To view the Site information, select the Information category in the RAS Console.

The Site Information tab displays information about available servers, Connection Brokers, Secure Gateways (see Viewing Gateway summary and metrics), and sessions on the local computer. To view information about running applications, select the Show application information option (at the bottom of the page).

The Local Information tab shows the status of RAS components running on the local server.

This chapter describes common Parallels RAS management tasks, including Farm status monitoring, license management, backup management, and others.

To view and configure common Site settings in the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > <Site> > Settings.

Auditing

The Auditing tab allows you to configure application auditing. When enabled, application auditing monitors processes running in the Site and records this information in the audit file. To view the information, click the View Audit button (at the bottom of the page). The information is also displayed on the Information > Site page and in RAS Reports.

To enable or disable application auditing, use the Auditing drop-down list (at the bottom of the page). The Clear Audit File button clears the current audit.

The Filtering the following processes list allows you to specify processes that will be excluded from the audit. Use the Tasks drop-down list to add or delete a process. You can also use the Task menu to import and export a process list from/to a CSV file. The Task > Properties menu item allows you to edit a process name. The Default menu item resets the list to contain the default set of standard processes.

Global logging

The Global logging tab allows you to specify the log level for Parallels RAS components. Logs are used by Parallels RAS support engineers to analyze possible issues with a Parallels RAS installation. To specify the log level, select one or more servers in the list and click the Configure Logging item. In the dialog that opens, select one of the following:

• Standard — This is the standard log level that records only the most important events. Unless you are asked by Parallels RAS support to use one of the log levels described below, you should always use this one.

• Extended — This logging involves more information than the standard logging, but it slows down the system because of the additional information that it needs to collect.

• Verbose — Verbose logging involves even more information than the extended logging and can slow down your system significantly.

Please note that to avoid degraded performance, extended and verbose logging should only be enabled for a limited time period (enough to collect the necessary information for analysis). You can set this time period using Reset to the standard level after option. The default value is 12 hours. In specific cases, a Parallels support engineer will advise you whether this time period should be set to a different value. Once this time period is over, the log level will be reset back to standard.

To retrieve a ZIP archive containing the collected log files, click the Retrieve item and then specify a location where you want the file to be saved. The Clear item clears all logs.

You can also set the log level for an individual server by navigating to the page where servers of that type are listed (e.g. RD Session hosts, Gateways, etc) and clicking Tasks (or right-click) > Troubleshooting > Logging. The context menu that opens has the same Configure, Retrieve, and Clear options as described above. The Log Level column in the server list indicates the currently set level.

URL redirection

The URL redirection tab allows you to create redirection rules that specify URLs which will be redirected when the Allow Client URL/Mail redirection option is enabled for an RD Session Host, virtual machine, or Remote PC (Agent Settings tab in the corresponding server properties). You can also deny redirection of specific URLs. A URL either will be opened on the client side if redirection is allowed or on the remote session host if redirection is denied.

Note the following about redirection rules:

• Redirection rules apply from top to bottom.

• Only the first rule that match the URL applies.

• A URL will be redirected if any part of it matches a rule. For example, https://www.parallels.com, www.parallels.com, remoteapplicationserver, and www.parallels.com/remoteapplication are all valid rules for redirecting https://www.parallels.com/remoteapplicationserver.

To add a redirection rule:

1. Configure Parallels Client on your client devices to allow URL redirection.

2. For certain applications, you need to enable URL redirection on your RD Session Host, , or Remote PC (see the Agent Settings tab in the corresponding server properties).

3. (RD Session Hosts only) For certain applications, you need to enable the Replace registered applications option on the server where the application is published. To do this, go to Farm > RD Session hosts > right-click on your RD Session host > Properties > Agent Settings > Configure.

4. In the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > Settings.

5. Select the URL redirection tab.

6. Click Tasks > Add (or click the [+] icon).

7. In the URL field, specify the URL that must be redirected.

8. In the Action drop-down list, select Redirect or Do not redirect.

9. Click OK.

10. Click Apply.

Notifications

See System event notifications.

Client settings

See Specifying client settings.

Features

See FSLogix Profile Container and Enable Windows Virtual Desktop and add a provider.

Application packages

See Using MSIX application packages.

When you add a server component (Connection Broker, Gateway, RD Session Host, Provider, etc.) to a RAS Farm you have to specify its FQDN or IP address. It is normally up to you whether to use FQDN or IP address. On the other hand, the server IP address can change in the future. If that happens, you will have to reconfigure the corresponding component in the RAS Farm. On the other hand, the server FQDN usually stays the same, so if you used it instead of the IP address, no RAS configuration changes will be necessary. For this reason, Parallels RAS gives you an option to always resolve IP addresses to FQDNs for all server components in a Farm.

To always use name resolution, do the following:

1. In the RAS Console, click Tools > Options on the main menu (that's the menu at the top of the RAS Console window).

2. In the Options dialog, select the Always attempt to resolve to fully qualified domain name (FQDN) when adding hosts option.

3. Click OK.

When you now try to add a component to a Farm and enter its IP address instead of a name, it will be automatically resolved to FQDN. If the FQDN cannot be determined, you will see an error message and will be asked if you would like to use the IP address instead.

The examples below demonstrate how the automatic name resolution works for different components.

Adding a RAS Connection Broker

1. On the Connection Brokers tab, click Tasks > Add.

2. In the Server field, enter the server IP address.

3. Click Next.

4. In the dialog that opens, observe that the IP address has been resolved to FQDN and the Server field contains the FQDN.

Adding a RAS Secure Gateway

1. On the Gateways tab, click Tasks > Add.

2. In the Server field, enter the server IP address.

3. Click Resolve. This will copy the IP address to the IP(s) field and will enable the Next button.

4. Click Next.

5. In the Installing RAS Secure Gateway dialog, observer that the server IP address is replaced with the FQDN.

Adding an RD Session Host

1. On the RD Session Hosts tab, click Tasks > Add.

2. On the first page of the wizard, enter the server IP address and click the plus-sign icon.

3. Observe that the server is added to the list, but the IP address is substituted with the FQDN that was automatically resolved.

Add a provider

1. In Farm > Site > Providers tab, click Tasks > Add.

2. Select the provider you want ot add.

3. In the Address field, enter the IP address of a Provider.

4. Enter the remaining properties and click Next.

5. Observe that the Provider address is replaced with the FQDN.

When you need to perform standard Windows computer management tasks, you can do it without leaving the RAS Console. The tasks include Remote Desktop Connection, Computer Management, Service Management, Event Viewer, PowerShell, Reboot, and others. To perform these tasks, use the Tools menu, which is accessible from the Site menu and individual Parallels RAS infrastructure servers and session hosts.

Requirements for using computer management tools

Some of the tools require an appropriate target host configuration before you can use them in the RAS Console. Please read the following requirements and make sure they are met.

To use Remote Desktop, remote connections must be enabled on a target host. You can verify that by using the standard Windows Remote Desktop Connection application and see if you can connect to a remote server.

PowerShell related tools require PowerShell remoting enabled on a target server. To enable PowerShell remoting, run the Enable-PSRemoting cmdlet on a target computer in PowerShell window with administrator privileges. Please note the following:

• The cmdlet configures a computer to receive PowerShell remote commands.

• The cmdlet starts the WinRM (Windows Remote Management) service, among other tasks. To see if the WinRM service is running, use the Test-WSMan cmdlet.

• When you execute the cmdlet, it will ask you to confirm every task that it wants to perform. To execute the command silently, use the -Force option.

• If you receive an error saying that "WinRM firewall exception will not work since one of the network connection types on this machine is set to Public", you can try to execute the cmdlet with the -SkipNetworkProfileCheck option, or you can change the network connection type on this host to Domain or Private.

To use PowerShell to manage a remote host, you also need to add the host to the TrustedHosts list on the computer where you have the RAS Console installed. To view the current TrustedHosts list, execute the following command in PowerShell window:

Get-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts

To add a host to the TrustedHosts list, use one of the options described below. Please note that all examples below, except the last one, always overwrite an existing TrustedHosts list. To add a specific computer to an existing list, use the last example (the one with the -Concatenate parameter).

Add all computers to the list:

Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts *

Add all domain computers:

Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts *.domain-name.dom

Add specific computers:

Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts ,[]

Add a computer to an existing list (this is the only example that will not overwrite an existing TrustedHosts list):

Set-Item WSMan:\localhost\Client\TrustedHosts -Concatenate <ComputerName>

Available tools

The table below describes the tools available in the Tasks > Tools menu and their execution strings.

Note that individual tools availability depends on the server type. For example, HALB has only Ping in the Tools menu.

Parallels RAS 19 provides a new and modern application delivery method - Application Packages, which is based on MSIX app attach technology. MSIX app attach is a Microsoft’s application layering solution that allows you to dynamically attach applications (containerized MSIX packages) to a user session. Separating the application from the operating system makes it easier to get more control by providing the right application for the right user. Additional third party solutions such as appCURE may be used for application moderation with Parallels RAS.

Prerequisites

• , , or .

• MSIX app attach requires hosts running Windows Server 2022, Windows 11, Windows 10 version 2004 or later.

• A network share where the MSIX images will be stored. Storage requirements and recommendations are highlighted here: .

• All hosts (computer accounts) must have read permissions on the network share where the MSIX images are stored.

Enabling the Application Packages feature

To start working with MSIX application packages, you need to enable the Application Packages feature.

To enable the Application Packages feature:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Settings and select the Application packages tab.

2. Select the Enable Application Packages feature option.

Next, you need to add the package to Parallels RAS.

Creating an MSIX image

To create an MSIX package from any desktop installer such as MSI, EXE, ClickOnce, or App-V you can use the MSIX Packaging tool .

Adding an MSIX application package to Parallels RAS

To add an MSIX application package to Parallels RAS:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Application Packages.

2. Click Tasks > Add (or click the [+] icon). The Add from MSIX Image wizard opens.

3. In the MSIX Image path field, specify the path to your image or click the Browse button to select it in File Explorer. The file must be located on a network share. You can add packages from VHD, VHDX, and CIM images. All hosts (computer accounts) must have read permissions on the network share where the MSIX images are stored.

4. In the Package drop-down list select the package that you want to add.

5. In the Display Name field specify the name that will be used for this package in Parallels RAS. After that, the rest of the fields will be populated automatically.

6. Click Finish.

Next, you need to add the package to a host. After being added, a packaged application behaves the same way as a regular application as if it was installed on a host.

Adding a package to a host

To add a package to a host:

1. Make sure that the package is added to Parallels RAS as described above.

2. Go to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > RD Session Hosts.

3. Double-click the host that you want to install the package to.

4. In the properties dialog, on the Application Packages tab, click Tasks > Add (or click the [+] icon).

5. In the first column to the left, select the packages that you want to install on the host.

7. Click OK.

The selected packages will be added to the host.

Adding a package to VDI pool

To add a package to a VDI pool:

1. Make sure that the package is added to Parallels RAS as described above.

2. Go to Farm > Site > VDI > Pools.

3. Double-click the pool that you want to install the package to.

4. In the properties, on the Application Packages tab, clear option Inherit default settings.

5. Continue from Step 4 as described in the subsection "Adding a package to a host" above.

The selected packages will be added to all VMs in the pool.

Adding a package to an AVD pool

To add a package to an AVD pool:

1. Make sure that the package is added to Parallels RAS as described above.

2. Go to Farm > Site > Azure Virtual Desktop > Host pools.

3. Double-click the pool that you want to install the package to.

4. In the properties, on the Application Packages tab, clear option Inherit default settings.

5. In the properties, continue from Step 4 as described in the subsection "Adding a package to a host" above.

The selected packages will be added to all hosts in the pool.

Adding a package to Group Defaults

To add a package to Group Defaults:

1. Make sure that the package is added to Parallels RAS as described above.

2. Go to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > Groups.

3. Double-click the group or pool that you want to install the package to.

4. In the properties, continue from Step 4 as described in the subsection "Adding a package to a host" above.

Adding a package to Site Defaults

To add a package to Site Defaults:

1. Make sure that the package is added to Parallels RAS as described above.

2. Open group or pool properties as described above.

3. On the Application Packages tab, click Site Defaults.

4. In the dialog that opens, continue from Step 4 as described in the subsection "Adding a package to a host" above.

Working with version tags

You can use version tags to simplify package management. For example, you can assign different tags to packages that are ready for publishing and these that are still in the testing stage. By default, Parallels RAS uses three tags: Production, Pre-production, and Custom. You can rename tags, but you cannot add or delete them.

To rename a tag:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Settings and select Application packages tab.

2. Select the tag that you want to rename.

3. Click Tasks > Edit.

4. Change the name of the tag and press Enter.

To use tags, you need to assign them.

To assign tags to a package:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Application Packages.

2. Double-click the package.

3. In the Version tag section, select the tags that you need. You can assign several tags to one package.

To remove all tags assigned to a package:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Settings and select the Application packages tab.

2. Select the package.

3. Click Tasks > Remove all tags.

Working with certificates

Parallels RAS uses code signing certificates to ensure authenticity and content integrity of MSIX application packages.

The following code signing certificates can be used:

• Self-signed certificates

• CA certificates

• Internal CA certificates

You can provision code signing certificates via GPO or let Parallels RAS install them to hosts automatically. The code signing certificate of a package must be trusted by all hosts that use that package.

Parallels RAS allows you to add certificates to hosts automatically. This option is recommended for self-signed certificates.

To enable automatic certificate provisioning:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Settings and select the Application packages tab.

2. Select option Provision package certificates automatically.

Certificate expiration dates are shown in Farm > Site > Application packages.

Managing MSIX application packages

You can manage the added packages on the Farm > Site > Application Packages tab.

The following actions are available in the Task drop-down list:

• Add: Adds a new package.

• Change version tag: Assigns tags to a package.

• Remove all tags: Removes all tags from the package.

• Show published resources: Opens the list of all published applications from the package and the hosts they were published from.

• Show assigned session hosts: Opens the list of hosts the selected package is assigned to.

• Search: Allows you to search for a package in the list by applying a filter.

• Delete: Deletes the package from Parallels RAS.

• Settings audit: Opens the Settings Audit dialog where you can view the changes that were done to the packages.

• Refresh: Refreshes the package list.

• Properties: Shows the properties of the package (see below).

Package properties

The following settings are available in the Application package properties window:

The General tab:

• Enable application package in site: Select this option to enable the package.

• Package: Name of the package.

• Display Name: Name used for the package inside Parallels RAS.

• Version: Version of the package.

• Publisher: Common name of the publisher.

• MSIX image path: Path to the MSIX image.

• Version tag: Tags assigned to the package. You can change the assigned tags to the package from here.

• Applications: List of applications added from the package.

• Dependencies: All dependencies of the package.

• The Certificate tab:

  • Key size: Size of the certificate.

  • Expiration date: Certificate expiration date.

  • Common name: Common Name specified in the certificate.

  • View certificate info: Shows information about the certificate.

Package statuses

This topic addresses a possible issue when the root administrator is not available or the domain is changed. In such events, the system becomes inaccessible. If you encounter this issue, you can quickly add a root administrator by executing the following command on the server hosting the primary RAS Connection Broker:

2XRedundancy -c -AddRootAccount user [domain]

Please note that an open Parallels RAS console will not be notified about the new account since this is an emergency recovery. You need to log out and then log in again to see the new account in the Administration area.

You can configure system event notifications on the Farm > Site > Settings > Notifications tab. Notifications are used to alert the administrator about system events via email. When you configure notifications, the settings apply to all servers in the Farm.

To configure notifications, you first need to configure notification handlers where you can specify threshold values (where available) and whether an administrator should be notified via email. You can also configure notification scripts, which will be automatically executed when an event occurs.

The Licensing category allows you to manage your Parallels RAS license. When you click on the Licensing category, the License details tab displays the license information. Note that depending on the license type (prepaid subscription, SPLA, NFR, trial), different information is displayed. Please also note that an NFR (Not for resale) license can be either a prepaid subscription or SPLA, so different information can also be shown for an NFR license.

The information that can be displayed on the License details tab includes the following:

• License Type: The type of your Parallels RAS license (e.g. prepaid subscription, SPLA, NFR, trial).

• License Key: The license key that was used to activate the Farm (only last characters are shown).

• Support Expiration Date: The support plan expiration date.

• Upgrade Insurance: The upgrade insurance expiration date which, in case of using subscription based licenses, is in line with Expiration date, since such licenses are automatically eligible for upgrades.

• Expiration date: The license expiration date (or the number of days remaining for a trial license).

• First Activation: The date the Farm was first activated.

• Peak Users: Peak concurrent users to date. For a prepaid subscription, you can use this value to evaluate whether you might need to upgrade your subscription to include more concurrent users.

• Usage Today: SPLA license only. The number of maximum concurrent users recorded for today. Note that "today" starts at midnight UTC.

• Current Period Usage: SPLA license only. The combined usage for all Farms activated with the same license key (SPLA licenses allow the activation of multiple farms with the same key).

• Billing period started: SPLA license only. The current billing period start date.

• Billing period ends: SPLA license only. The current billing period end date.

• Current Users: The number of users currently connected to your Parallels RAS Farm.

• Maximum allowed concurrent users: Prepaid subscription and NFR licenses only. The maximum number of concurrent users that your license allows. For example, if you own a prepaid subscription and need more concurrent connections, you need to upgrade your subscription.

• Parallels Account user email: Parallels business account email that was used to activate the Farm.

• Parallels Account user name: Parallels business account user name.

• Parallels Account company: Parallels business account company name.

Please note that you can also see these values (and more) in your Parallels Account. For more information, please read the Parallels RAS Licensing Guide and Parallels RAS SPLA Guide, which are available on the Parallels website.

The View Active Users button opens a dialog where you can view currently active users and license usage. Use the toolbar buttons to refresh the list and to copy the information to the clipboard.

The Manage license button allows you to switch to a different Parallels account and to activate Parallels RAS using a different license key. Click the button to open the Sign in to Parallels My Account dialog. Use the dialog to sign in using an existing account or click Register to create a new account. If you are creating a new account, you'll also have to register a Parallels RAS license key in it and activate your Parallels RAS Farm using that key (see below).

To activate Parallels RAS using a different license key:

1. In the Sign In to Parallels My Account dialog, type the email address and password you used to register your account and click Sign In. You'll see the Activate Product dialog.

2. Select the Activate using license key option and enter the key in the field provided. You can click the button next to the field to see the list of subscriptions and/or permanent license keys you have registered with Parallels My Account. If the list is empty, it means that you don't have a subscription yet and need to purchase one first.

3. To purchase a subscription online, click the Purchase a license link.

4. After entering a license key, click Activate. You should see the confirmation message that your Parallels RAS was activated successfully.

Template versions allow you to safely test changes on your hosts and perform rollback if necessary.

Supported providers

Template versions are supported for the following providers:

Hypervisor Providers:

• Microsoft Hyper-V

• Microsoft Hyper-V Failover Cluster

• VMware ESXi

• VMware VCenter

Cloud Providers:

• Microsoft Azure

Virtualization services:

• Azure Virtual Desktop

Creating a new version

To create a new version:

1. Do one of the following:

   • To create a new version for an RD Session Host template, navigate to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > Templates.

   • To create a new version for a VDI host template, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Templates.

   • To create a new version for an AVD host template, navigate to Farm > Site > Azure Virtual Desktop > Templates.

2. Select the template, enter the maintenance mode, make changes and exit. You will see a dialog that prompts you to create a new template version. Select the Create a new version option. Note: One template can have up to five versions. If you want to create another version, you will have to delete an already existing one.

3. Click Next.

4. On the New template version page, specify the name and description and select the tags for the version. If the tag was previously assigned to another version, it will be removed from this version. You can select several tags.

5. Click Next.

6. (Optional) On the Select host pools page, select the host pools that you want to recreate on schedule and click the Configure button. You will see a dialog that allows you to schedule recreation. Configure the schedule according to your needs and click Next.

7. Click Finish.

Working with version tags

To rename a tag:

1. Navigate to Farm > Site > Settings and select Template versions tab.

2. Double-click the tag that you want to rename.

3. Change the name of the tag and press Enter.

To reassign tags of a version:

1. Do one of the following:

   • To reassign tags for RD Session Host template, navigate to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > Templates.

   • To reassign tags for a VDI host template, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Templates.

   • To reassign tags for an AVD host template, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Azure Virtual Desktop > Templates.

2. Select a template and click Tasks > Versions. The Versions dialog opens.

3. Select a version and click Tasks > Properties.

4. In the Version tag section, select the tags that you need. If the tag was previously assigned to another version, it will be removed from this version. You can assign several tags to a version. If another host pool uses the same version with the same tags, you will see a dialog that allows you to recreate hosts in that host pool.

Deleting a version

To delete a version:

1. Do one of the following:

   • To delete a version of an RD Session Host template, navigate to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > Templates.

   • To delete a version of a VDI host template, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Templates.

   • To delete a version of an AVD host template, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Azure Virtual Desktop > Templates.

2. Select a template and click Tasks > Versions. The Versions dialog opens.

3. Select a version and click Tasks > Delete.

Settings audit

Settings audit allows you to see recent changes to versions.

To see settings audit:

1. Do one of the following:

   • For RD Session Host template version settings audit, navigate to Farm > Site > RD Session Hosts > Templates.

   • For a VDI template version settings audit, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Templates.

   • For an AVD template version settings audit, navigate to Farm > Site > VDI > Azure Virtual Desktop > Templates.

2. Select a template and click Tasks > Versions. The Versions dialog opens.

3. Select a version and click Tasks > Settings audit.

When you add Parallels RAS components to a Farm, you install a corresponding RAS Agent on them. This includes RAS Connection Broker, RD Session Host Agent, Provider Agent, Guest Agent, Remote PC Agent. In addition to the functionality that allows you to check agent status, and update it if necessary, you can do a bulk agent update or upgrade.

There are two ways you can find out if agents need to be updated. You can be notified by Parallels RAS or you can check the status and initiate the update procedure manually.

When the Parallels RAS Console starts, you may see a message box saying that Agents need to be installed or updated. You can start the update procedure by clicking Yes in this dialog. You will then see a list of all servers on which an Agent needs to be updated where you can decide whether to included a server in the bulk update procedure or exclude it. Once you've made your selection, follow the onscreen instructions and update the Agents.

To initiate the procedure manually, click the Task > Upgrade all Agents in the RAS Console where this menu is available (most of the views where it makes sense). You can also right-click inside the view and choose Upgrade all Agents. Follow the onscreen instructions and select the servers on which an Agent requires an update or upgrade. Please note that if all Agents on all servers displayed on a given pane are up to date, the menu option will be disabled.

For example, to upgrade all primary Connection Brokers in all sites, select Farm > Farm and then click Tasks > Upgrade all Agents (or right-click inside the pane and choose Upgrade all Agents). To upgrade all Agents on all servers in a Site, select Farm > <Site> and click Tasks > Upgrade all Agents. Similarly, to upgrade Agents on all RAS Secure Gateways, select Farm > <Site> > Secure Gateways and use the same Tasks > Upgrade all Agents menu item. For other components, do exactly the same. Note that if you use the same credentials on all servers, you will have to enter them only once. The update procedure will remember the last entered credentials and will try to use them on all servers. If the credentials don't work on a server, you'll be asked to enter them again.

Please note that after you click the Tasks > Upgrade all Agents menu, the dialog that opens will contain the hosts on which an Agent needs updating or upgrading. The Status column in the list will indicate that and the host will be preselected for the upgrade. Unverified Agents will also be included in the list but will not be preselected. You can select them if you believe that an Agent has to be upgraded on them too.

If you use an HTTP proxy server on your network, you need to configure it in the RAS Console. The proxy server settings will be used during Parallels RAS license updates and by other features that communicate with the Parallels cloud.

To configure a proxy server:

1. In the RAS Console, navigate to Administration > Settings.

2. In the HTTP Proxy settings section, click the Configure Proxy button.

3. In the dialog that opens, select one of the following options:

   • No Proxy server — if you don't use a proxy server.

   • Manual HTTP proxy configuration — select this option to specify the settings manually. The Detect Settings button will attempt to detect the proxy settings automatically.

     The Proxy requires authentication option allows you to specify or omit credentials for the proxy server. If your proxy server uses an IP address to authenticate clients, you can omit the credentials. Otherwise, select this option and specify a user name and password.

4. Click OK to save the settings.

The Mailbox tab in the Administration category allows you to configure an SMTP server for outgoing emails. The SMTP server is required for the administrator to receive system event alerts (as described in the previous sections) and to send invitation emails to users.

To configure an SMTP server:

1. In the RAS Console, select the Administration category and then click the Mailbox tab.

2. In the Mail Server field, type your mail server FDQN or IP address.

3. In the TLS / SSL drop-down list, select whether to use it the protocol.

4. Select the SMTP server requires authentication option if required and then type the SMTP server username and password in the fields provided.

5. In the Sender information section, type the sender email address (e.g. your email).

6. The Test mailbox settings section can be used to test your SMTP server configuration. Enter one or more email addresses separated by a semicolon. Click Send Test Email to test the settings.

If you encounter an issue related to z-order in applications published with Parallels RAS, you can try doing the following:

1. Open the Windows Registry.

2. Create a value named EnableRemoteAppFixes with the type DWORD in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Parallels\MemShell\ key.

3. Depending on the problem, specify one of the following values:

   • If tray icons are not shown, specify 1.

   • If a dialog is now shown until it is resized, specify 2.

   • If a dialog is covered by the parent application and not displayed at all, specify 4.

Parallels RAS gives you the ability to audit the modifications that were done to a Parallels RAS Farm, including changes to any of the components, objects, resources, and users. This information is stored in a database, so it can be reviewed and possibly reverted, if needed. The information is stored in the primary database but is replicated in a local database on the computer where Parallels RAS Console is running.

You can view the list of modifications using one of the following options:

• By navigating to Administration > Settings audit. The tab displays the main list of all changes to any components/objects in the Farm. If a modification can be reverted, you can do it here.

• By clicking Tasks > Settings audit on any pane in the RAS Console that supports this functionality. Compared to the main list (described above), you will only see modifications to the same types of components or objects that are managed on a given pane. You can also revert a modification here if it can be reverted. If the Settings audit menu option is not available on a particular pane, it means that the functionality is not available for the types of components or objects that this pane manages.

The following describes in detail how to view and revert Farm modifications.

View the main settings audit list

To view the main list of all modifications for a Farm, do the following:

1. In the Parallels RAS Console, select the Administration category and then click the Settings audit tab.

2. The sync process will check that the local audit database is in sync with the primary database and will do an update if necessary (you may see a progress indicator while the syncing is in progress).

3. Once the syncing is complete, the Settings audit tab will be populated with data. Each entry in the list corresponds to a modification that was done either by a RAS administrator or a system service.

Turning off audit databases synchronization

By default, Parallels RAS synchronizes audit databases across all Connection Brokers. This will take more time as the databases grow. You can turn off database synchronization, in which case you will only have access to the audit database on the current Licensing Connection Broker. If you change Licensing Connection Broker, you will not have access to the previous audit database without enabling synchronization.

To turn off audit databases synchronization:

1. On the Settings audit tab, click the Tasks drop-down list and select Settings.

2. Clear the Replicate administrators' audit data on all Connection Brokers option.

3. Click OK.

Information about modifications

The information for each entry in the list includes the following:

• Date: Date and time of the modification.

• Session: Session ID.

• Username: The name of the administrator or RAS service that was responsible for the modification. RAS services may include System (redundancy service) and Connection Broker (controller service).

• Action: The action that was performed, such as Connect, Disconnect, Create, Update, Switch site, and others.

• ID: The affected object's ID.

• Site: The number and name of the affected Site. "Global" means the change affected all sites.

• Type: The modification type. This usually makes sense when viewed together with the Action value.

• Name: The value in this column is displayed for some entries and can provide additional information, such as the name of the changed object.

Common tasks

You can perform the following actions on the list:

• To refresh the list, click the "recycle" icon (top right).

• To view details for an entry, double-click it (or select an entry and click Tasks > View entry).

• To search for a specific entry (or entries), click the magnifying glass icon (top right). An extra row is added at the top of the list allowing you to enter the search criteria. You can type a string to search for in one or multiple columns. The search is performed as you type and the list is filtered to include only the matching entries. To cancel filtering and display the complete list, click the magnifying glass icon again.

Reverting a modification

To revert a modification in the main list:

1. Double-click a desired entry on the Settings Audit tab.

2. The Audit Entry dialog opens. While here, you can click Next and Previous buttons to go to the next or previous item as they are displayed in the main list.

3. To revert the change, click the Revert button. If the button is disabled, it means that the change cannot be reverted.

Changes that can never be reverted include the following:

• Any changes done by System or Connection Broker (as displayed in the Username column).

• Changes that were done in previous versions of Parallels RAS where this feature did not exist.

• Changes related to administrator accounts.

View a local settings audit list

You can also view and revert configuration changes for a specific type of RAS components or objects. When you are on a particular pane (or tab) in the RAS Console, look for the Tasks > Settings audit menu option (or right-click > Settings audit). If it's there, then you can view the changes and revert them if needed. Consider the example below.

Let's say you want to see changes that were done to RD Session Hosts. To do so:

1. In the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > <Site> > RD Session Hosts.

2. Click Tasks > Settings audit.

3. The Settings Audit dialog opens listing all known modifications that were done to RD Session Hosts. The modifications may include creating, moving, deleting, or updating an RD Session Host. The type of the modification is displayed in the Action column in the list.

4. To revert a modification, select it and click the Revert button (in the lower right of the dialog). If the button is disabled when you select a particular entry, it means that the modification cannot be reverted.

The local settings audit functionality is available for most of the major components and objects in the Parallels RAS Console. This includes RD Session Hosts (including Groups and Scheduler), VDI, Remote PCs, Gateways, Connection Brokers, Themes, Publishing, Quick Keypad, and many others. Once again, when you view a particular pane, look for the Tasks > Settings audit menu option (or right-click > Settings audit). If it's there, then you can view the changes and revert them if needed.

When a remote user starts a published application or desktop, a set of session variables is created by Parallels RAS on the host server. The variables contain information about the client machine, which you can examine if needed. The variables are always updated, so on connect/reconnect they always contain the latest values.

The following RAS session variables are available:

You can view RAS session variables and their values using one of the following two methods:

• By examining the Windows registry on the host server.

• By executing the GetRASVariable.exe utility (provided by Parallels RAS).

Each method is described below.

Examine the registry

To see the variables, run regedit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Parallels\Shell\<Session-ID>, where <Session-ID> is the ID of a session as displayed in the RAS Console (e.g. 2, 3, 4, etc.) The variables for a particular session are listed under the session ID node. On user connect/reconnect they are updated to reflect the actual client configuration. The variables exist for the duration of a session and are removed from the registry once the session is terminated.

Please note that in addition to the variables listed in the table above you may see other (undocumented) variables under a session ID. Those are for internal Parallels RAS use only and should be ignored.

Using GetRASVariable.exe utility

The GetRASVariable.exe utility is located in the Parallels RAS installation folder (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Parallels\ApplicationServer). To obtain a value of a variable, execute the utility from the command line passing the variable name as parameter (see the table above). The utility will output the value to the screen.

The following example displays the value of the TUX_REMOTECLIENT_MACHINE variable:

GetRASVariable.exe TUX_REMOTECLIENT_MACHINE

To configure notification scripts:

1. On the Notifications tab, click Tasks > New (or click the plus-sign icon) in the Notifications scripts section.

2. In the dialog that open, specify the following options:

   • Script name: Enter a friendly name for the script.

   • Command: The command to execute.

   • Arguments: Command line arguments to pass to the command. An argument can be one of the predefined variables, which Parallels RAS will automatically replace with an actual value. See the Command Line Variables table below (the ID column contains the values that can be used here).

   • Initial directory: The full path to the current directory for the process. The string can also specify a UNC path.

   • User name, Password: These are optional fields that you can specify if you would like to execute the command under a specific user account.

3. When done, click OK to save the notification script item.

To modify a notification script, right-click it and choose Properties.

To delete a script, right-click and choose Delete. Please note that if a script is used by a notification handler, you will see a warning message. If you choose to delete it anyway, the script association will be removed from all notification handlers where it is used and all affected handlers will be automatically configured to send an email alert.

Command line variables

The following table lists command line variables that you can use as arguments when executing a script (see the Arguments option description above):

Notification types

The following table lists supported notification types (the ID column represents values that are passed to the ($NOTIFICATION-TYPE) command line variable):

To configure notification handlers:

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

2. Select the Notifications tab.

3. Click Tasks > New (or click the plus-sign icon) and choose an event for which to create a handler. For the list of events and their descriptions, please see the System Events subsection below.

4. A dialog opens where you can specify the event handler setting.

   On the General tab, specify the following options:

   • The threshold value (a number or percentage). Not available for some events (such as Licensing, Agent, and some other events).

   • The direction (whether the event should trigger when the value rises above or drops below the specified value). Not available for some event (same as above).

   • Whether to notify the administrator via email.

   • Additional emails (separated by commas or semi-colons) to which to send event messages.

   • Whether to execute a script when the event triggers. Here you need to select the Execute a notification script option and then choose a script from the drop-down list. Before you can use this option, you need to create one or more scripts as described in .

   On the Criteria tab, specify the following:

   • Type: Select the type of objects that trigger notifications.

   • All servers in site: Select this option to include all available servers.

   • Available: Select objects that trigger notifications.

   On the Settings tab, specify the following:

   • Use default settings: Select this option to use default settings. To edit defaults, click the Edit Defaults link. To use custom settings, clear this option and specify the options as described below.

   • Notification handler grace period: Specify a time period (in minutes) to wait from the event occurrence until the notification is triggered. Some events may trigger but last for a very short period of time. For example, a CPU usage can sharply jump above the specified threshold but quickly return to normal. For such events, it would probably make sense not to trigger the notification right away. This option allows you to specify the delay.

   • Notification interval: Specify the minimum time interval (in minutes) between the last and the next notification. Allows to prevent multiple notifications to be emailed to administrators in rapid succession (i.e. prevents spamming).

   • Send one notification and suspend further notifications until recovered: When this setting is enabled, a notification will be raised only once, and after that it will be suspended until the values monitored by the notification have recovered. For example, if the CPU usage is above the threshold for the whole day, instead of executing the notification handler multiple times, RAS would execute it only once.

5. When done, click OK to save the notification handler.

To enable or disable an event handler, select or clear the checkbox in the first column, or right-click an event and choose Enable or Disable. To modify a handler, right-click it and choose Properties. To delete a handler right-click and choose Delete.

System events

You can create notification handlers for the following system events:

• CPU utilization. Triggers when CPU utilization rises above or drops below a specified value.

• Memory utilization. Triggers when memory utilization rises above or drops below a specified value.

• Number of RDSH sessions. Triggers when the number of active sessions rises above or drops below a specified value.

• Number of disconnected RDSH sessions. Triggers when the number of disconnected sessions rises above or drops below a specified value.

• RDSH session utilization. Triggers when the number of RDSH sessions rises above or drops below a specified percentage of the maximum number of sessions.

• RDSH disconnected sessions utilization. Triggers when the number of RDSH disconnected sessions rises above or drops below a specified percentage of the maximum number of sessions.

• AVD session utilization. Triggers when the number of AVD sessions rises above or drops below a specified percentage of the maximum number of sessions.

• AVD disconnected sessions utilization. Triggers when the number of disconnected AVD sessions rises above or drops below a specified percentage of the maximum number of sessions.

• Number of gateway tunneled sessions. Triggers when the number of gateway tunneled sessions rises above or drops below a specified value.

• Failed gateway tunneled sessions. Triggers when a connection between a gateway and a resource object cannot be established.

• RAS Agents events. Triggers when an agent event occurs (e.g. agent disconnects or reconnects).

• Licensing events. Triggers when a licensing event occurs. One notable event here is the license usage reaching a predefined threshold. Specifically, when the license usage reaches 90% of all available licenses, you will receive an email, so you have time to decide whether you have enough licenses or need to add more. Other events include license activation/deactivation, license expiration, grace period starting/ending, license information changes, problem communicating with the licensing server.

• Authentication server events. Triggers when a connection issues occurs with an authentication server.

• Published items events. Triggers when a published item event occurs (e.g. the concurrent instance limit for an application is reached).

• Template events. Triggers when a VDI event occurs (e.g. a template is not found).

Parallels RAS components are monitored and logs are created containing relevant information. Logs are used by Parallels RAS support engineers to analyze possible issues with a Parallels RAS installation. As a Parallels RAS administrator you have the ability to set the log level for a specific component or multiple components. By default, the standard log level is used, which collects and saves only the essential information. A Parallels RAS support engineer can ask you to enable the extended or verbose log level when an additional information is required to analyze an issue.

To set the log level for a specific component/server, navigate to the page in the RAS Console where the components of that type are listed (e.g. RD Session hosts, VDI, Gateways, Connection Brokers), select a component and then click Tasks (or right-click) > Troubleshooting > Logging > Configure. This opens the Set Log Level dialog where you can choose a log level from the following:

• Standard — This is the standard log level that records only the most important events. Unless you are asked by Parallels RAS support to use one of the log levels described below, you should always use this one.

• Extended — This logging involves more information than the standard logging, but it slows down the system because of the additional information that it needs to collect.

• Verbose — Verbose logging involves even more information than the extended logging and can slow down your system significantly.

Please note that to avoid degraded performance, extended and verbose logging should only be enabled for a limited time period (enough to collect the necessary information for analysis). You can set this time period using Reset to the standard level after option. The default value is 12 hours. In specific cases, a Parallels support engineer will advise you whether this time period should be set to a different value. Once this time period is over, the log level will be reset back to standard.

To retrieve a ZIP archive containing the log files, click Tasks (or right-click) > Troubleshooting > Logging > Retrieve and then specify a location where you want the file to be saved. The Clear item in the same context menu clears all logs.

Note that you can also set the log level on the Farm > <Site> > Settings > Global logging tab, where you can see RAS components of all types in one list. For more information, see Site settings.

Log rotation

Parallels RAS log rotation works as follows:

1. When the total size of all log files reaches a predefined size (200 MB by default), the logs are archived. This is done log by log by appending the current timestamp to the filename and starting a new empty log file.

2. A new ZIP file is created for each old log named %logname%_%DATE%.zip . (e.g. console_10.06.2018.zip, controller_10.06.2018.zip).

3. Renamed old logs are moved to the ZIP file. Parallels RAS keeps five ZIP files by default.

4. When the maximum number of archived files is exceeded, the oldest file is deleted.

5. This log rotation mechanism guarantees that the total log file size never exceeds X * Y * Z MB, where X is the total size of all log files (200 MB by default), Y is the maximum number of ZIP files (5 by default) and Z is the number of RAS components.

6. The X and Y values from the example above are pre-configured in Windows registry on a computer hosting a given RAS component. The default values are the same for every RAS component. To modify the values, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Wow6432Node > Parallels and set the LogMaxSize and LogMaxBackups values for a RAS component. Restart the services after modifying the values.

If you have an idea of a new feature for Parallels RAS, we would like to hear from you! To suggest a feature, in the RAS Console, click Help on the main menu and choose Suggest a Feature. This will take you to the Parallels RAS Feature Suggestion web page where you can communicate your ideas to us. Please note that you must be signed in using your Parallels account email address and password to post in the feature suggestion forum.

If you are experiencing an issue with Parallels RAS, you can search for a solution right from the RAS Console. If you can't find a solution, you can send a support request to Parallels. This section describes how to accomplish these tasks.

Search for a solution

To search for a solution from the RAS Console:

1. In the console, click Help on the main menu and choose Troubleshooting and request support.

2. The Troubleshooting dialog opens.

3. In the Select Category drop-down list, select a category you are having a problem with. The area in the middle of the dialog will be populated with a list of existing KB articles related to that category.

4. Click an article of interest to read in a web browser.

5. You can also click Knowledge Base Index or Forums links to go to the Parallels knowledge base or Parallels forums.

Request support

If you can't find a solution for your problem using the options described above, you can send a support request to Parallels. When you do, the collected logging information is retrieved and attached to the email, so that Parallels Support can analyze it. See Logging for more information.

Before you request support, please make sure that you have a mailbox setup in the RAS Console. If you haven't set up a mailbox yet, do it as follows:

1. In the RAS Console, navigate to Administration > Mailbox.

2. Enter your outgoing email server information, your email address, and the security/authentication information if needed.

3. You can send a test email by entering an email address in the field provided and clicking the Send Test Email button.

To send a support request to Parallels:

1. In the Troubleshooting dialog, click the Send Support Request button.

2. The Contact Support dialog opens.

3. Enter your full name and your company name.

4. Enter the subject. This will be used as a subject in the email that will be sent to Parallels Support.

5. In the Enter your query box, describe the issue the best you can.

6. Use the Attachment field to attach a file to the email. Click the [...] button to browse for a file. You can attach a picture or any other file that you think might help the Parallels Support to find a solution. Please note that the log files and the Parallels RAS settings are collected and attached to the email automatically, so you don't have to do it yourself.

7. In the drop-down list at the bottom of the dialog, select whether you want to send the email or save it (including the automatically collected information) as a zip file.

8. Depending on the action selected in the previous step, click Send to send the email or Save to save it as a zip file on your local drive or a network folder.

Send a report

If you already have a support request ticket, you can send just a system report to Parallels without creating a new ticket.

To send a report:

1. In the console, click Help on the main menu and choose Upload System Report to Parallels.

2. A dialog opens displaying the progress bar.

3. Once the system report data is collected and sent to Parallels, a message box is displayed containing the report number.

4. Click OK to finish.

Contacting the local support

If your root administrator added a URL to the local support portal, you can navigate to it using the Request Support option in the Help menu.

Parallels RAS PowerShell allows you to perform the majority of Parallels RAS administration tasks from the command line.

This section contains information about using PowerShell to export and import Farm settings. To learn more about Parallels RAS PowerShell, please visit https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/resources/ and download (or view online) the Parallels RAS PowerShell Guide.

One of the uses of exporting and importing Farm settings is running automated tests. Specific configurations can be created, exported, and then imported for specific test scenarios. You can also use this functionality with Windows task scheduler for regular backups of Farm settings.

Installing Parallels RAS PowerShell

RAS PowerShell is installed by default when you run the default Parallels RAS installation. If you haven't installed it (or to install it on a different computer), do the following:

1. Run the Parallels RAS installer.

2. Select Custom and then select the Parallels RAS PowerShell component.

3. Complete the wizard and install Parallels RAS PowerShell.

Using Parallels RAS PowerShell

The complete up-to-date information about Parallels RAS PowerShell can be found in the Parallels RAS PowerShell Guide. The guide includes the Getting Started chapter to help you quickly get started with Parallels RAS PowerShell, as well as the complete reference and code samples. Please visit https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/resources/ to view or download the guide.

Use the instructions below to export and import Parallels RAS Farm settings.

To import the Parallels RAS PowerShell module, open the PowerShell console and execute the following command:

Import-Module PSAdmin

Create a Parallels RAS session (use the name or IP address of the server where you have Parallels RAS installed):

New-RASSession -Server "server.company.dom"

To export Farm settings, execute the following command (substitute the path and filename of the backup file with your own):

Invoke-RASExportSettings "C:\Backup\RAS-backup.dat2"

To import Farm settings:

Invoke-RASImportSettings "C:\Backup\RAS-backup.dat2"

Keeping Parallels RAS up to date

By default, Parallels RAS checks for updates each time the RAS Console is started. If you wish to change this behavior:

1. Select the Administration category and click the Settings tab.

2. Select or clear the Check for updates when launching Parallels RAS Console option according to your needs.

3. Select or clear the Automatically update RAS Session Host Agents option according to your needs.

4. To check for updates manually, click the Check Now button.

Backing up the Parallels RAS Farm configuration

To backup the Parallels RAS Farm configuration:

1. Select the Administration category and then click the Settings tab.

2. Click the Export Settings button.

3. You'll see a message box saying that all sites will be synchronized. Click Yes to continue with export or click No to abort it.

4. Specify the file name and target folder and click Save.

To restore a Parallels RAS Farm configuration from a backup file, click the Import Settings button and select a backup file (the default file extension is .dat2). When you import a configuration from a file, your existing Farm configuration will be completely replaced with it.

You can also export and import a Parallels RAS Farm configuration from the command line. For complete instructions, please read on.