Ivanti and Parallels Remote Application Server – Better Together, Pt. 1 of 3
Arjan van't Hoff
If you’re on the hunt for IT solutions that can help you customize the virtual desktop user experience, plus improve application control and performance, this Part 1 blog post in a series of three posts provides an introductory overview of the benefits of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS), with Ivanti solutions running alongside it.
The Part 2 and Part 3 posts in the series provide greater detail. Part 2 discusses some of the security capabilities of Parallels RAS, along with some of the features and capabilities of Ivanti Environment Manager and Ivanti Environment Manager Policy. Part 3 discusses features and capabilities of Ivanti Application Control and Ivanti Performance Manager.
First, a Bit about the Delivery of Virtual Desktops and Applications
Virtual desktops and applications can help many businesses and organizations of any size improve data security, simplify application management, and enable secure remote connectivity from any device, anywhere, increasing users’ productivity.
Some of the common concerns regarding application delivery and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments deal with the complexity of implementation, increasing the upfront costs. The installation of traditional, comprehensive virtual desktop and application publishing solutions can require several days of work by a certified technician, and often special training of internal staff to be able to configure and maintain the solutions.
Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS)
Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS), from Parallels, Inc., is the first application and desktop-delivery solution engineered to be as flexible and simple to configure and maintain for both IT Administrators and end users alike. Organizations can deliver applications and desktops to any user employing any device, anywhere.
It’s an all-in-one solution, allowing out-of-the-box access to features that IT administrators require, such as application, desktop, and VDI publishing; load balancing to Remote Desktop Session Hosts (RDSH) nodes and front-end gateways; automation and configuration wizards; universal printing and scanning; Windows device management, and much more—all available under the same Parallels RAS license.
Flexibility and Choice
Parallels RAS lets you choose the right delivery method, whether it’s Application publishing from RD Session Hosts, Desktops from RD Session Hosts providing session-based desktops, or VDI from the major hypervisors, including Microsoft Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, Citrix XenServer, and KVM.
In addition, Parallels RAS supports the widest range of Windows Servers and Desktop operating systems hosting virtual resources, starting from Windows Server 2003 Service Pack1 up to Windows Server 2016, and from Windows XP Service Pack3 up to Windows 10, respectively. This makes Parallels RAS ideal for delivery of legacy and newer applications from one centralized infrastructure, transparent for the end user. Moreover, Parallels RAS can be deployed on-premises, where organizations create their own: 1) private cloud; 2)public clouds, primarily on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS); or 3) a mix of both, that is, in a hybrid model.
Parallels RAS also enables end users to employ any device running any platform ranging from Windows, Mac (OSX), Android, iOS, Linux (including Raspberry Pi), Chromebooks, and even client-less via the use of a HTML5-capable browser through Parallels HTML5 capabilities that are also provided out-of-the-box.
Feature-Rich
Alongside the ability to publish applications, desktops, and VDI, Parallels RAS includes various capabilities such as load balancing both front-end—from the user devices to the Parallels Gateways via Parallels HALB virtual appliance (high-availability load balancer)—as well as back-end load balancing choosing the right RD Session host to provide the right application at the right time based on user sessions, memory, and CPU.
As Parallels core components work in Active/Active manner, the RAS environment can be set up for high availability and business continuity without relying on third-party, high-availability databases. RAS universal printing drivers also allow users to print on any printer when using the published resources from any device—even when using HTML5 client—without requiring printer-specific drivers to be installed on the RDSH or VDI. Also included out-of-the-box is the ability for administrators to manage Windows devices through the Parallels RAS client management module where administrators can power on, power off, reboot, log off, lock, and remotely control end users’ Windows devices.
Parallels RAS also provides administrators with reporting, auditing, and monitoring capabilities, providing administrators full control.
Moreover, various automation tools—including the use of RAS PowerShell API and built-in wizards for IT administrators—are also provided, making deployment and configuration of mentioned features simple to use.
Parallels RAS and Ivanti Together
With Ivanti solutions such as Ivanti Environment Manager, Environment Manager Policy, Application Control, and Performance Manager deployed alongside Parallels RAS, the digital workspace experience is extended, providing persistent and additional users’ personalization with the aim of enhancing users’ productivity. This can be achieved by removal of lengthy logons, allowing fully personalized environments that are controlled centrally without the need of Group policies, profiles, and scripts—while also mitigating corrupted profiles and poor application performance. User settings are roamed and applied on every Parallels RAS server with the ability to control application shortcuts inside the Parallels RAS virtual desktop.
Choose your trial experience for 50 concurrent users, ranging from: 1) trial in the cloud (on Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services); 2) trial in a box with a single, all-in-one virtual machine readily configured; or 3) a traditional trial that can be installed on your servers in your own data center.
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