The following table lists the Parallels RAS 19 release history. Parallels RAS documentation is updated for every release. This guide refers to the latest Parallels RAS 19 release from the table below. If you are using a newer Parallels RAS release or version, please download the current version of the guide from https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/resources/.

This guide is intended for system administrators responsible for installing, configuring, and administering Parallels RAS. This guide assumes that the reader is familiar with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and has an intermediate networking knowledge.

Parallels RAS provides vendor independent virtual desktop and application delivery from a single platform. Accessible from anywhere with platform-specific clients and web enabled solutions, like the built-in Parallels Web Client, Parallels RAS allows you to publish remote desktops, applications and documents, improving desktop manageability, security and performance.

Parallels RAS extends Windows Remote Desktop Services by using a customized shell and virtual channel extensions over the Microsoft RDP protocol. Parallels RAS supports all major hypervisors from Microsoft, VMware, and other vendors including Hyperconverged solutions such as Nutanix AHV (AOS) and Scale Computing and Cloud platforms and services such as Microsoft Azure and Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly known as Windows Virtual Desktop), enabling the publishing of virtual desktops and applications to Parallels Client.

The product includes powerful universal printing and scanning functionality, as well as resource-based load balancing and management features.

With Parallels Device Manager Module for Parallels RAS you can also centrally manage user connections and PCs converted into thin clients using the free Parallels Client.

How does it work?

When a user requests an application or a desktop, Parallels RAS finds a least loaded RD Session Host or a guest VM on one of the least loaded Providers and establishes an RDP connection with it. Using Microsoft RDP protocol, the requested application or desktop is presented to the user. Note that in addition to RD Sessions Hosts and VDI, Parallels RAS can also be used to configure, manage and publish Azure Virtual Desktop resources.

Users can connect to Parallels RAS using Parallels Client (available at no charge), which can run on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Chrome, iOS and iPadOS. Users can also connect via an HTML5 browser or Chromebook.

As newer versions of Windows keep on being developed as time goes by, you need to defend the migration cost to your business. Parallels RAS can help. Desktop replacement allows you to extend the lifespan of your hardware and delay migration to the latest OSs to a time that suits you best. The Parallels RAS solution allows you to be very flexible: you can lock machine configurations on the user side, placing your corporate data in an extremely secure position; or you can opt to allow users to run some local and remote applications. Parallels Client Desktop Replacement is able to reduce the operability of the local machine by disabling the most common local configuration options, while guaranteeing the same level of service and security afforded by thin clients, directly from your existing PCs.

Welcome to Parallels® Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS), an integrated solution to virtualize your applications, desktops and data. Parallels RAS publishes applications and delivers remote and virtual desktops to any device on your network, anywhere.

This chapter describes how to install and activate Parallels RAS.

Before installing Parallels RAS, please verify that your hardware and software meet or exceed the hardware and software requirements described below. Please note that although Parallels RAS can be used in Workgroup environment, Parallels recommends using Active Directory to manage users, groups, and machine accounts via group policies.

Parallels RAS is extensively tested on both physical and virtual platforms. The minimum hardware requirements approved to run Parallels RAS are outlined below.

• Physical Machines – Dual Core Processor and a minimum of 4GB RAM.

• Virtual Machines – Two Virtual Processors and a minimum of 4GB of RAM.

The server hardware requirements to install and configure Parallels RAS can vary according to end-user requirements.

Typically for an installation of 30 users or under, Parallels RAS can be installed on one high specification server and the resources published directly from it. For more than 30 users, multiple servers may be required.

The below should be considered during the planning stage of a Parallels RAS deployment:

• High specification servers should be used, consisting of multiple CPU cores, a high specification disk transfer rate and plenty of RAM.

• A hypervisor-based virtual machine can be used as long as the resources needed to serve end-users are calculated accordingly.

• It is recommended that RAS Secure Gateway does not exceed 1200 users per server for incoming connections using the Gateway SSL mode.

• HALB usage should not exceed 2000 user sessions per HALB appliance. See https://kb.parallels.com/125229.

• When planning VDI Hypervisor resource requirements, extra requirements such as RAM usage per virtual machine and disk space should be taken into account.

When configuring RD Session Hosts, VDI, or Azure Virtual Desktop, please keep in mind that different types of workloads require different session host configurations. For the best possible experience, scale your deployment depending on your users' needs. The following table gives you an idea of how different workload types affect session host configurations.

For port requirements, please see the Port Reference section.

For information about Microsoft license requirements, such as Remote Desktop Services Client Access Licenses (RDS CALs) and Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) licenses, please see Appendix: Microsoft license requirements in Parallels RAS.

To install Parallels RAS:

1. Make sure you have administrative privileges on the computer where you are installing Parallels RAS.

2. Double click the RASInstaller.msi file to launch the Parallels RAS installation wizard. If you see a message that begins with "This version of Parallels RAS is only for testing purposes.", it means that it's not an official build and should not be used in a production environment.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

1. Proceed to the Select Installation Type page and select from the following:

   • Parallels Remote Application Server. The default installation that will install RAS Console, RAS Management Portal, RAS Connection Broker, RAS Secure Gateway, RAS RD Session Host Agent, RAS PowerShell, and RAS Web Administration Service on the same machine. This is ideal for testing or small production environments.

   • Parallels RAS Tenant Broker. This option installs Tenant Broker. Please note that Tenant Broker must be installed on a server separate from the existing RAS farms. For more information about Tenant Broker, please see the RAS Multi-Tenant Architecture chapter.

   • Custom. Select and install only the components that you require. You can select individual components after you click Next. Note that if a component cannot be installed on the current server, it will not be available for installation. See Software Requirements.

2. Click Next.

3. Review the notice on the Important Notice wizard page. If there's a port conflict on your computer, the information will be displayed here. You can resolve the conflict later.

4. Click Next.

5. On the Firewall Settings page, select Automatically add firewall rules to configure the firewall on this computer for Parallels RAS to work properly. See Port Reference for details.

6. Click Next and then click Install. Wait for the installation to finish and click Finish.

7. If you are upgrading your RAS installation, it is recommend to reboot all servers where components are upgraded.

When you need to install a particular Parallels RAS component on a different server, run the installation wizard again, select Custom and choose the component(s) you wish to install.

RAS Connection Broker and RAS Secure Gateway (64-bit versions only)

RAS Connection Broker and RAS Secure Gateway are supported on the following operating systems:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• On Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022 both Server Core and Desktop Experience installations are supported

RAS Web Administration Service

Same OS requirements as for RAS Connection Broker (see above). Note that for larger environments (2000 or more concurrent connections), it is recommended to install the component on a dedicated server. For details, please see .

Please also note that Windows Server 2012 R2 must have the following updates installed:

• Windows Server 2012 R2 — KB2999226

Newer versions of Windows Server do not require any specific updates.

RAS RD Session Host Agent

RAS RD Session Host Agent is supported on the following operating systems:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• Windows Server 2016 and newer must be installed using the "Desktop Experience" installation option.

• Windows Server 2012 R2 — Server Core installation option is not supported.

RAS Provider Agent

• Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

RAS Guest Agent

• Windows Server 2008 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• Windows 7 up to Windows 11

Remote PC Agent

• Windows Server 2008 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• Windows 7 up to Windows 11

Parallels RAS PowerShell

• Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• Windows 7 up to Windows 11

• Windows Management Framework 3.0 and .NET Framework 4.5.2 must be installed

Parallels RAS Console

• Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• Windows 7 up to Windows 11

RAS Enrollment Server

• Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

Parallels Client

Parallels Client is approved for the following operating systems (both 32-bit and 64-bit systems are supported, where applicable):

• Windows 7, 8.x, 10, 11

• Windows Server 2008 R2 up to Windows Server 2022

• macOS 12 Monterey to macOS 14 Sonoma. Parallels Client runs natively on Intel and Apple silicon processors.

• iOS 15 and later, iPadOS 15 and later

• Android 7 up to 12

• Chrome OS

Parallels Client for Linux supports the following Linux distributions (x64 versions only):

• Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, 20.04 LTS, 22.04 LTS

• Debian 11 (Bullseye), Debian 12 (Bookworm)

• Fedora 37, 38

• Linux Mint 20, 21

• IGEL 11, 12

• ThinOS/ Dell Wyse Thin Clients 2303