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.
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.
RAS Connection Broker and RAS Secure Gateway are supported on the following operating systems:
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
On Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022 both Server Core and Desktop Experience installations are supported
Note: RAS Connection Broker and RAS Secure Gateway should not be installed on a domain controller or any other machine where a DHCP server is running. This in general applies to any of the RAS components.
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 https://kb.parallels.com/en/124988.
RAS RD Session Host Agent is supported on the following operating systems:
Windows Server 2012 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.
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
For the list of supported Providers, see RAS Provider Agent Installation Options.
Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022
Windows 10 up to Windows 11
Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022
Windows 10 up to Windows 11
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
Windows 10 up to Windows 11
Windows Management Framework 3.0 and .NET Framework 4.5.2 must be installed
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
Windows 10 up to Windows 11
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
Windows Server 2016 up to Windows Server 2022
Parallels Client is approved for the following operating systems (both 32-bit and 64-bit systems are supported, where applicable):
Windows 10, 11
Windows Server 2012 R2 up to Windows Server 2022
macOS 12 Monterey to macOS 15 Sequoia. Parallels Client runs natively on Intel and Apple silicon processors.
iOS 15 up to iOS 18, iPadOS 15 up to iPadOS 18
Android 9 up to 15
Chrome OS
Note: Parallels Client for Chrome is deprecated. We recommend using Parallels Web Client instead.
Parallels Client for Linux supports the following Linux distributions (x64 versions only):
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS
Debian 11 (Bullseye), Debian 12 (Bookworm)
Fedora 37, 38
Linux Mint 20, 21
IGEL OS 11, 12
ThinOS/Dell Wyse Thin Clients 2303, 2306, 2308
Parallels Client supports all default window managers of the distributions listed above. If you use a different window manager, your experience may vary from the intended.
For a list of supported thin clients and supported hardware from Technology Partners such as Igel, HP, 10Zig, and more, please see the following KB article: https://kb.parallels.com/124606.
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.
Note: Sizing guidelines are based on Microsoft recommendations on RDS or Azure Virtual Desktop multi-session hosts.
For port requirements, please see the Port Reference section.
Workload
Example users
Example apps
Max users per vCPU
Minimum
Light
Basic data entry tasks
Database entry applications, command-line interfaces
6
2 vCPUs
8 GB RAM
16 GB storage
Medium
Consultants and market researchers
Database entry applications, command-line interfaces, Microsoft Word, static web pages
4
4 vCPUs
16 GB RAM
32 GB storage
Heavy
Software engineers, content creators
Database entry applications, command-line interfaces, Microsoft Word, static web pages, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, dynamic web pages
2
4 vCPUs
16 GB RAM
32 GB storage
Power
Graphic designers, 3D model makers, machine learning researches
Database entry applications, command-line interfaces, Microsoft Word, static web pages, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, dynamic web pages, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, CAD, CAM
1
6 vCPUs
56 GB RAM
340 GB storage