BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Parallels® announced that it will preview version 17.1 of Parallels® Remote Application Server™ (Parallels® RAS™, parallels.com/ras)—which simplifies end-user computing for service providers (SPs) and enterprises—at Microsoft Ignite 2019, booth 2626, from November 4-8 in Orlando, Florida. Meetings can be scheduled at vdi.parallels.com/microsoft-ignite-2019.
Parallels RAS 17.1, which launches in December, significantly increases admin capabilities on Microsoft Azure. Updates include the addition of Tenant Broker for multi-tenant architecture, allowing users to share the same Parallels RAS infrastructure; Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), reducing admin and operational costs; and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) provisioning, allowing organizations to scale VDI workloads on demand.
“Centralized management through a single pane of glass is the benchmark feature admins look for in their VDI solutions,” said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Parallels Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support. “Parallels RAS 17.1 significantly upgrades management tools across the board, while offering the most cost-effective solution on the market. Admins can now deploy workloads natively on Microsoft Azure, as well as hybrid and multi-cloud, leveraging the scalability of the cloud and Parallels RAS automation. Service providers can now more easily and effectively deploy their solutions on customer devices, as well as use native iOS and Android touch gestures when working from iPhone®, iPad® and Android devices.”
Parallels RAS 17.1 now features a multi-tenant architecture with the introduction of Tenant Broker, enabling organizations to share the same infrastructure for different customers while keeping data segregated and optimizing costs. Organizations can see cost savings due to a reduction in Secure Client Gateways and High Availability Load Balancers (HALBs). Businesses can onboard new tenants quicker with centralized management and added security across several deployments. Watch this demo video of the multi-tenant architecture feature: https://www.youtube.com/embed/sJcddkPsTj0?rel=0.
The introduction of SAML authentication streamlines management of user identities between different organizations—without sharing the local identity database. There are two major benefits to this. Firstly, it reduces admin and operational costs due to decreased management of user identities, with the ability to offload user-identity management to independent identity providers (IdP) and allow service providers to concentrate on their core offerings. Secondly, users log on using the same set of credentials their IdP would automatically provide, enabling a successful log-on to any application hosted by service providers without having to reenter credentials. This enables an improved user workflow. Watch this demo video of the SAML single sign-on authentication feature: https://www.youtube.com/embed/XT3DIZRbEXs?rel=0.
Parallels RAS supports Microsoft Azure Hypervisor, allowing admins to provision and scale VDI workloads on demand directly on Azure. This provides cost reduction and improved efficiency for public and hybrid deployments. Admins can now enhance the flexibility of their VDI and RDSH deployments by mixing and matching on-premises, hybrid, multi- and public cloud environments. In addition, organizations can now scale computing resources on demand on Azure by leveraging Parallels RAS auto-provisioning and auto-scaling capabilities, addressing changes in workloads quickly. Watch this demo video of the Azure Hypervisor feature: https://www.youtube.com/embed/0zCdASC-q3E?rel=0.
Version 17.1 also enables the use of different hostnames and ports for network and application traffic, which may be required when integrating Parallels RAS with third-party load balancers such as Amazon Web Services™ (AWS) Elastic Load Balancers (ELB). AWS ELB automatically distributes incoming network and application traffic to address workload demands, allowing organizations to use Parallels HTML5 Client portal and Parallels native clients simultaneously. This allows the use of native cloud services and other third-party load balancers together with Parallels, offering the ability to use different server hostnames and ports for network and application traffic. Combining Parallels RAS and AWS ELB increases agility and streamlines management, while cutting costs and reducing the deployment footprint.
Other New Features in Parallels RAS 17.1
- Apple® iPad® Multitasking Support: Parallels RAS now supports iPad multitasking features such as Slide Over and Split View, allowing iPad users to use Parallels client along with other apps. For example, use a Parallels RAS published resource and FaceTime® at the same time. Also, users can now work with up to three apps at the same time—use two apps in Split View and one in Slide Over mode.
- Simplified VDI and RDSH Deployment: IT admins can easily manage, rapidly deploy and quickly scale out their end-user computing (EUC) environment to the improved management capabilities of Parallels RAS for larger deployments (such as a dedicated VDI management control pane and group wide settings). Additionally, Parallels RAS now fully supports Scale Computing's KVM-based hypervisor with the addition of RDSH auto-provision along with VDI. Watch this demo video: https://youtu.be/oia8AgGwHYk.
- Drag-and-Drop Support: Parallels RAS provides bidirectional support for drag and drop, allowing users to move files, images and text from published resources (applications and desktops) down to the local device and vice versa.
- SQL 2017 and 2019 Server Integration: Parallels RAS now supports the latest Microsoft SQL releases with support for deployments with SSRS and SQL installed separately. Admins can also reutilize existing 2017 and 2019 SQL servers with additional support for SQL database as a service (PAAS/ DBaaS and IAAS for SSRS or full IAAS) on the cloud and/or on-premises.
- SSL Certificate Manager: Version 17.1 simplifies management of Parallels RAS installations by introducing the SSL Certificate Manager, providing a centralized location to push certificates to all gateways. Watch this demo video of the SSL Certificate Manager feature: https://www.youtube.com/embed/bqYn7HnU1hE?rel=0.
Availability and Pricing
Parallels offers a free 30-day, full-featured trial of Parallels RAS 17, including 50 concurrent user licenses, at parallels.com/ras.
Parallels RAS offers a concurrent user license at $99 per year for a lower acquisition, support and training cost—with full functionality from the start, including a load balancer and support. Parallels RAS is available online and from approved resellers, which can be found along with product details, resources, documentation, case studies and full-featured free trials at parallels.com/ras.
About Parallels
Parallels is a global leader in cross-platform solutions that make it possible and simple for businesses and individuals to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. Parallels helps customers take advantage of the best technology out there, whether it’s Windows, Mac, iOS, Android or the cloud. Parallels solves complex engineering and user-experience problems by making it simple and cost-effective for businesses and individual customers to use applications wherever they may be—local, remote, in the private datacenter or in the cloud. Parallels, a business unit of Corel, has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Visit parallels.com/about for more information.
About Corel
Corel products enable millions of connected knowledge workers around the world to do great work faster. Offering some of the industry's best-known software brands, we give individuals and teams the power to create, collaborate and deliver impressive results. Our success is driven by an unwavering commitment to deliver a broad portfolio of innovative applications—including CorelDRAW®, ClearSlide®, MindManager®, Parallels® and WinZip®—to inspire users and help them achieve their goals. To learn more about Corel, please visit corel.com.
Media Contacts
John Uppendahl, Vice President of Communications, john@parallels.com, +1 425 282-1734
Ryan Donough, Cohn & Wolfe, ryan.donough@cohnwolfe.com, +1 415 403-8311
Copyright © 2019 Parallels International GmbH. Parallels, the Parallels logo, Parallels RAS, and Parallels Remote Application Server are trademarks or registered trademarks of Parallels IP Holdings GmbH in Canada, the United States and/or other countries. Corel, CorelDRAW, MindManager and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation in Canada, the United States and/or other countries. ClearSlide is a trademark or registered trademark of ClearSlide Inc. in Canada, the United States and/or other countries. Apple, iPad, FaceTime, and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3ebb13c2-75a7-4474-acbc-f4766b962c54