Note: For Parallels RAS installations running on multiple servers, it is recommended that Microsoft SQL Server is installed on a dedicated server.

In this section:

• Install Microsoft SQL Server 2016 or earlier

• Install Microsoft SQL Server 2017 or 2019

Follow the instructions provided at https://kb.parallels.com/125164.

Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and 2019 allow you to install the database engine and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) on separate hosts. Parallels RAS 17.1 (and newer) supports this deployment scenario and gives you the ability to use SQL Server Reporting Services and the SQL Server database engine installed on separate hosts.

For step-by-step instructions on how to install and configure Parallels RAS Reporting Service with SQL Server 2019 and Microsoft SSRS 2019, please read the following Parallels KB articles:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and 2019 single server installation: https://kb.parallels.com/125164.

• Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and 2019 multi-server installation: https://kb.parallels.com/125156.

This chapter describes how to install and configure Parallels RAS Reporting. If you already have Parallels RAS Reporting installed, you may skip this chapter and proceed to Creating Custom Reports.

The Parallels RAS reporting database contains information about users, which may possibly include personal user information. To conform to GDPR, Parallels RAS gives you the ability to clear user data from the database at any time. Parallels RAS Reporting Tools is a simple application that you can use to perform this task. The tool is installed automatically when you install Parallels RAS.

To clear user data:

1. On the computer where you have Parallels RAS installed, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Parallels\RAS Reporting.

2. In the folder specified above, locate and run the RASReportingTools application.

3. When the application starts, enter a user name in the User data field and click Find user. If the user is found, the user information is displayed. If the user is not found, it means that the RAS reporting database doesn't have any information about that user.

4. To see the user information contained in the RAS reporting database, click the Show full user information button. This will open the Full User Information report in a web browser (note that this report is also available in the Reporting category in the RAS Console). Examine the report to determine if any of the user information is subject to GDPR requirements.

5. To clear the user data, go back to the Parallels RAS Reporting Tool app and click the Clear user data button. When asked, confirm that you want to clear the data.

To view Parallels RAS reports, select the Reporting category in the RAS Console. The report information is displayed as follows:

• The middle pane lists the available reports. See the Predefined reports subsection below for the complete list. The blue "folders" icon (at the top of the list) groups reports by type or displays all of them as a flat list. The "refresh" icon refreshes the report list by retrieving it from the database (this can be useful when you enable/disable the reporting functionality or when you add custom reports, which may not appear in the list automatically).

• When you initially open the Reporting category, the right pane contains just the Information tab page, which informs you whether Parallels RAS Reporting is active. If it's not, you need to make sure that it is installed and enabled.

• The blue "square" icon in front of the Tasks drop-down list (upper right-hand side of the RAS Console) expands the reporting interface into full screen. The Tasks drop-down list allows you to perform the following actions: Duplicate (duplicates a report tab page), Full screen (on/off), various Close Report options, Delegate Permissions (allows you to grant permissions to view reports to other RAS administrators, such as Power and Custom administrators who don't have these rights).

To run a report, double-click it in the middle pane. The report opens in a tab page in the right pane:

• Most of the predefined reports include controls that you can interact with, such as From/To dates, Sort By, Sort Order, Chart Type, Server Name, and others depending on the report type. When you change a value in any of these controls, click the View Report button to apply the new values/options and re-run the report.

• The main report area (lower portion where the data is represented as a graph, text, or numbers) includes a menu bar with icons that allow you to change the magnification, list through report pages (if more than one is included), search for text, save a report to a file, print a report, and export it to one of the available formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, or a data feed).

Predefined reports

Parallels RAS Reporting includes a number of predefined reports in the following groups:

1. Users reports. This group includes reports about how end users are interacting with Parallels RAS:

   • Sessions activity for all users — shows all sessions produced by all users in the system. The report shows information about each session and includes active time, idle time, disconnected and total time. A user is identified by username and IP address. The Secure Gateway information is also included.

   • Sessions activity for user — shows all sessions produced by a single user. The report shows information about each session and includes active time, idle time, disconnected and total time.

   • Application usage for user — shows applications used by a specified user, including number of times used and total time.

   • Device usage for user — shows information about devices used by a user. The report includes information such as device vendor, device model, and total time used.

   • Operating system usage for user — shows the operating system being used by a specified user.

   • Full user information — shows detailed information about a specified user.

2. User groups reports. These reports obtain information about how groups of users are interacting with Parallels RAS:

   • Sessions activity for all groups — shows all sessions produced by all groups in the system. The report includes active, idle, and disconnected time.

   • Sessions activity for group — shows all sessions produced by a group in the system. The report shows information about each session produced by each user in the group and includes start, end, active, idle, disconnect and total time.

   • Application usage for group — shows applications used by a specified group, including number of times used and total time.

   • Device usage for group — shows information about devices used by users as members of a specified group. The report includes device vendor, model and total time used.

   • Client operating system usage for group — shows the operating system used by members of a particular group.

3. Devices reports. This group includes reports about the devices that are connecting to Parallels RAS.

   • Devices used — shows all devices using the system. The report includes a device manufacturer, model, and the number of sessions opened by the device.

   • Client operating system used — shows devices and corresponding operating systems that are using the system.

   • Parallels client version used — shows information about a device model, Parallels Client version used, and session information.

4. Servers activity reports. This group includes reports about the activity of Parallels RAS server components:

   • Sessions activity for RD session hosts — shows the session activity of users on a particular RD Session Host. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time.

   • Sessions activity for VDI provider — shows the session activity of users on a particular Provider. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time (standalone Hyper-V and VMware ESXi only).

   • Sessions activity for AVD provider — shows the session activity of users on a particular AVD provider. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time.

   • Session activity for RD Session Host Pool — shows the session activity of users of a particular RDSH host pool. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time.

   • Session activity for VDI Host Pool — shows the session activity of users of a particular VDI host pool. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time.

   • Session activity for AVD Host Pool — shows the session activity of users of a particular AVD host pool. Report includes start, end, active, idle and disconnect time.

   • Gateway tunnelled sessions — shows tunnelled session information for a specified Gateway.

5. Server health reports. This group includes reports on server CPU and RAM usage for different components of Parallels RAS.

   • RD Session hosts health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified server in the Farm.

   • Providers health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified provider in the Farm.

   • Remote PCs health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified Remote PC in the Farm.

   • Gateways health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified Gateway in the Farm.

   • Connection Brokers health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified Connection Broker in the Farm.

   • Enrollment servers health — shows server CPU and RAM usage for a specified Enrollment server in the Farm.

6. Application reports. Reports related to applications.

   • Activity for all applications — shows information about applications used in the system. Report includes information such as application name, number of times used and the total usage time. When viewing this report, select "All applications" or "RAS published applications" depending on your needs. When the second option is selected, the report will not include non-published applications and duplicates.

   • Activity for application — shows usage of an application by individual users during a specified time period. The information includes start time, end time, and total time for each session. Other information, such host server name and session ID is also shown.

7. Logon duration reports. Reports that show detailed information about user logon duration. They also show information about connection duration, authentication duration, RAS policy lookup duration, host preparation duration, group policy load time, and desktop load time.

   • Logon duration for all users — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for all users on every server.

   • Logon duration for user — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for a specified user on every server.

   • Logon duration for RD Session Host — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration on a specified RD Session Host for every user.

   • Logon duration for VDI Provider — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for specified Provider for every user.

   • Logon duration for AVD Provider — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for specified AVD provider for every user. The report also shows this information for connection duration, authentication duration, RAS policy lookup duration, host preparation duration, group policy load time, and desktop load time.

   • Logon duration for VDI Host Pool — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for specified VDI Host Pool for every user.

   • Logon duration for AVD Host Pool — shows minimum, maximum, and average logon duration for specified AVD HOst Pool for every user.

8. UX Evaluator reports. Reports related to UX Evaluator, which is the time interval measured at the client between the first step (user action) and the last step (graphical response displayed).

   • UX Evaluator for all users — shows UX Evaluator for all users on every server.

   • UX Evaluator for user — shows UX Evaluator for a specified user on every server.

   • UX Evaluator for RD Session Host — shows UX Evaluator for a specified RD Session Host for every user.

   • UX Evaluator for VDI Provider — shows UX Evaluator for a specified Provider for every user.

   • UX Evaluator for AVD Provider — shows UX Evaluator for a specified AVD provider for every user.

   • UX Evaluator for VDI Host Pool — shows UX Evaluator for a specified VDI Host Pool for every user.

   • UX Evaluator for AVD Host Pool — shows UX Evaluator for a specified AVD Host Pool for every user.

9. Transport protocol reports. Reports that show how long each transport protocol is used during sessions.

   • Transport protocol for all users — shows information about the used transport protocols for all users.

   • Transport protocol for user — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified user.

   • Transport protocol for RD Session Hosts — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified RD Session Host.

   • Transport protocol for VDI Provider — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified Provider.

   • Transport protocol for AVD Provider — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified AVD Provider.

   • Transport protocol for VDI Host Pool — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified VDI Host Pool.

   • Transport protocol for AVD Host Pool — shows information about the used transport protocols for a specified AVD Host Pool.

10. Connection quality reports. Reports that show information about connection quality.

    • Connection quality for all users — shows information about connection quality for all users.

    • Connection quality for user — shows information about connection quality for a specified user.

    • Connection quality for RD Session Hosts — shows information about connection quality for a specified RD Session Host.

    • Connection quality for VDI Provider — shows information about connection quality for a specified Provider.

    • Connection quality for AVD Provider — shows information about connection quality for a specified AVD Provider.

    • Connection quality for VDI Host Pool — shows information about connection quality for a specified VDI Host Pool.

    • Connection quality for AVD Host Pool — shows information about connection quality for a specified AVD Host Pool.

11. Latency reports. Reports that show information about session latency.

    • Latency for all users — shows information about session latency for all users.

    • Latency for user — shows information about session latency for a specified user.

    • Latency for RD Session Hosts — shows information about session latency for a specified RD Session Host.

    • Latency for VDI Provider — shows information about session latency for a specified Provider.

    • Latency for AVD Provider — shows information about session latency for a specified AVD Provider.

    • Latency for VDI Host Pool — shows information about session latency for a specified VDI Host Pool.

    • Latency for AVD Host Pool — shows information about session latency for a specified AVD Host Pool.

12. Bandwidth availability reports. Reports that show information about bandwidth availability.

    • Bandwidth availability for all users — shows information about bandwidth availability for all users.

    • Bandwidth availability for user — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified user.

    • Bandwidth availability for RD Session Hosts — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified RD Session Host.

    • Bandwidth availability for VDI Provider — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified Provider.

    • Bandwidth Availability for AVD Provider — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified AVD Provider.

    • Bandwidth availability for VDI Host Pool — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified VDI Host Pool.

    • Bandwidth Availability for AVD Host Pool — shows information about bandwidth availability for a specified AVD Host Pool.

13. Session disconnect reports. Reports that show the mosts frequent reasons for disconnecting and the number of reconnections.

    • Session disconnect for all users — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for all users.

    • Session disconnect for user — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified user.

    • Session disconnect for RD Session Hosts — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified RD Session Host.

    • Session disconnect for VDI Provider — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified Provider.

    • Session disconnect for AVD Provider — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified AVD Provider.

    • Session disconnect for RD Session Hosts Pool — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified RD Session Host Pool.

    • Session disconnect for VDI Host Pool — shows top disconnect reasons and the number of reconnections for a specified Provider.

To install Parallels RAS Reporting:

1. Log in to the server where you have Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services installed. Make sure you use the account with administrative privileges (AD).

2. Note: As was mentioned earlier, SQL Server 2017 and newer allow you to install SQL Server database engine and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) on different hosts. You need to be logged in to the server where you have SSRS installed.

3. Download the latest version of Parallels RAS Reporting from .

4. Once downloaded, double-click the RASReporting-xxx.msi file to run the installation wizard.

5. Follow the onscreen instructions and proceed to the Database connection page. Specify the SQL Server database engine location:

   • Location: If the SQL Server database engine is installed on the local server (together with SSRS), select Localhost. If the SQL Server is installed on a different server, select Remote and then specify the server connection properties (see below).

   • Server: If you selected Remote, specify the FQDN or IP address of the server where you have SQL Server installed.

   • Username: Specify the username to log in to SQL Server.

   • Password: Specify the password.

6. On the same page, specify the SQL Server instance name. The default instance name is RASREPORTING. If you would like to use a different instance, you can specify it on this page. If the instance doesn't exist, you need to create it first.

7. Click Next.

8. On the Viewing Reports User page, you need to specify an Active Directory user who will be granted permissions to access the RAS reporting database. The default user is "rasreportingview" (note that the user must be created in Active Directory before it can be used here). You can specify a different Active Directory user if you wish, but you will need to change the reporting settings in the RAS Console before you can view reports (this change is described later in this chapter when the RAS reporting configuration is explained).

9. Click Next to install Parallels RAS Reporting.

Configure RAS Reporting in the RAS Console

To configure Parallels RAS Reporting:

1. Log in to the Parallels RAS Console.

2. Select the Administration category and click the Reporting tab in the right pane.

3. In the Reporting tab, select the Enable RAS Reporting option.

4. In the Server field, specify the FQDN or IP address of the server hosting your SQL Server instance. The value in the Port field is used by the service which receives data from the RAS Connection Broker. The default port is 30008.

5. Specify a user login option by selecting one of the following:

   • Prompt user for login details — If this option is selected, the Parallels RAS Console user will be prompted to enter credentials before they can run a report.

   • Use following credentials — If this option is selected, the specified username and password will be used. The default (built-in) user name is RASREPORTINGVIEW. If you specified a different user when you installed RAS Reporting, specify that user credentials here.

6. To test the database connection, click the Test connection button.

Configure advanced settings

These settings are optional, so you can configure them according to your needs.

To access advanced settings:

1. On the Administration > Reporting tab page, click the Tracking Settings button. The Advanced Setting dialog opens.

2. In the Session Information section, specify the following options:

   • Enable Tracking. Records sessions data (affects all reports except server reports).

   • Retain information for. Select for how long the information should be kept in the database.

3. In the Server Counters Information section, specify the following:

   • Enable Tracking. If selected, server counter data is recorded (affects server reports only).

   • Retain information for. Select for how long the information should be kept in the database.

   • Track CPU / Memory counter when change is more than (%). Use these two options to set the minimum CPU and Memory resource usage required to record data.

4. The Custom reports section is used to enable custom reports in the Parallels RAS Console. Select the Enable custom reports option and specify a folder name where custom reports will be stored (or use the default "Custom reports" name). Note that this is a virtual folder located on the SQL Server Reporting Services side, so you need to specify just a name (not a traditional path). You will see the folder in the Parallels RAS Console in the Reporting category together with other (predefined) folders that contain reports.

To install a SQL Server instance (SQL Server 2016 or earlier):

1. Run the Microsoft SQL Server installation program and select the Custom installation type. Wait for the necessary files to be downloaded to your computer.

2. Once the files are downloaded, the SQL Server Installation Center window opens.

3. On the Installation page, select New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.

4. Click Next and follow onscreen instructions until you get to the Feature Selection page.

5. On the Feature Selection page, make sure that at least the following SQL Server features are selected for installation:

   • Database Engine Services

   • Reporting Services - Native

6. Click Next.

7. On the Instance Configuration page, select the Named instance option and enter an instance name. When naming the instance, you have the following options:

   • Enter "RASREPORTING", which is the default instance name used by Parallels RAS Reporting. If you use this name, you don't have to specify it later when installing RAS Reporting and configure it in the RAS Console. This is the recommended option.

   • If you would like to use a different name, you can do that, but you will have to make sure that you use this name when installing and configuring RAS Reporting. The instructions for installing RAS Reporting (described later in this chapter) indicate where the instance name must be specified, so if you follow the instructions, you won't miss it. Note that the instance name cannot contain dashes, dots and some other characters.

     After entering the instance name, make sure that it is also set in the Instance ID field.

8. Click Next and proceed to the Database Engine Configuration page.

9. On the Database Engine Configuration page, select the Server Configuration tab and add the following users to the SQL Server administrators list:

   • Local administrator (e.g. Administrator)

   • AD administrator (if you are just testing Parallels RAS Reporting on a local server, you can exclude this account).

   • SYSTEM (click Add, type "SYSTEM", click Check Names and click OK; the account will appear in the list as "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM").

10. Complete the wizard using default settings on remaining pages.

11. Wait for the SQL Server installation to finish. On the Complete page, make sure that the installation was successful and exist the wizard.

Install SQL Server Management Tools

You should also install SQL Server management tools, specifically the SQL Server Management Studio. It is not required by RAS Reporting, but it is an essential SQL Server management tool that you might find useful. If you've never worked with SQL Server Management Studio before and not sure whether you need it, we suggest you install it. For example, you can use it to view RAS Reporting database tables, constraints, and stored procedures, which may help you better understand the RAS Reporting database design. The installation link is provided on the SQL Server Installation Center window.

Configure Microsoft SQL Server 2016 and earlier

When using Microsoft SQL Server 2016 and earlier version, it must be configured for remote connections as follows:

1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.

2. Right-click on the server and select Properties.

3. Go to Connections and select Allow Remote.

4. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager and go to SQL Server Network Configuration > Protocols for RASREPORTING.

5. Right-click on TCP/IP and choose Properties.

6. Make sure the Enabled property is set to Yes.

7. Select the IP Address tab and locate the IPAll section. Set the TCP Dynamic Ports field to be blank and the TCP Port field to "1433".

8. Restart SQL Server. To do so, in the SQL Server Configuration Manager, right-click the SQL Server service and choose Restart.

9. After the restart, in the SQL Server Configuration Manager, right-click on SQL Server Browser and choose Properties.

10. Select the Service tab and set the Start Mode property to Automatic.

11. Start the SQL Server Browser.

Configure Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services

To configure Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, follow these steps:

1. Run the Reporting Service Configuration Manager (Start > Apps > Microsoft SQL Server 2016 > Reporting Services Configuration Manager).

2. In the Reporting Services Configuration Connection dialog that opens, do the following:

   • Make sure the Server Name field contains the name of the server hosting the SQL Server instance.

   • Make sure the Report Server Instance field contains the name of the SQL Server instance that you've created earlier. If you used the default Parallels RAS name, it will appear as "RASREPORTING". If you used a different instance name, select that name.

3. Click Connect. If the connection is successful, the Reporting Services Configuration Manager window opens.

4. Select the Web Service URL category (not to be confused with Web Portal URL) in the left pane and set the following properties in the right pane:

   • Virtual Directory: Make sure that the directory name is "ReportServer_RASREPORTING". If you used a different name for the SQL Server instance, you should see that name instead of the "RASREPORTING" part.

   • TCP port: Set the port number to 8085.

5. Click the Apply button to apply the settings.

6. Select the Web Portal URL category in the left pane and then do the following:

   • Make sure that the Virtual Directory field is set to "Reports_<InstanceName>", where "InstanceName" is the name of your SQL Server instance. The default Parallels RAS name would be "Reports_RASREPORTING".

   • Examine the URLs field. Make sure that the port number after the server name is 8085. If it's not, click the Advanced button and change the port number.

7. Verify that you can access the Reporting Services Web Portal by clicking the URL on the Web Portal URL page. This should open the SQL Server Reporting Services home page in a web browser.

8. Click Exit to close the Reporting Services Configuration Manager.

Operating system requirements

Parallels RAS Reporting can be installed on a server running one of the following Windows Server versions:

• Windows Server 2022

• Windows Server 2019

• Windows Server 2016

• Windows Server 2012 R2

.NET Framework 3.5 and .NET Framework 4.5 or higher must be installed.

Microsoft SQL Server requirements

Parallels RAS Reporting can be used with the following Microsoft SQL Server versions:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2022

• Microsoft SQL Server 2019

• Microsoft SQL Server 2017

• Microsoft SQL Server 2016

Beginning with RAS 17.1, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and the SQL Server database engine can be deployed on separate hosts.

Using Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and 2019

Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and 2019 allow you to install the database engine and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) on different hosts. Parallels RAS 17.1 (and newer) supports this deployment scenario and gives you the ability to use SQL Server Reporting Services and the SQL Server database engine installed on separate hosts.

Installation locations

RAS Reporting must be installed on the same server where SQL Server Reporting Services are running. Please note that if you have SSRS and the database engine installed on different hosts, RAS Reporting must be installed where the SSRS are installed.

The following table contains RAS and SQL Server version compatibility information and locations where components necessary to use RAS Reporting can be installed:

Microsoft SQL Server must be installed as a named instance (not default or unnamed instance), because an instance must have a name for RAS Reporting to work. You can specify an instance name when you install Microsoft SQL Server (or when you create a new SQL Server instance in a multi-instance scenario). For complete details, please read the Install Microsoft SQL Server section that follows this one.