Note: If you have an existing FSLogix Profile Container configuration and would like it to be managed by Parallels RAS, please read additional instructions in Configure managing existing profiles by Parallels RAS.
Microsoft FSLogix Profile Container is the preferred Profile Management solution as the successor of Roaming Profiles and User Profile Disks (UPDs). It is set to maintain user context in non-persistent environments, minimize sign-in times and provide native profile experience eliminating compatibility issues.
Beginning with version 18, Parallels provides you with the ability to integrate, configure, maintain and support FSLogix Profile Container, supporting Storage Spaces Direct, Azure Files, Azure NetApp files, based on their supported protocols such as SMB and Cloud Cache for resiliency and availability.
Parallels RAS has been tested with FSLogix Profile Container releases up to and including release 2105.
FSLogix Profile Container license eligibility, which is included if you have any of the following licenses:
Microsoft 365 E3,E5
Microsoft 365 A3,A5, Student Use Benefits
Microsoft 365 F1, F3
Microsoft 365 Business
Windows 10 Enterprise E3,E5
Windows 10 Education A3,A5
Windows 10 VDA per user
Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Client Access License (CAL)
Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Subscriber Access License (SAL)
Other prerequisites include:
Profile Container storage configured according to FSLogix recommendations.
GPO policies related to FSLogix must be disabled on hosts where Parallels RAS manages FSLogix settings
To install FSLogix Profile Container application in Parallels RAS Management Portal:
Navigate to Site Settings > FSLogix.
In the right pane, click Edit and select on the following installation methods:
Install manually: Use the FSLogix Profile Container application installed on a host manually (Parallels RAS will not install the FSLogix agent).
Install online: Install FSLogix Profile Container from the Microsoft web site. In the drop-down list, select one of the desired supported versions. To specify a custom URL, choose Custom URL and then specify a URL in the field provided. To automatically detect the latest supported version, click Detect latest. The latest version will be identified and added to the Install online drop-down list.
Install from a network share: Install the FSLogix agent you have available locally (Parallels RAS requires an official ZIP archive as provided by Microsoft).
Push from RAS Connection Broker: The latest version of the FSLogix agent is downloaded and stored on the RAS Connection Broker side to be pushed to target session hosts.
Please note that at the time of this writing RAS Management Portal can only be used to configure RD Session Hosts to use FSLogix Profile Container. For other host types, please use the desktop-based RAS Console.
To configure a session host:
Navigate to Infrastructure > RD Session Hosts.
Click a host in the list and then click Properties.
In the middle pane, click User Profile.
Click Edit to enable editing. To override Site or Host pool defaults, clear Inherit defaults and specify your own settings. To modify Site or Host pool defaults, click the corresponding link and do the editing in its respective view.
Specify the settings according to your needs.
This topic describes how to configure existing FSLogix Profile Containers to be managed by Parallels RAS. FSLogix Profile Container configuration defines how and where the profile is redirected. Normally, you configure profiles through registry settings and GPO. Parallels RAS gives you the ability to configure profiles from the Parallels RAS Console or RAS Management Portal without using external tools.
Before you configure FSLogix Profile Containers in Parallels RAS, make note of the following:
You don't have to change the profiles themselves; existing profiles stay the same.
You can keep using your existing FSLogix Profile Container locations, such as SMB network shares or Cloud Cache.
Perform the following preliminary steps:
Back up your existing profiles. It is highly unlikely that profile data can be lost or corrupted, but it is best practice to have a valid backup prior to any change in profile configuration.
Turn off the GPO configuration of FSLogix Profile Containers. This step is important because you cannot have both GPO and Parallels RAS management of FSLogix profiles enabled at the same time.
Before configuring FSLogix profiles for a server in a RAS Farm, make sure there are no user sessions running on the server. As a suggestion, you can make the transition in a maintenance window out of working hours.
To configure existing FSLogix Profile Containers in Parallels RAS, you need to replicate your existing GPO to the FSLogix configuration in Parallels RAS. This can be done in the Parallels RAS Console or the Parallels Management Portal.
To configure profiles in the RAS Management Portal:
Navigate to Infrastructure > RD Session Hosts.
Click a host in the list and then click Properties.
In the middle pane, click User Profile.
In the Location of profile disks list box, specify existing SMB or cloud cache locations where you keep your FSLogix profiles. Also, specify the profile disk format, allocation type, and default size.
In the middle pane, click Users and Groups, Folders, and Advanced items to configure the rest of FSLogix settings you may have on your servers, such as user exclusions, folder exclusions, and others.
Please note that at the time of this writing RAS Management Portal can only be used to configure RD Session Hosts to use FSLogix Profile Containers. For other host types, please use the desktop-based RAS Console (described below).
To configure profiles in the RAS Console:
Open the User profiles tab on a host, Site defaults, or Template Properties dialog.
In the Location of profile disks list box, specify existing SMB or cloud cache locations where you keep your FSLogix profiles. Also, specify the profile disk format, allocation type, and default size.
Click the Additional settings button and configure the rest of FSLogix settings you may have on your servers, such as user exclusions, folder exclusions, and others.
When performing steps in the previous section, do not configure multiple (or all) servers in a RAS farm right away. Begin with a single server (e.g. an RD Session Host) and then test it with a single user connection. After that, configure some other servers and test the same user logging in to multiple servers consecutively to confirm the profile is loaded and personalization is retained irrespective of a session host. If all is good, configure other host, host pools, or Site defaults.
Your RAS users can now connect to Parallels RAS using pre-existing FSLogix Profile Containers, which are now managed centrally through Parallels RAS.
To configure FSLogix:
Do one of the following:
To configure Site defaults, navigate to Infrastructure > Host pools > RD Session Hosts > Properties > Site defaults > User Profile.
To configure host pools, navigate to Infrastructure > Host pools > <Host pool name> > Properties > User Profile.
To configure individual hosts, navigate to Infrastructure > RD Session Hosts > <Host name> > Properties > User Profile.
If you want to use Profile Containers, go to User Profile > FSLogix - Profile Containers:
Users and Groups: Specify include and exclude user and group lists. By default, Everyone is added to the FSLogix profile include list. If you want some user profiles remain local, you can add those users to the exclude list. Users and group can exist in both lists but exclude takes priority.
Folders: Specify include and exclude lists for folders. You can select from common folders or you can specify your own. Please note that folders must reside in user profile path.
Disks: Specify the settings of the profile disk. Location type: Select a location type for profile disks (SMB Location or Cloud Cache) and then specify one or more locations. Location of profile disks: Location(s) of profile disks. These are the locations of VHD(X) files (the VHDLocations setting in the registry as specified in the FSLogix documentation). Profile disk format: Select from VHD or VHDX according to your requirements. VHDX is a newer format and has more features. Allocation type: Select Dynamic or Full. This setting is used in conjunction with the Default size setting (see below) to manage the size of a profile. Dynamic causes the profile container to use the minimum space on disk, regardless of the allocated Default size. As a user profile is filled with more data, the amount of data on disk will grow up to the size specified in Default size, but will never exceed it. Default size: Specifies the size of newly created VHD(X) in megabytes.
Advanced: This tab allows you to modify advanced FSLogix registry settings. By default, the settings are disabled. To enable a setting, select the checkbox in front of its name. A description for each setting is provided in the RAS console. For further information regarding FSLogix Profile Containers configurations, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/fslogix/profile-container-configuration-reference.
If you want to use Office Containers, go to User Profile > FSLogix - Office Containers:
Users and Groups: Same as above.
Disks: Same as above.
Advanced: Same as above.
If you want to configure Cloud Cache, go to User Profile > FSLogix - Cloud Cache. For more information about these settings, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fslogix/reference-configuration-settings?tabs=ccd#fslogix-settings-profile-odfc-cloud-cache-logging.
If you want to configure logging, go to User Profile > FSLogix - Logging. For more information about these settings, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/fslogix/reference-configuration-settings?tabs=ccd#fslogix-settings-profile-odfc-cloud-cache-logging.