Microsoft Remote Desktop Services provides limited web
access to digital workspaces, while Parallels RAS
delivers full-fledged clientless HTML5 browser access.
Parallels RAS enables users to work on published
applications and desktops from any HTML5-compatible
browser, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox,
Safari or Internet Explorer.
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Parallels RAS is installed through a standard MSI file,
greatly simplifying the process via a guided
setup-wizard. All the core required components are
installed directly from the same file. Parallels RAS
streamlines the deployment and maintenance of a farm by
providing a set of tools, such as FSLogix Profile
Container configurations, image optimizations and server
tools, to manage Microsoft Remote Desktop Services,
freeing IT administrators from lengthy and repetitive
tasks.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Broker manages the
distribution between the servers in the farm. However,
it has limited capability, only allowing the
distribution of connections based on session count and
server weight. Parallels RAS load balances the traffic
between the servers based on user sessions, memory,
application usage, and CPU utilization, significantly
improving the overall performance.
Parallels RAS improves CPU load balancing functionality
by maximizing resource usage thereby improving the
end-user experience. Services run smoothly due to the
prevention of any application consuming too much
processing time. Moreover, High Availability Load
Balancers (HALBs) load balance front end traffic to the
Secure Client Gateways.
Parallels RAS can dynamically create, remove, release,
and load balance Windows Servers based on pre-defined
criteria. IT administrators may utilize Parallels to
generate and deploy virtual workspaces on the fly. RD
Session Hosts and virtual desktops can auto-scale
on-demand by group provisioning and de-provisioning
based on workload. Sudden traffic-load spikes are
managed easily without any manual action from IT
staff.
The Remote Desktop Virtualization Host role only supports
Microsoft Hyper-V to host VDIs. In contrast, Parallels
RAS supports all major hypervisors, including Microsoft
Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, and hyperconverged infrastructures
such as Nutanix Acropolis, Scale Computing, and HPE
hyperconverged infrastructures.
Parallels RAS can create and manage virtual machines
(VMs) from different hypervisors under the same
infrastructure, offering administrators extended
flexibility when implementing VDI solutions. Parallels
RAS supports Azure as a hypervisor, enabling
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) deployments along
with Desktop as a Service (DaaS) through Azure Virtual
Desktop.