Upgrading a Parallels Remote Application Server

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.

Keeping Parallels RAS up to date is an important part of maintaining a stable and secure remote access environment. Before introducing new features or making configuration changes, it is often necessary to update the existing RAS components to a newer version.

Upgrading an existing Parallels RAS environment requires a little more planning than a fresh installation. The environment may contain multiple RAS servers and roles, published applications and desktops, active user sessions, and other dependencies that need to be considered before starting the update.

In this article, I will walk through the process of upgrading an existing Parallels RAS environment. The goal is to show the steps involved, what should be checked before starting, and how to verify that the environment is working correctly after the update.

The examples in this guide are based on an existing RAS deployment installed on a single instance and focus specifically on the update process.

Situation

Current version: Parallels RAS 21.1.0
Target version: Parallels RAS 21.2.27310
RAS deployment: All roles on one server
Server OS: Windows Server 2025
Active Directory: Yes

Pre Update Checklist

- Check the RAS farm status

Make sure all RAS servers and installed roles are showing as OK/online.
Resolve any existing errors before starting the update.

- Check active user sessions

Review currently connected users and active sessions.
To minimize user impact perform the update during a maintenance window when users are not connected.

- Check published resources

Verify that published applications and desktops are working normally before the update.
This gives you a known-good state to compare against afterwards.

- Back up the RAS configuration

Create a backup of the current Parallels RAS configuration before starting.
Keep the backup available in case you need to restore the environment.

- Download the MSI

Download the MSI from the Parallels website or via the download button in the New Version announcement on your parallels RAS Management portal.

Update your farm

Important:
_Make sure you have a recent backup of the Parallels RAS configuration and that the current environment is functioning normally before starting the update._

In this article the update will be installed via the downloaded MSI. You can also choose to hit the update button in the New Version announcement, but by running the MSI itself you're controlling the update by yourself.

Before starting the upgrade close any RAS console on the affected server.

1. Double click the downloaded MSI with the version of your choice.

2. Click Next on the Welcome page

3. Accept the License Agreement and click Next

4. Check the designated destination folder and click Next
5. Click Install

6. When the update is succesfully installed you keep the option selected and click Finish

7. You need to restart the server to complete all the changes, click Yes
8. After the reboot you log back into the server and log into your Parallels RAS Console

9. After logging in the Parallels RAS Console you will be asked to update your Agents as well, click Yes to update the agents

10. A list of agents will be shown with a status of Needs update. Click OK

11. Enter your admin credentials to remote install the update and click OK
12. When the agent(s) are updated you hit Done
13. The agent(s) requieres a reboot to fullfill the installation, so reboot the agent(s) manually.
14. After the agent(s) are rebooted the Parallels RAS upgrade is done

Verify your farm

Verify your farm by checking the state of the site

If all the lights are green, the upgrade is succesfull and you are ready to bring the farm back into production.

If you need any help or future assistance, click here to contact us.