Publish a Resource with Parallels RAS

Introduction

Parallels RAS is a fantastic product for SME companies. For an overview of what Parallels RAS is and the services we provide to help organizations design, deploy, and manage their RAS environments, visit Parallels RAS page.

Parallels RAS uses application and desktop publishing to provide users with access to resources hosted on remote servers. Instead of requiring users to connect directly to an RDS Session Host, administrators can publish specific applications or complete desktops through the RAS infrastructure. RAS then handles the connection between the client and the appropriate published resource.

Application publishing is particularly useful in environments where users only require access to a limited set of applications. For example, an organization can publish Microsoft Word or another line-of-business application without providing the user with a complete Windows desktop. The application runs on the RDS Session Host, while the user interacts with it through the Parallels Client.

Full desktop publishing provides a more traditional Remote Desktop Services experience, giving the user access to an entire Windows desktop session.

In this guide, we will configure both scenarios using the Parallels RAS Console. We will first publish an individual application, configure which users are allowed to access it, and then test the published application from a client. We will then configure a published desktop and verify the resulting user session.

The focus of this guide is on publishing resources, providing an overview of how Parallels RAS delivers applications and desktops to end users.

Prerequisites

Before publishing an application or desktop through Parallels RAS, ensure the following requirements are met:

- An operational Parallels RAS farm with at least one configured RD Session Host.
- The RD Session Host is domain-joined and accessible from the RAS infrastructure.
- The application to be published is installed and tested on the RD Session Host.
- For desktop publishing, the Session Host has been configured to support Remote Desktop Services sessions.
- Users or groups requiring access are available in Active Directory.
- Appropriate user permissions and RAS access policies are configured.
- Required RDS CALs and Parallels RAS licensing are available.
- The required firewall rules and network connectivity are in place.
- Administrative access to the Parallels RAS Console is available for creating and managing published resources.

For this guide, I am using a Parallels RAS farm with all components installed on one server.
The landing site will be a Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environment consisting of one server.

The RDS environment contains one Windows Server that will be used to host the applications and desktop sessions.
Parallels RAS will provide the publishing and access layer in front of these resources.

The RDS Session Host used in this guide is already configured and operational.
Therefore, this guide will focus on the Parallels RAS configuration required to publish resources rather than on configuring the underlying RDS environment.

With the prerequisites in place, we can start by adding the RDS Session Host to Parallels RAS and publishing our first application.

Terms and Technologies

Site Default
Default settings and configurations applied automatically to all users, groups, and resources within a specific RAS site unless overridden

Initial status
Determines the availability of the published desktop when it is first published

Publishing an Application

1. Open the Parallels RAS Console and connect to the existing RAS farm.
2. Navigate to Publishing and create a new published application by clicking Add...
3. Select Application from the list and hit Next4. Select RD Session Hosts and hit Next5. Now you have to choose what type of application you want to publish.
There are 3 types of applications:
- Single Application: define it manually, you need to know where the application is installed in. Custom applications
- Installed Applications: RAS will fetch a list of applications installed on the RD Session host to choose from. Mostly chosen.
- Predefined Applications: use an existing RAS definition, a static list of very basic applications. Not recommended.

In this guide we choose for Installed Applications and click Next6. Choose your appropriate host pool or select an individual host if you like and hit Next7. Select the application you want to publish and hit Next8. Specify the status of the published app after finishing the wizard.
- Enabled
The desktop is available to assigned users immediately.
- Disabled
The desktop is not available to users until it is manually enabled.
- In Maintenance
The desktop is temporarily unavailable to users. You can optionally provide a custom message explaining why the resource is unavailable, which can be displayed to users when they attempt to access it.
In this guide we select Enabled and hit Next

9.Verify your current settings and hit Next
10. Now the application is published and enabled directly for all users, hit Finish to close this dialog box
11. Do not forget to hit APPLY to commit the changes you made

Publishing a Desktop

1. Open the Parallels RAS Console and connect to the existing RAS farm.
2. Navigate to Publishing and create a new published desktop by clicking Add...
3. Select Desktop from the list and hit Next4. Choose the type of desktop you want to publish.
In this farm we only have setup a RDS Session, the only option we have is to publish a RD Session Host Desktop.
If you have for example a Citrix VDI farm set up, you are able to choose these as well.
In this guide we choose for _RD Session Host Desktop_ and click Next5. Choose your appropriate host pool or select an individual host if you like and hit Next6. Now we have to set a name for the desktop and set a minimum of properties.
There are also three boxes to check; which can be interesting for you in some cases:
- Connect to administrative session
When enabled, users connect to the Windows administrative session instead of creating a regular user session. Because administrative sessions have elevated capabilities, this option should generally only be enabled when it is specifically required.
- Start Automatically when user logs on
When enabled, the published desktop starts automatically as soon as the user successfully logs in. The user does not need to select or manually launch the desktop from the Parallels RAS client. This can provide a more seamless experience, particularly in environments where users primarily work within a specific published desktop.
- Exclude from session prelaunch
When session prelaunch is enabled, Parallels RAS can establish a session before the user actually launches the resource, helping reduce the time it takes to start a desktop. Enabling this option means that the desktop will not be included in this prelaunch process and the session will be created when the user launches the desktop.
In this guide we type a value in the Name field and leave the default settings for now and click Next

7.Specify the status of the published app after finishing the wizard.
- Enabled
The desktop is available to assigned users immediately.
- Disabled
The desktop is not available to users until it is manually enabled.
- In Maintenance
The desktop is temporarily unavailable to users. You can optionally provide a custom message explaining why the resource is unavailable, which can be displayed to users when they attempt to access it.
In this guide we select Enabled and hit Finish

8. Do not forget to hit APPLY to commit the changes you made

Published Resource settings

Once an application has been published, Parallels RAS provides a range of configuration options that allow you to control how the application is presented and accessed by users. These settings can influence everything from application availability and user access to session behavior and the overall user experience.

Understanding these options is important when configuring a published application, as the right settings can help ensure that the application is delivered securely and consistently across your environment.

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