeout (in minutes) to define when an environment is considered idle.

Best Practices

• Use the 0 users outside business hours setting for cost-optimized environments.

• Always set a clear sign-out message to prevent confusion or data loss.

• Combine idle shutdown with scheduled business hours for maximum savings.

The Azure Settings category shows information about your Azure subscription.

How to update the client secret

To change the client secret:

1. Sign in to .

2. In the Microsoft Entra ID admin center, in App registrations, select All applications and then select your Parallels DaaS application.

3. Select Certificates & secrets > Client secrets > New client secret.

4. Add a description for your client secret.

5. Select an expiration date for the secret or specify a custom lifetime.

1. Click Add.

2. Record the client secret value. This secret value is never displayed again after you leave this page.

3. Sign in to the Parallels DaaS Management Portal.

4. In the Azure Settings category, click the Edit () button to the right of the Client secret value field. You will see a dialog that prompts you to sign in as the Owner.

5. Click the Sign Out & Redirect button.

6. Sign in as the Owner. You will be redirected back to the Azure Settings category.

7. In the Azure Settings category, click the Edit () button again. You will see a dialog that prompts you to change the client secret.

8. Change the client secret and click Update.

How to disconnect an Azure subscription

You can disconnect your Microsoft Azure subscription in the Azure Settings category. This can be useful when you want to switch to a different subscription or need to reset Parallels DaaS.

To disconnect your Microsoft Azure subscription:

1. In the Azure Settings category, click the Disconnect button.

2. Enter delete-parallels-daas in the text field and click Disconnect.

3. (Optional) If the regular disconnect fails, you can initiate force disconnect. Note that after performing a force disconnect, you will need to delete all Azure resources manually. To initiate a force disconnect, click Learn more, read the instructions in the dialog, and click Force Disconnect.

Disconnecting a Microsoft Azure subscription takes approximately 15 minutes. Once the subscription is disconnected, you will not be able to use Parallels DaaS. To start using Parallels DaaS again, you will need to connect an Azure subscription again as described in .

This is typically caused by missing rights in the Microsoft App registration in Microsoft Azure Entra ID. To resolve execute the following steps:

1. Browse to

2. Go to Entra ID

3. Select Manage > App registrations in the left menu

4. Select All applications

5. Select the app created for Parallels DaaS

6. Select Manage > Api permissions in the left menu

7. Choose Add a permission > Microsoft Graph > application permissions

8. Add application.read.all

9. Click Add permissions to confirm

10. Click Grant admin consent and confirm

11. Retry the Parallels DaaS onboarding wizard

Go to the Parallels DaaS management portal at https://daas.parallels.com/admin

Start the Golden Image

Within the Golden Image Start the Local Group Policy Editor (start -> run -> gpedit.msc) and browse to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Session Time Limits

Edit Set time limit for logoff of RemoteApp sessions

1. Enable the policy

2. Select the logoff delay (e.g. 15 minutes)

3. Click OK to confirm

4. Save and close your Golden image

Once saving has been completed and the new session hosts are deployed the new setting will be applied.

Problem

When you type commands in a PowerShell window inside the Golden Image or on a user desktop, the characters do not appear. A known issue in PSReadline by Microsoft causes this behavior.

Solution

A known issue in PSReadline by Microsoft causes this behavior.

To solve this problem:

1. Close all PowerShell windows.

2. Run the following command in a Command Prompt window:

powershell -noprofile -command "Install-Module PSReadLine -Force -SkipPublisherCheck" 

3. Confirm the action by pressing the Y button and wait for the installation to complete.

1. Reboot the machine.

If the problem persists, please reach out to our support department.

Workaround

If the solution above does not work, try copying commands to the PowerShell window, or use Windows Terminal.

Problem

An account cannot be accessed.

Solution

Try the following solutions:

Make sure your password is correct

Parallels DaaS leverages your organization's identity, so the password should be identical to, for example, your Microsoft Office 365 credentials.

Verify your account status

Contact your account administrator to confirm there are no outstanding issues with your account.

Clear browser cache and cookies:

• Clear your browser's cache and cookies and try logging in again.

• Alternatively, try accessing your account using a different web browser.

Check the firewall and security software

• Ensure that your firewall, security software, or ad blockers are not blocking access to our service.

• Add our service URL to the list of trusted sites.

Check Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

• If you have 2FA enabled, ensure you have access to your authentication device or app.

• If you are unable to access your 2FA, please contact your organization's support department for assistance.

Contact your organization’s support

• If you've tried all the above steps and still can't access your account, please contact your organization's support department.

• Provide as much detail as possible about the issue, including any error messages you received.

• Follow your organization’s standard procedure for IT support requests.

Problem

When trying to open an application in Parallels DaaS User Portal a user sees the following error:

The sign-in method you’re trying to use isn’t allowed. Try a different sign-up method or contact your system administrator.

Solution

If you’re using multi-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your systems, make sure its setup using conditional access as documented in this section. Per industry standards, Parallels strongly recommends using multi-factor authentication and fully supports this in Parallels DaaS.

In some cases, if a pre-existing per-user MFA setting is configured in Entra ID, per-user MFA does not support the required exclusions for Parallels DaaS. Therefore. it is necessary to disable the legacy per-user MFA setting for the affected users and configure MFA via conditional access if required.

To disable per-user MFA:

1. Sign in to portal.azure.com.

2. In the Microsoft Entra ID admin center, under Manage, select Users

3. Select Per-User MFA from the header menu.

4. In the overview, select the affected user accounts and choose Disable.

Try to sign-in again with the affected account(s), if the problem persists, please reach out to our support department.

The Insights category allows you to inspect usage statistics.

Licenses

The Licenses category shows key metrics on license usage.

This category contains the following information:

• License usage: The percentage of the currently assigned licenses.

• Available: The number of available user seats.

• Total licenses: The total number of user seats.

• License expires: The number of days until the license expires and the expiration date.

• License type: One of the license types described in Parallels DaaS licensing.

• License usage per month: The number of allocated seats per month.

• Allocated seats: Information about all added users and whether they have a seat allocated to them. You can deallocate a seat by clicking the three dots button ( ) to the right of the user's name and selecting Deallocate seat.

You can enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) in Parallels DaaS using Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD). When users sign up to Parallels DaaS User Portal, they will be prompted to complete MFA. For additional security, Parallels DaaS assigns users to virtual machines “just in time”, thus preventing unauthorized access.

To enable MFA in Microsoft Entra ID:

1. Navigate to the Microsoft Azure portal at https://portal.azure.com.

2. Go to Microsoft Entra Conditional Access.

1. Select Create new policy.

1. Specify a name and assign the policy to a group of users. Its recommended to test the effects of the policies on a limited set of users before enabling it for all users.

2. Set Target resources to include your Parallels DaaS app registration (or all cloud apps) and exclude Azure Windows VM Sign-In. (It might be visible under other names such as: Microsoft Azure Windows Virtual Machine Sign-in, but can always be found using the GUID: 372140e0-b3b7-4226-8ef9-d57986796201)

1. Go to Grant, and select Grant Access.

2. Enable Require multifactor authentication.

3. Choose Select.

1. Enable the policy and click Create.

Depending on your organization's preferences, policies can be tailored to your specific needs.

This page outlines a common deployment of Parallels Desktop as a Service (DaaS) for medium sized environments with 20 - 100 users in a multi-session configuration. It includes licensing and infrastructure requirements. This setup is scalable to larger teams as needed.

We recommend pairing Parallels DaaS with the Microsoft E3 license for its strong feature set the E3 license includes the desktop versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook as wel as 1TB of OneDrive storage space.

Licensing Requirements

Each user requires the following:

• Parallels DaaS License (Per named user)

• Microsoft E3 or F3 License Includes:

  • Microsoft Office Online (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote)

  • Microsoft Teams (optional without Teams available)

  • Microsoft Windows OS

  • Microsoft Bookings

  • Microsoft 365 Groups

  • Windows Autopilot

  • Windows Universal Print

  • Power Automate for Microsoft 365

  • Microsoft To Do

  • Windows Hello

  • Microsoft Defender + Application Guard

  • BitLocker & BitLocker To Go

  • OneDrive

  • Microsoft Entra ID P1 (Conditional Access

Infrastructure Overview

Virtual machine (VM) sizing impacts cost and performance. Parallels DaaS automatically scales resources based on user demand. Typical VMs run ~200 hours/month using scaling.

Common VM Options

Persistent Desktop Experience (Optional)

For saving desktop items, user preferences, favorites, and files persistently across sessions, add:

• Azure Storage Account + Azure File Share Used to store roaming user profiles.

Windows 10 and Windows 11 contain many applications, services, and background tasks that are not optimized for use in virtual desktop environments. You can improve the user experience and decrease virtual machine boot times, sign-in times, and application start-up times by running the Microsoft Virtual Desktop Optimization Toolkit (VDOT) on your Golden Image.

To start VDOT:

1. Sign in to Parallels DaaS Management Portal.

2. Select the Golden Image category.

3. Click the Edit button to start the virtual machine. Once the Golden Image virtual machine starts, open a browser in the VM and go to

4. Click the Code menu and select Download ZIP.

1. Create a folder (ex. "C:\VDOT").

2. Unblock the downloaded .zip file, either manually using File > Properties, or using the PowerShell command.

3. Extract the VDOT download to the folder you created (ex. "C:\VDOT").

4. Start an elevated PowerShell prompt.

5. In PowerShell, change the directory to the folder that contains scripts (ex. "C:\VDOT").

6. Run the following PowerShell commands:

This allows PowerShell script execution but only as long as the app is open.

This will run every VDOT optimization with verbose output, automatically accept the EULA, and restart the device.

1. Once the machine reboots, reconnect and save your Golden Image.

You can find the full documentation and advanced parameters at

This page outlines a common deployment of Parallels Desktop as a Service (DaaS) for large environments with +100 users in a multi-session configuration. It includes licensing and infrastructure requirements. This setup is scalable to larger teams as needed.

We recommend pairing Parallels DaaS with the Microsoft E3 license for its strong feature set the E3 license includes the desktop versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook as wel as 1TB of OneDrive storage space.

Licensing Requirements

Each user requires the following:

• Parallels DaaS License (Per named user)

• Microsoft E3 or F3 License Includes:

  • Microsoft Office Online (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote)

  • Microsoft Teams (optional without Teams available)

  • Microsoft Windows OS

  • Microsoft Bookings

  • Microsoft 365 Groups

  • Windows Autopilot

  • Windows Universal Print

  • Power Automate for Microsoft 365

  • Microsoft To Do

  • Windows Hello

  • Microsoft Defender + Application Guard

  • BitLocker & BitLocker To Go

  • OneDrive

  • Microsoft Entra ID P1 (Conditional Access

Infrastructure Overview

Virtual machine (VM) sizing impacts cost and performance. Parallels DaaS automatically scales resources based on user demand. Typical VMs run ~200 hours/month using scaling.

Common VM Options

Persistent Desktop Experience (Optional)

For saving desktop items, user preferences, favorites, and files persistently across sessions, add:

• Azure Storage Account + Azure File Share Used to store roaming user profiles.

When provisioning virtual machines (VMs) in Microsoft Azure—especially in the context of Parallels DaaS — it's important to understand Azure quotas, how they affect deployments, and how to manage them effectively in the Azure portal.

What Are Azure Quotas?

Azure enforces resource quotas to help manage capacity and prevent unexpected usage spikes. These quotas are essentially limits set per Azure subscription and region, and they control how many resources you can provision. The key types of quotas relevant to DaaS include:

• vCPU quota (Total Regional vCPUs) The total number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs) you can allocate across all VM types in a specific region.

• vCPU quota per VM family (e.g., Dv5, Ev5, NV) Limits the number of vCPUs you can use per VM family. For example, you may be limited to 10 vCPUs in the Dv5 series until you request an increase.

• Other quotas (e.g., Public IP addresses, Managed Disks) Less relevant for session-based desktops but important for networked or persistent infrastructure.

Why Quotas Matter in Parallels DaaS

When Parallels DaaS attempts to provision new session hosts eather when onboarding or scaling up, Azure checks your current quotas. If you exceed the quota (for example, trying to provision 20 D4ds_v5 VMs when only 16 vCPUs are allowed in that family), the deployment will fail with a quota exceeded error.

This is especially important in automated scaling scenarios, where the DaaS platform will attempt to add machines based on user load.

How to View and increase Quotas in the Azure Portal

1. Go to Azure Portal: Navigate to https://portal.azure.com

2. Search for "Usage + quotas": This will open a blade where you can view current usage and limits per region and resource type.

3. Select a Subscription and Region: Choose the Azure subscription tied to your Parallels DaaS deployment and the region where your VMs are hosted.

4. Filter for Compute quotas: Look for entries like:

   • Total Regional vCPUs

   • Standard Dv5 Family vCPUs

   • Standard NV Family vCPUs

5. Request a quota increase:

   • Click the "Request Increase" button next to the relevant quota.

   • Specify the new limit you're requesting.

   • Provide justification (e.g., "Expanding Parallels DaaS workload for 200 users").

   • Microsoft typically processes small requests instantly and bigger ones within 1 business day.

In the Parallels DaaS release scheduled for April 3rd the service will be migrated to new URL's. Most of this process will be transparent but the new URL's have to be whitelisted in Microsoft Azure to allow users to sign-in.

1. Go to https://portal.azure.com

2. Open Microsoft Entra ID

3. Select App Registrations in the left menu

4. Select All applications

5. Select the application created for Parallels DaaS

6. Select Authentication in the left menu

7. Add the following Web redirect URI (do not remove the old ones)

   1. https://daas.parallels.com/signin-oidc

   2. https://daas.parallels.com/discovery

   3. https://daas.parallels.com/admin/login

8. Click Save

Problem

When executing the PowerShell script that automatically prepares your Microsoft Azure subscription for use with Parallels DaaS, you see the following error:

ERROR: trying to set app registration Graph API permissions
A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'AsHashtable'.

Solution

Run the PowerShell script in PowerShell version 7.3 or laer. You can check the PowerShell version by running the $psversiontable command.

A copy of PowerShell 7.x can be downloaded from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/installing-powershell-on-windows?view=powershell-7.4#installing-the-msi-package

Users and Administrators

There are three types of accounts in Parallels DaaS:

• Users: accounts that can be used to access the published resources using Parallels DaaS User Portal.

• Administrators: accounts that can be used to publish resources and add users in Parallels DaaS Management Portal.

• Owners: business owner accounts that must sign in via Parallels My Account. Have the same permissions as administrator accounts but can also manage Microsoft Azure subscriptions.

You can add users and administrators in the Users Management category.

How to add users and administrators

To add a user or an administrator:

1. In the Users Management category, do one of the following:

   • To add a user, select the Users subcategory.

   • To add an administrator, select the Administrators subcategory.

2. Click the New button. A dialog will open.

3. On the left pane of the dialog, select the users or groups that you want to add. Selected users and groups will appear on the right pane, where you will be able to remove them from the selection.

4. Click Add.

How to remove users and administrators

To remove a user or an administrator:

1. In the Users Management category, do one of the following:

   • To remove a user, select the Users subcategory.

   • To remove an administrator, select the Administrators subcategory.

2. Select the user or administrator you want to remove.

3. Click the three-dot menu () to the right of the Display drop-down menu and select Remove.

Workspace

How to configure pool size

Pools are groups of virtual machines that are deployed and started before a user signs in, minimizing wait times for the user. In Parallels DaaS, all virtual machines belong to one pool. You can configure the maximum and minimum number of virtual machines available in the pool.

To configure the minimum and maximum number of virtual machines in the pool:

1. In the Users Management category, go to the Workspace subcategory.

2. In the Minimum pool size field, specify the number of virtual machines that must always be available in the pool.

3. In the Maximum pool size field, specify the maximum number of virtual machines that can be available in the pool at any given time.

Consider the following example:

If you set Minimum pool size to 5, 5 machines will be created and started before users sign in to the system. When the first user signs in, he gets access to the first machine from the pool, and a new one is added.

It is recommended to keep the pool size small to reduce costs, but big enough so that there are always enough virtual machines for new users.

How to pause a pool

You can configure Parallels DaaS to pause a pool when its virtual machines are not in use, which can reduce costs.

When you pause a pool the following happens:

• Virtual machines that are not used for the specified period of time are deleted

• New virtual machines are not created automatically, even if there are fewer virtual machines than specified in the Minimum pool size field

A pool resumes normal functioning when a user requests an app or a desktop or an administrator starts editing the Golden Image.

To pause a pool:

1. In the Users Management category, go to the Workspace subcategory.

2. In the Pause virtual machine pool drop-down menu, select the time period after which the pool is paused.

How to use user profiles

An FSLogix user profile is a collection of settings and application data associated with a specific user stored on a network location. It helps to minimize sign-in times and optimize file I/O between the host, client, and profile storage.

To enable FSLogix user profiles:

1. In the Users Management category, go to the Workspace subcategory.

2. Enable the Store user profiles (FSLogix) switch.

3. Do one of the following:

   • If you have not created an Azure file share yet, follow the instructions in the section to create one.

   • If you already have an Azure file share, move to the next step.

4. In the Share URL field, specify the URL of the Azure file share.

5. In the Storage account name field, specify the name of your storage account.

6. In the Storage access key field, specify the access key of your storage account.

7. In the Maximum profile size (GB) field, specify the maximum size of a single user profile.

8. Restart all virtual machines.

Parallels DaaS – Small Deployment (15–30 Users)

This page outlines a common deployment of Parallels Desktop as a Service (DaaS) for small environments with 15–30 users in a multi-session configuration. It includes licensing and infrastructure requirements. This setup is scalable to larger teams as needed.

Licensing Requirements

Infrastructure Overview

Parallels DaaS creates Virtual Machines that act as session hosts for the users. Virtual machine (VM) sizing impacts cost and performance. Parallels DaaS automatically scales resources based on user demand. Typical VMs run ~200 hours/month using automatic powermanagement.

Common VM types

Below is a list of commonly used Azure Instance types with Parallels DaaS, by default each machine will be equipped with a E10 disk that is 128GiB in size. Prices below include the disk and have hybrid benefits enabled.

Shared Infrastructure example for 20 users

Step 1. Create a storage account

1. Login to Microsoft Azure.

2. Select the same directory and subscription which were used to connect to the Azure subscription.

3. Navigate to Storage account and click the Create button.

4. On the Basics tab, specify the following:

   • Subscription and Resource Group: select the subscription and the resource group that will be used for creating infrastructure resources.

   • Storage account name: specify the storage account name.

   • Region: select the region where your storage account will be created. It is recommended to select the same region where your resources are.

   • Performance: select Premium.

   • Premium account type: select File Shares.

   • Redundancy: select the option that suits your environment. For high availability scenario, select ZRS.

5. Click Next.

6. On the Advanced tab, keep all the fields with the default selection.

7. Click Next.

8. On the Networking tab, specify the following:

   • Network access: select Enable public access from selected virtual networks and IP addresses.

   • Virtual network subscription: select the subscription.

   • Virtual network: select the virtual network.

   • Routing preference: select Microsoft network routing.

9. Keep all other tabs with the default values and click Review.

10. Review the information provided and click Create.

Step 2. Plan the file share capacity

1. Decide the maximum size of the profile in GB for a user. Save this number for later steps.

2. Estimate how many users will be using Parallels DaaS.

3. Calculate the share capacity by multiplying the maximum profile size by the number of users.

Step 3. Create a file share

1. Navigate to the storage account created in .

2. Go to the File Share category and click the + File Share button.

3. Specify the following:

   1. Name: name of the file share.

   2. Provisioned capacity: Enter the share capacity calculated above in .

   3. Protocol: select SMB.

4. (Optional) On the Backup tab, enable backup.

5. Click Review + Create.

Step 4. Save settings for future use

1. Navigate to the storage account created in

2. Save one of the access keys and storage account name.

3. Go to the File Share category and click the File Share button.

4. Select the file share created in .

5. Save the file share URL.

To connect your Azure subscription to Parallels DaaS, you need to complete several preliminary steps.

You can do this in two ways:

• (Recommended) By using a script provided by Parallels

• Manually

Before you begin

Before configuring prerequisites, make sure that you have the right to create a Standard B1ms instance in your Azure region and subscription.

To configure the prerequisites using a script

To configure prerequisites using a script:

1. Download the PowerShell script from https://github.com/Parallels/Parallels-DaaS.

2. Log in to Microsoft Azure with an account with the Owner role in your subscription and the Global Administrator role in Microsoft Entra ID. Make sure that MFA for this account is enabled.

3. Launch the PowerShell script in PowerShell version 7.3 or later.

4. The script checks which Azure tenants you have access to. Select the Azure Tenant you want to use.

5. The script checks which Azure subscriptions you have access to. select the Azure Subscription you want to use.

6. The script checks which regions you are able to deploy the resources in. Select the location you want to use.

7. Provide the name of the application you want to create.

8. Provide the name of the resource group that will be used for all infrastructure-related resources.

9. Provide the name of the resource group that will be used for all virtual machines.

10. (Optional) Provide the name of the Azure Key Vault to create. The App Registration secret will be safely stored in this Azure Key Vault. This name needs to be unique in Azure globally.

11. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal.

12. Open the portal menu and select Microsoft Entra ID.

13. On the left pane, select App registrations.

14. Select your application and on the left pane, select API permissions.

15. Click the Grant admin consent button and then Yes.

Upon completion, all prerequisites will be installed, and the script will output the parameters that you can easily copy to the Azure Subscription wizard.

Next, you need to connect your Microsoft Azure subscription.

To configure the prerequisites manually

To configure prerequisites manually, you need to go through several steps.

Step 1. Create a Microsoft Entra ID application

1. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal.

2. Open the portal menu and select Microsoft Entra ID.

3. On the left pane, select App registrations.

4. Click New registration (at the top of the right pane). The Register an application blade opens.

5. In the Name field, type the name you want to use for the application.

6. In the Redirect URI section, make sure that Web is selected in the drop-down list and add the following URI.

   https://cloud.parallels.com/discovery

7. Click Register (at the bottom left).

8. The new Microsoft Entra ID app is created, and its blade is displayed in the portal. Make a note of the application (client) ID once the registration is completed.

9. On the left pane, select Authentication

10. In the Web Redirect URIs section add the following URI:

    • https://cloud.parallels.com/signin-oidc

    • https://cloudadmin.parallels.com/signin-oidc

    • https://cloudadmin.parallels.com/login

    • https://daas.parallels.com/signin-oidc

    • https://daas.parallels.com/discovery

    • https://daas.parallels.com/admin/login

11. Scroll down and enable "ID tokens (used for implicit and hybrid flows)"

Step 2. Add custom roles to Azure subscription

1. In the Azure portal menu, select Subscriptions.

2. In the left pane, select Access control (IAM).

3. Click Add and select Add custom role.

4. Enter Parallels Daas Role as the name of the custom role and Custom role for managing access and operational settings in DaaS environment as the description.

5. Select Clone a role and choose the Virtual Machine Contributor role.

6. In the Permissions tab, clear all permissions and select only the following two permissions:

   • Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write

   • Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/delete

   • Microsoft.Quota/quotas/read

7. In the Assignable scopes tab, clear all scopes and select only your subscription as the assignable scope.

8. On the Review + create tab, confirm that the configuration is correct and click Review + create.

9. Go back to Access control (IAM).

10. Click Add and select Add role assignment.

11. In the Privileged administrator roles tab, select the Parallels Daas Role role.

12. In the Members tab, select the Microsoft Entra ID application created in Step 1.

13. In the Conditions tab, select Allow user to assign all roles (highly privileged).

14. On the Review + assign tab, confirm that the configuration is correct and click Review + assign.

Step 3. Assign Required Permissions to the Microsoft Entra ID application

1. Select your application and on the left pane, select API permissions.

2. Click Add a permission.

3. Click the Microsoft Graph card.

4. Click the Application permissions card.

5. Select the following permissions:

   • Domain.Read.All

   • GroupMember.Read.All

   • User.Read.All

   • Application.Read.All

6. Click Add a permission.

7. Click the Microsoft Graph card.

8. Click the Delegated permissions card.

9. Select the following permissions:

   1. openid

   2. email

   3. profile

10. Click Add permissions.

11. Click Grant admin consent for...

12. Confirm you want to grant admin consent by clicking Yes.

Step 4. Configure a token

1. Select your application and on the left pane, select Token configuration.

2. Click Add optional claim.

3. In the Token type section, select ID.

4. Select email and upn.

5. Click Add.

6. Click Add groups claim.

7. Select Security groups.

8. Click Add.

Step 5. Create a client secret for the Microsoft Entra ID application

1. If you are not on the application page anymore, navigate to it from the Home page by selecting Microsoft Entra ID > App registration and then clicking the app in the right pane.

2. In the left pane, click Certificates & secrets.

3. In the right pane, click New client secret.

4. Type a client name and select a desired expiration option.

5. Click Add. The new client secret appears in the Client secrets list.

Step 6. Assign Contributor Role to the Microsoft Entra ID application

1. In the Azure portal menu, select Subscriptions.

2. In the left pane, select Access control (IAM).

3. Click Add and select Add role assignment.

4. Choose Contributor as the role and search for your application by name.

5. Select the application you created as a member.

6. Save the assignment.

Step 7. Create Azure resource groups

1. In the Azure portal menu, select Resource groups.

2. Create a resource group for the Parallels DaaS Infrastructure (e.g. Parallels_DaaS_Infra) in the region of your choice.

3. Create a resource group for the Parallels DaaS virtual machines (e.g. Parallels_DaaS_VMs) in the region of your choice.

4. Make a note of the names of these resource groups.

Step 8. Set rights for the resource groups

1. In the Azure portal menu, select Resource groups.

2. Click a resource group where the infrastructure resources will reside.

3. In the left pane, select Access control (IAM).

4. In the right pane, locate the Grant access to this resource box and click Add role assignment.

5. On the Role tab of the Add role assignment page, select Privileged administrator roles, then the Contributor role.

6. Click Next.

7. On the Members tab, select the User, group, or service principal option.

8. Click on the Select members link and enter the name of the previously created application in the Select field. Select the application in the drop-down list and click Select.

9. Click Next.

10. On the Review + assign tab, confirm that the configuration is correct and click Review + assign.

11. Perform the same steps for the virtual machines resource group.

Step 9. Register resource providers

1. In the Azure portal menu, select Subscriptions

2. Select the subscription wherein Parallels DaaS will be deployed

3. In the Left menu select Settings > Resource Providers

4. Search for Microsoft.Network and Register (if not registered)

5. Search for Microsoft.Compute and Register (if not registered)

6. Search for Microsoft.Quota and Register (if not registered)

7. Search for Microsoft.DesktopVirtualization and Register (if not registered)

Step 10. Save settings for future use

Save the following information for use in the Parallels DaaS Management Portal setup:

• Azure Tenant ID

• Azure Subscription ID

• Application (client) ID

• Infrastructure resource group name

• Virtual machines resource group name

Make sure to securely store the client secret and other sensitive information.

Next, you need to connect your Microsoft Azure subscription.

This section contains answers to frequently asked questions.

All active user sessions are displayed in the Sessions category. You can use search and filtering to find specific user sessions.

To add a user:

1. Go to the Users Management category.

2. Select the Users subcategory.

3. Click the New button. A dialog will open.

4. Select the users or groups you want to add on the left pane of the dialog.

5. Click Add.

Now your users can access all published resources using Parallels Web Client.