Coming Soon in Parallels RAS 18!

Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) 18 is just around the corner, and we’re very excited to share with you all the great features coming to one of the best virtual desktop interface (VDI) solutions on the market today. So, without further ado, here’s what to expect in the latest release, due in December 2020.

Unified Windows Virtual Desktop Integration

Many of you have been waiting for the unified Windows Virtual Desktop integration capability since we started teasing about its arrival last year. Well, your wait is finally over. We’re happy to announce that Parallels RAS 18 will be able to integrate with Windows Virtual Desktop.

What this means is you’ll be able to take advantage of all the benefits of Windows Virtual Desktop (including multi-session Windows 10 deployments, virtualized Microsoft 365 Apps optimized for multi-user virtual use cases, free Extended Security Updates for Windows 7 virtual desktops, and so on) and combine those with the awesome capabilities of Parallels RAS.

You’ll be able to:

Administer both Parallels RAS and Windows Virtual Desktop environments, users, sessions and processes from a single pane of glass.
Automate a wide range of administrative tasks.
Deploy applications and desktops in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Support and deliver legacy applications alongside newer Windows Virtual Desktop workloads.
Auto-scale Azure and on-premises infrastructures.
Enable users to access all digital resources (whether from Windows Virtual Desktop or otherwise) from a single interface, i.e., the Parallels Client.
Perform a host of other cost-saving, efficiency-enabling tasks.

FSLogix Profile Container Integration

FSLogix Profile Container is a profile management solution for published applications and VDIs that redirects user profiles to a network location while making it appear to a user or application that the profile is stored in a local drive. This is important because most applications won’t work properly if a profile has to be accessed remotely.

In addition, FSLogix Profile Container also:

Reduces logon and logoff times.
Lowers traffic and processing loads on file servers.
Minimizes profile corruption risk.
Centralizes profile management and storage control.
Streamlines Office 365 delivery.

Administrators will be able to enjoy all these benefits in Parallels RAS 18. But that’s not all. FSLogix Profile Container and Parallels RAS integration means administrators will no longer have to perform manual registry changes or scripting in order to deploy and configure the FSLogix agent. Instead, they can automate deployment easily as well as manage and configure profile containers from the Parallels RAS Console.

UX Evaluator and Advanced Session Metrics

In planning for Parallels 18, we focused on vastly improving service delivery and the user experience (UX). One testament to that thrust is the UX Evaluator, which provides a quantitative measurement of the user experience by calculating the time elapsed between a user’s interaction with published resources and the corresponding response.

This is reinforced by several other metrics like:

Login duration and logon duration breakdown.
Incoming and outgoing data within a session.
Bandwidth availability and usage.
Network latency.
User connection flow.
Number of reconnects and disconnects.

Administrators can check these metrics proactively and determine if a user requires or is about to require assistance. They can also set thresholds for receiving alerts when critical levels are breached. These metrics can help administrators carry out root cause analysis (RCA) and address issues much faster so that users always get optimal user interface response.

But we didn’t stop there.

Automated Image Optimizations

To further improve the user experience, we added 130 built-in automated image optimization options that ensure the efficient and streamlined delivery of virtual applications and desktops. Users aren’t the only ones who can work more efficiently with these new features.

Administrators can accomplish tasks much faster as well. They’ll have access to a wide range of optimizations for Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH), VDI and Windows Virtual Desktop workloads, and will be able to carry out image optimizations from a single pane of glass. They can also easily use preconfigured scripts—including scripts from third-party tools—when optimizing images. All this can help administrators save substantial amounts of time and ensure an efficient and optimized delivery for better UX.

RDSH and VDI Local Storage Distribution

RDSH and VDI template clones are usually stored in either shared storage solutions such as a Storage Area Network (SAN) or on a local drive. In Parallels 18, you’re now able to support both ways of deploying clones. In addition to shared storage clone deployments, you can also now deploy template clones to the local disks of multiple independent Microsoft Hyper-V hosts.

This new method has a lot of benefits, which include the following:

More cost-effective than SAN solutions
Less complex configurations
Easier ability to maintain a single template that can be used by multiple providers
Faster disk access
Lower susceptibility to performance issues during boot-up

Mobile-Ready Management Portal

Existing customers rave about the Parallels RAS Console’s power and ease-of-use, so we’re sure you’ll be delighted to know you can now take the console’s key functionality anywhere you go. In Parallels RAS 18, IT administrators will be able to deploy, manage and configure fundamental Parallels RAS components, including RDSH Publishing Agents and Secure Client Gateways, as well as perform a variety of other administrative tasks from any device, including mobile devices like phones and tablets.

Accelerated File Retrieval

Local files and folders are sometimes slow to load when you use drive redirection, especially in poor network conditions. But in Parallels 18, we optimized communication between the endpoint client and the hosting workload server. We even added a file-caching capability. The result? A 90% increase in speed and stability when retrieving and enumerating files and folders in a drive redirection environment compared to standard RDP.

These are just some of the many new features of Parallels RAS 18. View our web page for a more complete feature list.