#1 most frequent
United States of America
66.0%31 installations of 47
What is Parallels RAS?
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS, formerly 2X RAS), is application virtualization technology, billed as a solution to extend the life of legacy OS (like Windows XP) with its virtual desktop for any device.
Maltese company 2X Software developed the technology, but was acquired by Parallels (in Seattle, WA) in February, 2015 to extend their cross-platform support solutions.
Categories & Use Cases
Media
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Screenshot of the console interface, showing Parallels RAS' support for on-premises, private and public cloud providers, including Azure and AWS.
Who Buys & Uses Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
#2 most frequent
Germany
14.9%7 installations of 47
#3 most frequent
Austria
6.4%3 installations of 47
Likes and dislikes about Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) has been something we have used for at least 5 years, but I think probably more than that. Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) allows for us to publish Windows desktop applications as if they are web applications without many of our users knowing this.The simplicity of setup and the speed at which the system runs for the end user.
Pros
- Printer integration makes easy
- Solid connection that does not drop unexpectedly like other
- Easy to publish appls
- Easy to troubleshoot issues
Cons
- Configuration
- Set it up
- Troubleshooting
Return on Investment
- Upgrades interface change to much
- Make easy to updates
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Parallels Desktop for Mac
A Solid Remote Desktop Services Alternative for User and Admin Quality of Life
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Parallels Remote Application Server to allow organizational access to traditional and legacy Win32 style applications. This would include legacy ERP software, older Microsoft Access front ends, and more. Generally, as Remote Desktop Services environment, with significant quality of life enhancements over Microsoft's basic implementation, such as web-based administration and easier delegation of administrative tasks.
Pros
- High Visibility of Users, Sessions and Performance
- Client is Easy to Install and Configure
- Good HA Options, or Active Standy-by HA Option
- Functionally Equivalent Web Interface for Management
Cons
- Support beyond email is hard to get - typically it's sending log after log when a remote session would have solved it much faster
- Need to perform a full Version Update every 18 months
- iOS app does not support kerberos
Return on Investment
- Easier to Monitor and Administer than RDS, reducing admin time
- Does require periodic maintenance windows to upgrade the farm
- User/Device policies for client control allow for granular experience administration
- We actually can get support, which can be very challenging for Microsoft Native RDS.
Usability
Parallels delivers on our remote access needs
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Remote access to legacy server based applications is a real challenge that we were able to securely address using Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS). The performance was great and our user base appreciates the ease of use. For the investment, Parallels has completely met our needs and we would enthusiastically recommend Parallels for any organization who needs to securely provide remote access to applications. We have also used Parallels Remote Applications Server (Parrallels RAS) to run Windows based apps on Apple laptops.
Pros
- allows remote access to legacy applications
- allows access to applications built for one operating system from a different operating system
- Increases performance for applications which struggle to perform properly over network hops
Cons
- Parallels Remote Application Servers (Parallels RAS) does what we need in the way we need it so we see no need for improvement.
Return on Investment
- Addressed the need to remotely access legacy systems without having to migrate to new systems
- allowed or organization to access Windows based applications on Apple laptops removing the need to migrate to a new application
- One of our internal applications experiences slow performance when the application had to traverse several network hops. We used Parallels to run the application directly on the sever, which addressed the issue and removed the need to migrate to a new application.
Usability
Other Software Used
Microsoft 365
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) - Solid and Easy to Use Application Delivery
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) replaced Citrix in our organization as our primary application delivery and RDS service. We use the platform to provide line of business apps and desktops to our users both remote an in office. Using the product we are able to dynamically deploy applications to our users based on their user role. It has simplified endpoint imaging, and patching by centralizing our application management.
Pros
- Ease of Setup
- Good application performance
- Easy to support
- Flexible operating system support
Cons
- Passkeys Support for Published apps is not supported
Return on Investment
- Less time spent supporting our RDS and application infrastructure
- Significantly lower licensing costs
- No hardware investment required for load balancers
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Citrix Virtual Apps Essentials (discontinued)
Other Software Used
BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT), DNSFilter, Rubrik
Great Product for Remote Work
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) for the team to be able to connect from their work laptops to our network remotely, no matter where they are in the world. It allows them to connect to our fileserver at all times and means that we can share documentation easily between multiple computers and operating systems. We have around 300 users setup to use the service.
Pros
- It does a great job of allowing us to easily connect remotely to our servers from anywhere in the world
- It's very easy to use and understand
- It saves our login details so we don't have to input them each time
Cons
- It would be great if it was easier to be able to access folders within the Parallels environment without logging into Parallels
- Occasionally drops connections
- More Windows support articles would be great
Return on Investment
- It has allowed our team to be more mobile allowing us to increase our productivity by being able to visit multiple sites in one day.
- It has decreased the amount of training required for new starters which has helped our business save on time and money as it's so easy to use.
- It has increased our team satisfaction through allowing them to work from home and thus increased our overall productivity and team morale.
Usability
Other Software Used
TeamViewer, Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued), Google Chrome
