Configure managing existing profiles by Parallels RAS

This topic describes how to configure existing FSLogix Profile Containers to be managed by Parallels RAS. FSLogix Profile Container configuration defines how and where the profile is redirected. Normally, you configure profiles through registry settings and GPO. Parallels RAS gives you the ability to configure profiles from the Parallels RAS Console or RAS Management Portal without using external tools.

Before you begin

Before you configure FSLogix Profile Containers in Parallels RAS, make note of the following:

• You don't have to change the profiles themselves; existing profiles stay the same.
• You can keep using your existing FSLogix Profile Container locations, such as SMB network shares or Cloud Cache.

Preliminary steps

Perform the following preliminary steps:

1. Back up your existing profiles. It is highly unlikely that profile data can be lost or corrupted, but it is best practice to have a valid backup prior to any change in profile configuration.
2. Turn off the GPO configuration of FSLogix Profile Containers. This step is important because you cannot have both GPO and Parallels RAS management of FSLogix profiles enabled at the same time.
3. Before configuring FSLogix profiles for a server in a RAS Farm, make sure there are no user sessions running on the server. As a suggestion, you can make the transition in a maintenance window out of working hours.

Replicate GPO and FSLogix configuration

To configure existing FSLogix Profile Containers in Parallels RAS, you need to replicate your existing GPO to the FSLogix configuration in Parallels RAS. This can be done in the Parallels RAS Console or the Parallels RAS Management Portal.

To configure profiles in the RAS Console:

1. Follow the instruction from the FSLogix Profile Containers section and open the User profiles tab.
2. In the Location of profile disks list box, specify existing SMB or Cloud Cache locations where you keep your FSLogix profiles. Also, specify the profile disk format, allocation type, and default size.
3. Click the Additional settings button and configure the rest of FSLogix settings you may have on your servers, such as user exclusions, folder exclusions, and others.

To configure profiles in the RAS Management Portal:

1. Navigate to Infrastructure > RD Session Hosts.
2. Click a host in the list and then click Properties.
3. In the middle pane, click User Profile.
4. Specify the settings as described in steps above for the RAS Console.

Please note that at the time of this writing RAS Management Portal can only be used to configure RD Session Hosts to use FSLogix Profile Containers. For other host types, please use the desktop-based RAS Console.

Recommendations and testing

When performing steps in the previous section, do not configure multiple (or all) servers in a RAS farm right away. Begin with a single server (e.g. an RD Session Host) and then test it with a single user connection. After that, configure some other servers and test the same user logging in to multiple servers consecutively to confirm the profile is loaded and personalization is retained irrespective of a session host. If all is good, configure other servers, server groups, or Site defaults.

Your RAS users can now connect to Parallels RAS using pre-existing FSLogix Profile Containers, which are now managed centrally through Parallels RAS.