Parallels RAS VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) enables you to use host virtualization to reduce the number of physical host required to host published resources. Parallels RAS VDI supports numerous virtualization technologies, including hypervisor and cloud-based platforms.

Parallels RAS VDI also includes the Template functionality, which gives you the ability to create a template from a preconfigured host (virtual machine) and then automatically clone hosts and RD Session Host VMs from it.

Parallels RAS supports hypervisor-based Providers and cloud-based Providers.

Hypervisors

The following hypervisors are supported:

• Microsoft Hyper-V (Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022)

• Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster (Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022)

• VMware vCenter 6.5.0*, 6.7.0*, 7.x, 8.0

• VMware ESXi 6.5.0*, 6.7.0*, 7.x, 8.0

• SC//HyperCore 9.1, 9.2

• Nutanix AHV (AOS 5.15, 5.20, 6.5 LTS)

* VMware ends support of vSphere 6.5.0 and 6.7.0 on October 15, 2022. While you can still use these versions with Parallels RAS 19, it is recommended to upgrade to vSphere 7.0 to ensure long-time support.

Cloud Providers

• Microsoft Azure

• Amazon Web Services

If you are installing a dedicated RAS Provider Agent, you first need to determine where it will be installed. Depending on the Provider type, the following options are available:

• The host on which the hypervisor is running. This option is available for Microsoft Hyper-V only.

• A supported version of Windows Server running on a physical box or in a virtual machine. For supported Windows Server versions, see Software requirements > RAS Provider Agent.

The following table lists RAS Provider Agent installation options for each supported Provider:

In the table above, find the Provider type that you are using and see where the RAS Provider Agent can be installed. Depending on the available choices, do one of the following:

• Built-in Agent: The agent is a part of RAS Connection Broker, so it is already installed. When possible, it is always recommended to use the built-in Provider Agent for high availability and business continuity.

• Agent on a Windows Server (VM or HW): To use this option, make sure you have a physical box or a virtual machine running a supported version of Windows Server. You will need to specify its FQDN or IP address when adding a Provider to the Farm.

In order to function in a RAS Farm, a Provider (hypervisor or cloud-based) needs RAS Provider Agent to be installed in the Farm. RAS Provider Agent acts as an interface between other RAS components and a Provider. RAS Provider Agent conducts all communications with a Provider through the provider's native API.

Parallels RAS has two types of RAS Provider Agents that can be installed in a Farm:

• Built-in: This RAS Provider Agent is built into the RAS Connection Broker and is installed automatically when you install Parallels RAS. The agent can handle multiple Providers and can also be configured for high availability.

• Dedicated: This RAS Provider Agent is installed manually. It can handle only a single Provider. If you want to use this agent type with more than one provider, you need to install a separate instance for each provider.

Both built-in and dedicated RAS Provider Agents are compatible with all types of Providers supported by Parallels RAS. Which agent you choose to install depends only on your requirements. When possible, it is always recommended to use the built-in Provider Agent for high availability and business continuity.

What to read next:

To add a Provider:

1. In the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > Site > Providers.

2. On the Providers tab, click Tasks > Add and select the provider you want to add.

3. The Add Virtualization Provider wizard opens.

4. In the Name field, specify the name for the provider.

5. In the Description field, type an optional description.

6. In the Address field, specify the host's FQDN or IP address. For SC//HyperCore, you can specify IP addresses for several nodes.

7. Specify a user name and password to log in to the host.

8. Click the Manage Credentials button to specify the accounts that will be used to deploy RAS agents.

9. Click the Advanced Settings link to open the Advanced Provider Settings dialog. The dialog allows you choose the following options:

   • Agent address: This option becomes enabled if you select the option above it. Specify the FQDN or IP address of the host where the RAS Provider Agent is (or will be) installed. This can be either a physical box or virtual machine.
10. Click Next.

11. The wizard will now try to connect to the RAS Provider Agent. If you specified Use dedicated Provider Agent option in the previous (optional) step, but haven't installed the agent yet, click Install and follow the instructions to push install the agent on the specified host.

    Please note that for the remote installation to work, the following requirements must be met:

    • The firewall must be configured on the host to allow push installation. Standard SMB ports (139 and 445) need to be open. See also Port reference for the list of ports used by Parallels RAS.

    • SMB access. The administrative share (\\server\c$) must be accessible. Simple file sharing must be enabled.

    • Your Parallels RAS administrator account must have permissions to perform a remote installation on the host. If it doesn't, you'll be asked to enter credentials of an account that does.

    • The target host should be joined to an AD domain.
12. If you've selected Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster as the Provider type, the page opens where you can disable MAC address management for hosts. Note that you should only do it if you are using Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) or other solution to manage MAC addresses. See the explanation below.

    MAC address management is required when using Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster as a Provider. This is to avoid duplicate MAC addresses, which may occur when a host is migrated to a different node in the cluster and the MAC address is released and reused on the original node. If that happens, such a host can no longer be managed in a Farm. Parallels RAS uses a pool of static MAC addresses at the Provider level to automatically generate and assign MAC addresses to hosts. This way, when a host is migrated to a different node in the cluster, its MAC address will not be reused for a different VM and no duplicate MAC addresses will occur. The pool has 10,000 reserved MAC addresses in the range displayed in the Starting MAC address and Ending MAC address fields on the wizard page.

    As was said above, if you are already managing MAC addresses using SCVMM or other solution, clear the Enable MAC address management option.

13. Click Next.

14. If you've selected VMware vCenter as the Provider, another page opens (the page will not open for any other host type). On this page, you can specify a vCenter resource pool. This allows you to enumerate VMs by selecting a cluster (root resource pool) or an individual resource pool within a cluster. To choose a resource pool, select the Use specific resource pool option and then click the [...] button next to the Resource Pool field. In the dialog that opens, select a desired resource pool. Note that if you leave the Use specific resource pool option cleared, all VMs from the entire vCenter cluster will be retrieved (max number is 35,000). Click OK when done.

15. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Introduction

Organizations using or interested in using Microsoft Azure can provision, scale, and manage VDI and RD Session Host workloads directly from the Parallels RAS console and deploy on to Microsoft Azure using Azure Resource Manager (ARM). Parallels RAS uses a service principal with required permissions on relevant Azure resources (subscription and resource groups) to authenticate, provision and manage the resources.

Prerequisites

To use Microsoft Azure as a Provider, you need the following:

• An existing Microsoft Azure account and subscription.

• The necessary Microsoft Azure providers must be enabled, including Microsoft.ResourceGraph, Microsoft.Resources, Microsoft.Compute, Microsoft.Network.

• An ARM virtual network and subnet in your preferred region with connectivity to AD services. Microsoft Entra ID with Active Directory Domain Services (AADDS), Domain Controller in Azure IAAS or hybrid with connectivity to on-premises domain can be used.

• Site-to-site VPN or ExpressRoute is required if hybrid RAS deployment is used.

• A configured VM to be used for VDI or RD Session Host as a template.

Adding Microsoft Azure as a Provider is a two-step process:

Read on to learn how to perform the steps above.