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.

Parallels RAS 19.4.2

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.4.2:

• Ability to redirect local disk drives as read-only.

• Ability to limit clipboard to plain text.

• Ability to use SAML SSO together with credentials for user authentication.

• Ability to add a custom background for User Portal.

• Ability to select whether unenrolled users can see the The user name or password is incorrect error when they enter incorrect credentials for TOTP, Google Authenticator, and email OTP.

• Ability to automatically connect to an alternative Connection Broker.

Parallels RAS 19.4.1

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.4.1:

• Ability to select if Parallels Client detection is triggered on sign-in to User Portal or after the user confirms it via a prompt

• Ability to configure a Service URL through which User Portal will detect the IP of the browser it is running on

• Added an option to map the Windows key to a key combination when running User Portal on Chrome OS

Parallels RAS 19.4

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.4:

• Ability to send OTP via email.

• Ability to automatically upgrade Agents on RD Session Hosts, VDI, and Azure Virtual Desktop.

• Support for IGEL 11 and 12.

• Extended image management for Nutanix AHV (AOS).

• Support for Scale Computing SC//HyperCore 9.2.

• Ability to enable tunneling for the <Default> Theme.

• Ability to edit the message that will be shown by Parallels Client when users sign in using MFA for Radius and TOTP.

• Active Directory (AD) based permissions for session management.

• Ability to add a customizable URL that points to internal support from RAS Console and Management Portal.

• Administrator permissions to view license information.

• Ability to configure the minimum key size of certificate authority templates.

• Validation of HTTP host headers to protect against host header injections.

• New predefined reports:

  • Sessions disconnections for host pools

  • Transport protocol for host pools

  • Bandwidth availability for host pools

  • Latency for host pool

  • Connection quality for host pool

  • UX Evaluator for host pool

  • Logon duration for host pool

• Azure Virtual Desktop improvements.

Parallels RAS 19.3.1

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.3.1:

• Ability to automatically reset sessions on user logoff.

• Azure Virtual Desktop improvements.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.3

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.3:

• Template versioning for RD Session Hosts, VDI, and Azure Virtual Desktop. This feature includes the following:

  • Version management

  • Version tags

  • The ability to assign template versions to host pools for RD Session Hosts, VDI, and Azure Virtual Desktop.

  • Scheduled template recreation for RD Session Hosts, VDI, and Azure Virtual Desktop.

• Ability to configure user profiles and other settings on the host pool level.

• Ability to change user passwords via third-party IdPs.

• New policy for configuring drive redirection cache.

• New policy for prohibiting saving username.

• Ability to drain and power off hosts based on the workload.

• FSLogix Office Containers support and enhanced management for FSLogix.

• Dynamic printer mapping.

• Azure Virtual Desktop improvements.

• Add multiple provider addresses for the SC//HyperCore provider.

• Ability to hide billing information on Tenants.

• Ability to recreate hosts keeping the existing MAC addresses on the SC//HyperCore provider.

• TLS 1.3 support.

• FIPS 140-2 compliance.

• Terminology updates:

  • References to Pools/Groups have been standardized as "Host Pools".

  • Reference to Desktop/Guests have been standardized as "Hosts".

• New predefined reports:

  • Session activity

  • Disconnection reasons

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.2.3

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.2.f3:

• Ability to turn off audit database synchronization across Connection Brokers.

• Support for drive redirection cache in a session initiated by Parallels Client for macOS.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.2.2

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.2.2:

• Ability to modify the license type of a host when it joins a host pool. You can also manually change the license type of any host within a host pool.

• Ability to lock or log off from a computer when all user sessions are closed.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.2

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.2:

• Integration with MSIX app attach for AVD.

• Disk storage cost optimization for VDI and AVD.

• Ability to choose the transport protocol for connections between Parallels Client and a server on RDSH, VDI, and Remote PC.

• Ability to use RDP Shortpath for single-session and multi-session AVD hosts.

• Ability to connect to AVD resources using Parallels Web Client.

• New policy for selecting the display configuration.

• Ability to assign persistent hosts by the client device hostname.

• Ability to recreate RD Session Hosts and hosts with their original BIOS UUID on ESXi and vCenter (works automatically).

• Added Microsoft Authenticator as a TOTP provider.

Deprecations and updated system requirements:

• See Software Requirements for updated system requirements for components and clients.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.1

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.1:

• Integration with MSIX app attach for VDI.

• Search for client policies.

• Ability to update all agents in an AVD host pool simultaneously.

• New policy for configuring dynamic desktop resizing for published applications.

• New policy for configuring multimedia redirection on Azure Virtual Desktop.

• Ability to register public domain addresses when using a secret key for joining a RAS Tenant Broker.

• Ability to supply public domain addresses when joining a tenant to a RAS Tenant Broker using a secret key.

• Ability to easily view the details of a failure to create a hosts.

• New predefined reports:

  • Transport protocol (TCP/UDP)

  • Network latency

  • Connection quality

  • Bandwidth availability

Deprecations and updated system requirements:

• See Software Requirements for updated system requirements for components and clients.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

Parallels RAS 19.0

The following new features were added in Parallels RAS 19.0:

• Support for Amazon Web Services as a cloud provider and ability to use EC2 instances.

• Integration with MSIX app attach.

• Let's Encrypt certificate management.

• New Parallels Client for Windows for ARM64.

• Expression-based client policies, filtering for published resources and MFA configuration.

• Power management: starting up and shutting down servers on schedule. Schedules can be created for RD Session Hosts, VDI, and AVD hosts.

• Email-based account discovery that gives users quick access to the RAS resources when using the Parallels Client.

• Logon hours restrictions that allow to restrict user access to published resources during specified time frames.

• Ability to assign different MFA providers to different Themes.

• Ability to specify URLs to be redirected to local end user device or to be launched in the remote session.

• Ability to delegate to Custom administrators permissions for working with specific publishing folders.

Deprecations and updated system requirements:

• See Software Requirements for updated system requirements for components and clients.

For the complete list of new features and improvements, see Release notes: https://kb.parallels.com/en/129018.

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.

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.

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.

This chapter will help you get started with Parallels RAS. Read it to learn how to use the Parallels RAS Console and how to set up a simple RAS environment.

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 .

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 .

• 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.

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 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.

After you added an RD Session Host, you can publish applications from it.

To publish an application:

1. In the Parallels RAS Console, select the Start category and click the Publish Applications item in the right pane.

2. The Publish Applications wizard opens. On the first page, select one or more servers from which the application should be published. You can select all servers, server host pools, or individual servers.
3. Click Next.

4. On the next page, select one or more applications you want to publish.

   If you've selected more than one server on the previous screen, the Show applications not available on all target servers option becomes enabled. If the option is cleared (default), the folder tree will contain applications that are available on each and every server that you selected. If the option is enabled, the tree will contain applications that may be available on some server(s), but not on the others.
5. Click Next. Review the summary information and click Next again.

6. Click Finish when ready.

To verify that an application has been successfully published, select the Publishing category in the RAS Console. The application should be included in the Published Resources list (the middle pane).

Your Parallels RAS Farm is now fully operational. You have an RD Session Host and published application(s). All you need to do now is invite your users to install the Parallels Client software on their devices and connect to the Parallels RAS Farm.

Note: Consider allowing users to access the published resources by using their email instead of Secure Gateway IP address or hostname. For information on how to do it, see .

To invite users:

1. In the Parallels RAS Console, select the Start category and click the Invite Users item.

2. The Invite Users wizard opens. On the first page, specify the mailbox information that should be used to send invitation emails to users.

   Specify the following options:

   • Mailbox Server: Enter the mailbox server name. For example, mail.company.com:500

   • Sender Address: Enter the email address.

   • TLS / SSL: Choose whether to use the TLS/SSL protocol.

   • SMTP server requires authentication: Select this option if your SMTP server requires authentication. If it does, also type the username and password in the fields provided.

   In the Test Email section, type one or more email addresses to which a test email should be sent (separate multiple address with a semicolon). Click the Send Test Email button to send the email.
3. Click Next.

4. On the next page of the wizard, specify target platforms and connection options:

   • In the target devices list, select the types of devices to send an invitation to. Each target device of a particular type will receive an email with instructions on how to download, install, and configure the Parallels Client software on that device type.

   • In the Public address field, specify a public FQDN or IP address. This setting is used by the Preferred routing functionality to redirect client connections. Please see .

   • In the Connection Mode drop-down list, select the RAS Secure Gateway connection mode. Please note that SSL modes require the gateway to have SSL configured. More information can be found in the section.

   • In the Authentication mode drop-down list, select the authentication mode for your users. For the list of authentication modes, see subsection Primary connection in the section.

   • Optionally, click the Advanced button to open the Advanced Settings dialog. This dialog allows you to specify a third-party credential provider component. If you use such a component to authenticate your users, specify its GUID in this dialog. For more information, see .
5. Click Next.

6. On the next page, specify the email recipients. Click the [...] button to select users or groups.
7. Review the invitation email template displayed in the Review the invitation e-mail box. You can modify the template text as needed. The template also uses variables, which are explained below.

   • %RECIPIENT% — Specifies the name of a recipient to whom the email message is addressed.

   • %SENDER% — The sender's email address that you specified in the first step of this wizard when you configured the outgoing email server settings.

   • %INSTRUCTIONS% — Includes a custom URL hyperlink for automatic configuration of Parallels Client. The URL uses the Parallels Client URL scheme. For more info, see .

   • %MANUALINSTRUCTIONS% — Includes instructions for manual configuration of Parallels Client.

   The variables are defined dynamically depending on the type(s) of the target devices and other settings. Normally, you should always include them in the message, so your users will receive all the necessary instructions and links. If you don't include any of the variables, you will see a warning message, but including all of them is not a requirement. To preview the message, click the Preview button. This will open the HTML version of the message in a separate window. This is the email message that your users will receive.

8. Click Next, review the summary and click Next again to send the invitation email to users.

When users receive the invitation email, they will follow the instructions that it contains to install and configure Parallels Client on their devices. Once that's done, the users will be able to connect to Parallels RAS and launch published resources.

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