Settings audit

Parallels RAS gives you the ability to audit the modifications that were done to a Parallels RAS Farm, including changes to any of the components, objects, resources, and users. This information is stored in a database, so it can be reviewed and possibly reverted, if needed. The information is stored in the primary database but is replicated in a local database on the computer where Parallels RAS Console is running.

You can view the list of modifications using one of the following options:

• By navigating to Administration > Settings audit. The tab displays the main list of all changes to any components/objects in the Farm. If a modification can be reverted, you can do it here.
• By clicking Tasks > Settings audit on any pane in the RAS Console that supports this functionality. Compared to the main list (described above), you will only see modifications to the same types of components or objects that are managed on a given pane. You can also revert a modification here if it can be reverted. If the Settings audit menu option is not available on a particular pane, it means that the functionality is not available for the types of components or objects that this pane manages.

The following describes in detail how to view and revert Farm modifications.

View the main settings audit list

To view the main list of all modifications for a Farm, do the following:

1. In the Parallels RAS Console, select the Administration category and then click the Settings audit tab.
2. The sync process will check that the local audit database is in sync with the primary database and will do an update if necessary (you may see a progress indicator while the syncing is in progress).
3. Once the syncing is complete, the Settings audit tab will be populated with data. Each entry in the list corresponds to a modification that was done either by a RAS administrator or a system service.

Turning off audit databases synchronization

By default, Parallels RAS synchronizes audit databases across all Connection Brokers. This will take more time as the databases grow. You can turn off database synchronization, in which case you will only have access to the audit database on the current Licensing Connection Broker. If you change Licensing Connection Broker, you will not have access to the previous audit database without enabling synchronization.

To turn off audit databases synchronization:

1. On the Settings audit tab, click the Tasks drop-down list and select Settings.
2. Clear the Replicate administrators' audit data on all Connection Brokers option.
3. Click OK.

Information about modifications

The information for each entry in the list includes the following:

• Date: Date and time of the modification.
• Session: Session ID.
• Username: The name of the administrator or RAS service that was responsible for the modification. RAS services may include System (redundancy service) and Connection Broker (controller service).
• Action: The action that was performed, such as Connect, Disconnect, Create, Update, Switch site, and others.
• ID: The affected object's ID.
• Site: The number and name of the affected Site. "Global" means the change affected all sites.
• Type: The modification type. This usually makes sense when viewed together with the Action value.
• Name: The value in this column is displayed for some entries and can provide additional information, such as the name of the changed object.

Common tasks

You can perform the following actions on the list:

• To refresh the list, click the "recycle" icon (top right).
• To view details for an entry, double-click it (or select an entry and click Tasks > View entry).
• To search for a specific entry (or entries), click the magnifying glass icon (top right). An extra row is added at the top of the list allowing you to enter the search criteria. You can type a string to search for in one or multiple columns. The search is performed as you type and the list is filtered to include only the matching entries. To cancel filtering and display the complete list, click the magnifying glass icon again.

Reverting a modification

To revert a modification in the main list:

1. Double-click a desired entry on the Settings Audit tab.
2. The Audit Entry dialog opens. While here, you can click Next and Previous buttons to go to the next or previous item as they are displayed in the main list.
3. To revert the change, click the Revert button. If the button is disabled, it means that the change cannot be reverted.

Changes that can never be reverted include the following:

• Any changes done by System or Connection Broker (as displayed in the Username column).
• Changes that were done in previous versions of Parallels RAS where this feature did not exist.
• Changes related to administrator accounts.

View a local settings audit list

You can also view and revert configuration changes for a specific type of RAS components or objects. When you are on a particular pane (or tab) in the RAS Console, look for the Tasks > Settings audit menu option (or right-click > Settings audit). If it's there, then you can view the changes and revert them if needed. Consider the example below.

Let's say you want to see changes that were done to RD Session Hosts. To do so:

1. In the RAS Console, navigate to Farm > <Site> > RD Session Hosts.
2. Click Tasks > Settings audit.
3. The Settings Audit dialog opens listing all known modifications that were done to RD Session Hosts. The modifications may include creating, moving, deleting, or updating an RD Session Host. The type of the modification is displayed in the Action column in the list.
4. To revert a modification, select it and click the Revert button (in the lower right of the dialog). If the button is disabled when you select a particular entry, it means that the modification cannot be reverted.

The local settings audit functionality is available for most of the major components and objects in the Parallels RAS Console. This includes RD Session Hosts (including Groups and Scheduler), VDI, Remote PCs, Gateways, Connection Brokers, Themes, Publishing, Quick Keypad, and many others. Once again, when you view a particular pane, look for the Tasks > Settings audit menu option (or right-click > Settings audit). If it's there, then you can view the changes and revert them if needed.