Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) Reviews

Alternative to Windows RDS (terminal services) supporting internal staff and remote access.

Simplifies external connections with community-based organizations by allowing us to publish applications to them, accessible by current-generation HTML5 browser or OS-specific client (Windows, Android, iOS), and supporting popular single sign-on and multi-factor authentication protocols.

Comparable performance to Citrix for our use case at a significantly lower cost. Straightforward installation and capable management front-end.

Improvement is needed in performance monitoring of the client's endpoint, and automatic re-connection of the client in the event of circuit disruptions (this works well generally but can present challenges).

No issues with stability.

None so far, but we plan a major expansion toward the end of 2018.

We have not needed much technical support. We generally find what we need in the provided documentation or the user forums. When we have requested help, the response has been consistent with other vendors of this type (we are not on an expedited service plan).

I have used Citrix in previous organizations with good results but I lacked the budget to acquire Citrix for this implementation.

Setup was straightforward. Our particular use case involved an Active Directory forest involving two data centers and three domains. User authentication against Active Directory was the easiest to set up and validate of any application installed in the last three years.

Pricing is clear and there are relatively few options or other pricing considerations when compared to similar products. Just be sure not to forget the Microsoft licensing that goes along with a Parallels deployment.

Citrix, Windows RDS.

Take advantage of the trial version so that you can check out its feature set first-hand, get a sense of its performance on your hardware and over your network.

Remote app.

Enables deployment of remote apps from a central location.

Ease of use in publishing apps and installing the agent. The Interface is fairly intuitive after some tinkering. Although I inherited the app only two-thirds deployed, I was able to complete the deployment and service it over the last year without referring to any documentation.

Other valuable features include the ability to set up security groups for accessing certain apps, the ability to add apps easily and centrally without touching the servers they’re hosted on. There are other features which we have not taken advantage of yet, but I’m sure will prove useful.

• Customer support
• Ease of end-user use

Opening a ticket should be available from the actual RAS console. It is cumbersome to go to a portal, hunt around for five minutes for a link to open a ticket, answer questions meant to direct you towards FAQs instead of live support, then fill out information (license #, version #, etc.) which could more easily be supplied by sending a ticket straight from the console with all of that information automatically specified.

Currently in the RD Session Hosts – Sessions section, I can see what server a user is logged into but not what app he is using. Being able to do so would be immensely helpful when a non-technical user is complaining of issues, but I can’t tell which app he is using, and he is actually logged into multiple servers since they serve multiple apps.

No issues with stability.

No issues with scalability.

I would rate my experience with tech support as "middling" - difficult to open a ticket, and support is located on the opposite side of the world, so schedules don't mesh.

Work with the vendor, as this is a fairly new product and they want use cases. Deals can be made.

Test extensively, especially with custom-built apps, as these can have issues, though overall the experience is smooth.

We needed to access multiple programs, for multiple users, and it's like a virtual session that does that.

We would not be able to function without it.

It is robust. We have some 75 users using it and it doesn't lag. It's very speedy.

One area which I would say needs a lot of improvement: Since I've been here less than a year, I have had to upgrade the system three times. The first time was the major upgrade but they have upgraded twice since, and I think that's too many times in that time span. I'm the only one doing IT, so I have over 75 users that I actually have to touch every time they upgrade, which is a lot of work.

I would roll up the updates in a group, rather than as they come out.

Less than one year.

I encountered an issue with stability once, with licensing. For some odd reason, after I upgraded to the current version, the 15.2, it lost its license, so I had to get a temporary license to get my users up and running. They had to figure out why I couldn't hold on to my current license that I had just bought.

When it's stable, it's stable. I would say 90 to close to 100 percent of the time it's stable, it's right on the mark. When it goes down, since my whole user community uses it, every user in my company is down. When it's working, it's working great and I don't get any phone calls. When it's down, everyone in the company, as I said, is down, they only have email. Every other software package goes through the Parallel, so it's a big impact.

Scalability is pretty good. There's a small delay, but that could be the server, the amount that we're pushing through it. But it's pretty good in scalability.

Tech support seems good, and they seem very accommodating in time. Whatever time I want to work on it, they are there.

Tech support helped me upgrade it to the current version. It was pretty much straightforward.

Pricing is a little steep, but I really couldn't go to anyone else because it is so integrated into our system.

Do your homework. Call, see if you can speak to three customers who use it and get their opinion. Also get three different quotes, or three similar products, and see how they work.

I would rate it an eight out of 10. As I said, when it's stable it's stable, it's very good. I find in the last year there were just too many upgrades. I still have an upgrade facing me now, and I haven't upgraded the main server because that means I have to go around to all the workstations.

We use it for remote application installation in Terminal Servers.

Maintenance of software versions has been greatly simplified, ensuring that all users are using the same version of applications.

The ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory.

All areas of the product could be improved especially for the IT department, facilitating the deployment of applications and their maintenance. They also need to offer more options, flexibility, and to keep the price as low as possible.

More than five years.

We have encountered stability issues at times, but they have been resolved with updates.

No issues with scalability.

Technical support is quite good. I would rate it at eight out of 10.

Straightforward. Our vendor did it.

We evaluated Microsoft RemoteApp, but it was more expensive and more difficult to configure.

Make sure the initial installation is done by a vendor.

We are using it through the ProLiant ERP solution.

Its price and ease of use are the most valuable. It is simple and has good performance.

Generally, it is a very good solution. The main thing that I would improve is their presence here in Mexico. They don't have strong local support here in Mexico. They should have a worldwide presence so that we don't have to do everything through the people in the US. 

The initial setup was a little bit complex because we were migrating from Citrix. For customers who are migrating from another platform, such as VMware or Citrix, it would be great if they can provide an automated migration solution.

I have been using this solution for two months.

Its stability is very good.

Its scalability is good. We have around 30 users.

Their technical support is very good. I would rate them a ten out of ten.

The initial setup was a little bit complex because we were migrating from Citrix, but we got help from them all the time. The deployment took about two days.

It is very affordable.

To use it, it is important that you have a requirement to deploy on the cloud. It is not the right solution for on-premises deployments. It is the right solution for cloud deployments. It has a very affordable price and the highest capabilities. It is really good.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Public Cloud

very good value for money easy administration sehr stabile Product painless Application deployment

delegation in 2X Console currently accepts User Accounts only, please Add delegation for AD Groups.We started with 2X App Server Version 6. The development of the 2X App Server made many Great steps (eg. Universal Printing, Universal Scanning, VDI and so on). In our current environment, we use 2X to bring the different Apps from our TS Farm (6 Terminalservers - 2 Gateways) to our Users. Our users distributet over about 15 Sites and all Applications are hosted in our Main-Site. I never had any big Problems with 2X. It does what it should, it works! Support Team at 2X does a realy good Job. The Documentation is o.k. but in the Blog there are really good tips. Updates on the 2X Server are painless at all. Thank you 2X for such a great Product that makes my work much easier!

If you have Terminalservers (or Remote Desktop Session Host) and you haven't 2X, then go buy it.

My main use is for remote control for enterprise applications. 

The most valuable feature is the HTML 5 Client, which makes it convenient to work from outside the office.

In the next release, I would like to have two-factor authentication with Microsoft.

I've been working with this solution for six to seven years.

The stability is ok - once I finished the setup, the system was quite stable.

It is scalable, but sometimes you need to understand how to use load balancing and the gateway in order to scale, which means the team may need some additional technical knowledge.

The setup is simple and took a few days. 

I implemented using an in-house team. 

I don't like the subscription model because it feels like I have to pay every month. If Parallels could go back to the professional license, it would be much better.

I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

On-premises