This topic describes how to use the same Provider in multiple RAS Farms simultaneously. To better understand the problem and the solution, consider the following hypothetical example:
Let's say we have a hypervisor with two available virtual machines.
We also have two Farms (1 and 2).
Our intention is to use the first host to host resources in Farm 1 and the other to be a template in Farm 2. Both hosts will run simultaneously on the hypervisor, but each one will be available in its respective Farm only.
The problem is, RAS Guest Agent can normally communicate with one RAS Provider Agent, but since each Farm has its own RAS Provider Agent, this will not work out of the box. The solution is to make the RAS Guest Agent running in a host to be aware of only one specific RAS Provider Agent with the ability to change the assignment as needed.
The assignment is done via Windows registry. All hosts belonging to VDI pools and host clones created from a template need to have a new String value 2XVDIAgent specifying the RAS Provider Agent name or address. To add the value:
Log in to Windows running in the virtual machine, open the registry editor (regedit) and locate the following keys:
32-bit systems: HLKM\Software\Parallels\GuestAgent
64-bit systems: HLKM\Software\WOW6432Node\Parallels\GuestAgent
Add a String value named 2XVDIAgent. The value data should be specified as follows:
If a dedicated RAS Provider Agent is used, the value must be set to the FQDN or IP address of the server where the agent is installed.
If the built-in RAS Provider Agent is used with manual agent selection, the value must be set to the FQDN or IP address of the RAS Connection Broker.
If the built-in RAS Provider Agent is used and the agent is selected automatically (high availability), the string must contain FQDNs or IP addresses of all RAS Connection Brokers separated by a semicolon (i.e. <PA1 address>;<PA2 address>;<PA3 address>).
Note that you can include names or IP addresses of multiple Connection Brokers for the manual agent selection scenario as well (the second bullet in the list above). This way you will not need to change the value every time you switch the preferred Connection Broker for a Provider.
Read this section to learn how to modify the configuration of a Provider in Parallels RAS.
To configure an existing Provider:
In the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > Site > Providers. .
In the Providers tab, select a Provider and click Tasks > Properties. The Properties dialog opens.
Note: Some of the properties described below may be unavailable on some hosts. This depends on the Provider type.
By default a Provider is enabled. To enable or disable a Provider, use the Enable provider in site option on the General tab.
The General tab has different properties depending on whether it's a hypervisor-based or cloud-based provider.
Type: Provider type.
Subtype: Hypervisor version. If the hypervisor version that you are using is not listed, select Other.
Host: The Provider host IP address.
Port: Port number on which the Provider listens for incoming connections.
Resource pool: This field is enabled for VMware vCenter only. If you've specified a vCenter resource pool while adding a Provider, the pool will be displayed here. The [...] button allows you to specify a different pool (or select one if the field is empty), but only if no hosts from the current pool have been created or used in Parallels RAS in any way. If Parallels RAS detects any current usage, you will see a warning message and will not be able to change it. If you still want to select a different resource pool, you'll have manually do a full clean up in the RAS Console, so that no usage of any kind exists.
Description: An optional description.
Dedicated Provider Agent: Select this option if you have a dedicated RAS Provider Agent installed on a different host. Enter the host FQDN or IP address in the Agent address field.
Type: Cloud-based Provider type (e.g. Microsoft Azure).
Name: Provider name.
Description: An optional description.
Credentials: Credentials for the account used for installing RAS Guest Agent.
Dedicated Provider Agent: Select this option if you have a dedicated RAS Provider Agent installed on a different host. Enter the host FQDN or IP address in the Agent address field.
For description of the remaining properties of Microsoft Azure, please see Add Microsoft Azure as a Provider.
The Credentials tab has different properties depending on whether it's a hypervisor-based or cloud-based host.
Specify the username and password to log in to the Provider. Click the Check Credentials button to verify the credentials that you've entered.
The Advanced tab allows you to configure a provider to automatically change the type of the used managed disk to Standard HDD for VMs that are not currently in use. When a VM is started, the managed disk is automatically changed to the original type. This feature allows you to reduce the cost of maintaining VMs.
To enable disk storage cost optimization:
Right-click a provider in the list and choose Properties.
In the provider properties window, select the Advanced tab.
Select the Enable disk storage cost optimization option.
Select the desired option in the Set timeout before enabling storage cost optimization drop-down list.
This tab is only displayed for Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster as the Provider. It is used to enable or disable MAC address management for hosts. For more information, please see Add a hypervisor host (read the description of the step where the MAC address management is configured).
Please note that MAC address management is available in Parallels RAS since version 18. In new Parallels RAS 18 installations, this functionality is enabled by default when a Provider of type Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster is added to a farm. In older Parallels RAS versions, the functionality is disabled for existing Providers, but is enabled by default when a new Provider is added.
To verify that the RAS Provider Agent is installed and functions properly, do the following:
First, you can look at the Status column in the Farm > Site > Providers list. If there's a problem with the agent, the column will display an appropriate description. Note that in addition to the description, the Status column uses a color code to indicate the agent status as follows:
Red — Not Verified
Orange — Needs Update
Green — Verified
Right-click a host and then click Troubleshooting > Check agent in the context menu.
The Provider Agent Information dialog opens displaying the information about the Provider Agent, VDI Services, and other related info.
If the Provider Agent is not installed, click the Install button and follow the onscreen instructions. See RAS Provider Agent installation options for more info.
By default, Provider Agent is installed together with Connection Broker. However, if you want to install Provider Agent on a separate server or the push installation from the RAS Console cannot be performed for any reason. If that happens, you can install the agent by running the installer directly on the target server.
Note: You can only use these instructions to install Provider Agent in Windows.
To install the dedicated Provider Agent Agent:
Log in to the server where you want Provider Agent installed using an administrator account and close all other applications.
Copy the standard Parallels RAS installer (RASInstaller.msi) to the server and run it:
When you get to the Select Installation Type page, select Custom and click Next.
Click on RAS Provider Agent dedicated and select Entire Feature will be installed on local hard drive from the drop-down list.
Ensure that all other components are cleared (excluded from the installation) and click Next.
Click Install and follow he onscreen instruction to install the agent.
The Provider Agent does not require any configuration. Once it is installed, go back to the RAS Console, highlight the server name and click Troubleshooting > Check Agent. If the agent is installed properly, the status should change to Agent Installed.
To uninstall the Provider Agent from a server:
Navigate to Start > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a Program.
Find Parallels Remote Application Server in the list of installed programs.
If you don't have any other Parallels RAS components on the server that you want to keep, right-click Parallels Remote Application Server and then click Uninstall. Follow the instructions to uninstall the program. You may skip the rest of these instructions.
If you have other RAS components that you want to keep on the server, right-click Parallels Remote Application Server and then click Change.
Click Next on the Welcome page.
On the Change, repair, or remove page, select Change.
On the next page, select Custom.
Select RAS Provider Agent dedicated, then click the drop-down list in front of it, and click Entire feature will be unavailable.
Click Next and complete the wizard.