We performed a comparison between Microsoft Remote Desktop Services and Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The solution is now stable."
"The most valuable features of the solution are ease of use and the simple environment."
"Since the tool has a graphical user interface, it's easier for us to access the server."
"The performance is one of the main features of this solution."
"The installation is straightforward."
"It's pretty stable."
"The most valuable feature is the remote application access."
"The solution works well as a remote desktop."
"Client compatibility with many systems makes it very versatile. The reporting that is included is awesome."
"We use RAS to publish cloud desktops to our clients. The ability to easily publish resources to a subset of users is what we find most valuable."
"It has allowed us to centralize the software location so we don't have to update the software client on 70 computers."
"We can publish apps and desktops on Terminal Servers and seamlessly share printers. We also combine Parallels with Deepnet Security to get two-factor authentication."
"Valuable features include the ability to set up security groups for accessing certain apps, and the ability to add apps easily and centrally without touching the servers they’re hosted on."
"It permits us to control the applications that our users are able to get to, in a seamless manner. We're able to distribute applications to users' desktops, just like those applications are on each user's computer, but they're not."
"You have the opportunity to virtualize applications in different locations. Everything is in one pane or one window, which is quite good."
"The most valuable feature is the ease with which you can publish applications to different groups of users, by integrating with Windows Active Directory."
"We've had issues with security breaches."
"It could be made simpler from a management perspective."
"Microsoft still has some really bad remote desktop appliance for Mac."
"The user interface needs improvement."
"There is a limitation on the number of concurrent users."
"The stability could be improved."
"Sometimes, the updates break the system."
"We'd like more granular security control of the desktop services."
"HALB is not stable in our environment. When running two HALBs we have stability problems, so we use an active one and a passive for backup. Also, it would be nice to implement an upgrade of the environment without having to stop the servers. As it is, this must be done during off-hours."
"It would be great if there were more sophisticated GPO templates/options."
"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."
"From a seller's point of view, there are a lot of things that they could do better in the sales cycle."
"If the solution crashes, then all the customers connected through that agent, lose their session."
"We have had significant, ongoing issues with printing. It would be great to have a best practice for dealing with printing that we can offer to our customers."
"Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is an expensive solution, and its pricing could be improved."
"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."
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Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is ranked 1st in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 76 reviews while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is ranked 12th in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with 24 reviews. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is rated 8.0, while Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services writes "Easy to set up and reliable, but needs an additional control panel". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) writes "Provides good scalability and a secure environment". Microsoft Remote Desktop Services is most compared with TeamViewer, VMware Horizon, Citrix Workspace, VMware Workstation and VMware Horizon View, whereas Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) is most compared with Citrix Workspace, Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service), Parallels Desktop, NVIDIA GRID and VMware Workstation. See our Microsoft Remote Desktop Services vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) report.
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