RAS VDI Agent Installation Options

If you are installing a dedicated RAS VDI Agent, you first need to determine where it will be installed. Depending on the VDI provider type, the following options are available:

• The host on which the hypervisor is running. This option is available for Microsoft Hyper-V only.
• A supported version of Windows Server running on a physical box or in a virtual machine. For supported Windows Server versions, see Software Requirements > RAS VDI Agent.
• A preconfigured Linux-based virtual appliance (provided by Parallels). The appliance can be deployed on any hypervisor on your network.

The following table lists RAS VDI Agent installation options for each supported VDI provider:

* High Availability is not available with these VDI Agent installation options. For details, see Enabling High Availability for VDI.

Note: The Remote PC is a special type that can be used to create and manage pools of remote PCs as part of hosted desktop infrastructure (HDI). When you add a VDI provider of this type, you can manage it like one of the real VDI providers with some limitations, such as you cannot create templates and use some other strictly VDI-specific functions. The main feature when using this type is the ability to create pools of HDI-based remote PCs and making PCs persistent by assigning an individual PC to a specific user. For more info, see Remote PC Pools.

In the table above, find the VDI provider type that you are using and see where the RAS VDI Agent can be installed. Depending on the available choices, do one of the following:

• Built-in Agent: The agent is a part of RAS Publishing Agent, so it is already installed. When possible, it is always recommended to use the built-in VDI Agent for high availability and business continuity.
• Agent on a VDI provider: This option is only available if you are using Microsoft Hyper-V. You can simply install the agent on the host, as described in Add a VDI Provider.
• Agent on a Windows Server (VM or HW): To use this option, make sure you have a physical box or a virtual machine running a supported version of Windows Server. You will need to specify its FQDN or IP address when adding a VDI provider to the Farm.
• Agent in Appliance: If this is your choice, you need to download and deploy a virtual appliance as described in the Deploying a Virtual Appliance subsection below.

Please note that if both Windows Server and virtual appliance can be used with your VDI provider, you can choose one or the other according to your preferences.

Deploying a virtual appliance

Use these instructions if you plan on deploying RAS VDI Agent as a virtual appliance.

To download and install a virtual appliance:

1. Visit https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/download/links/
2. On the download page, scroll down to the "VDI Agent Appliances" section and click the VDI Agent Appliance OVA or the VDI Agent Appliance VMDK link to download the appliance. See the table above for the appliance type (OVA or VMDK) compatible with the hypervisor that you are using.
3. After downloading the virtual appliance, you need to deploy it on a hypervisor. For the information about deploying a virtual appliance, please refer to your hypervisor documentation.