Parallels RAS 22 is now available. Released on October 29, 2026 (core build 22.0-28160), this version gives IT more control over the devices, users, and sessions that connect to company resources. It also brings Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid support, a new File Access experience in the User Portal, and a long list of security, management, and user experience improvements.

Security, access, and identity

Security is the area with the most changes in this release:

  • Client device posture checks: RAS can now assess the security status of connecting devices before granting access, including antivirus, OS version, running processes, registry keys, UAC, and firewall status.
  • Session recording and playback (experimental): user sessions can be recorded for later review, with a built-in player, retention policies, and health alerts. Typical scenarios are audits, incident investigations, contractor oversight, and compliance.
  • SAML as a second factor: SAML is now available as an additional multifactor authentication provider.
  • Extended public IP access control: published resources, policies, logon hours, and MFA requirements can be filtered by the public IP address of the connection.
  • Gateway and broker rate limiting: connection limits protect gateways and brokers from high volumes of connection attempts, with automatic blocking of abusive IP addresses.
  • Trusted farm verification: servers verify trust with each other, so untrusted systems cannot join a deployment.
  • Certificates and SAML: custom certificate import and export, PFX export, a custom SAML SP Entity ID, and an updated SAML implementation.
  • Session tunneling for Linux and iOS/iPadOS: these clients can now launch tunneled sessions through the Connection Broker API.

Platform flexibility

  • Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid: on-premises AVD session hosts can be managed in RAS alongside Azure-hosted resources, while the AVD control plane stays in Azure.
  • VMware vSphere 9: vSphere 9, including ESXi and vCenter, is supported as a VDI provider.
  • VDI platform scaling: configurable parallel cloning, faster list navigation, and Hyper-V support for TPM-enabled Windows 11 templates.
  • VM hibernation in Azure (experimental): intended for AVD scaling plans managed outside RAS. The setting cannot be changed after the template is created.

File Access in the User Portal

The User Portal gets a new Files area, next to apps and favorites. Users can browse existing Windows SMB file shares and open files directly in the matching published application. No need to publish Windows Explorer, and no new file-sharing infrastructure to deploy.

User experience and session fidelity

  • True Coherence mode for Mac: published apps behave more like native Mac apps, with better Dock integration and live previews.
  • Clipboard image transparency on Mac: transparent areas stay transparent when copying images between macOS and the session.
  • Taskbar window preview: hovering a published app on the taskbar shows a preview of its window.
  • Keyboard layout sync: local keyboard layout changes are passed to the remote session automatically, now enabled by default.
  • Time zone redirection: the session matches the user’s local time zone without requiring the RDSH role or extra server configuration.
  • Password expiration notifications: clearer warnings when a password is about to expire.

Management and operations

  • Agent updates in Drain Mode: rolling RAS Agent updates on RD Session Hosts that keep their drain state, without a separate maintenance step.
  • Uptime visibility: OS uptime is displayed for RDSH, AVD, VDI, Secure Gateway, Connection Broker, Enrollment Server, and Remote PC hosts.
  • Autoscaler workload visibility: host pool workload is shown as a percentage to support scaling decisions.
  • Grafana integration: RAS monitoring can point to an existing Grafana instance, with a custom dashboard URL and InfluxDB credentials.
  • Redirected drive write caching: write-behind caching and file-copy performance settings can be managed from the RAS console.
  • MSIX launch parameters: delivered MSIX applications now support launch parameters.
  • Cookie-free User Portal load balancing: cookie-based configuration is no longer required with third-party load balancers.
  • Cost Insights certificates: custom certificates can be used for Cost Insights.
  • Reporting: Session Activity reports include public IP information, and connection tests show SQL Server and SSRS version details.

Support matrix changes

Before upgrading, check the updated support matrix:

  • FSLogix: support moves to 26.08, and 25.09 is dropped.
  • Dropped OS and agent support: Windows Server 2012 R2 (RD Session Host agent), Windows 10 32-bit, macOS 13, iOS/iPadOS 17, Android 10 and 11, Debian 11, Fedora 40 and 41, and IGEL OS 11.
  • Database and reporting: SQL Server and SSRS 2016 are no longer supported.
  • API and PowerShell: the ServerID field in RDPSession objects is removed (use SessionHostId), along with the EnableOverlayIcons setting and the TemplateType parameter for AWS subnets (replaced by ProviderId).

⚠️ Important: the release notes also remind that the Microsoft App-V server components have reached end of support. Plan the migration of App-V packages, for example to MSIX.

Conclusion

Parallels RAS 22 is a release focused on control. Device posture checks, public IP filtering, rate limiting, and trusted farm verification tighten the access surface, while session recording, even in experimental form, addresses audit and compliance needs. AVD Hybrid and vSphere 9 support extend the platforms RAS can manage, and File Access removes a common workaround for giving users their files. Before upgrading, review the dropped OS, SQL Server, and FSLogix versions against your environment.

Official Parallels references:

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ParallelsCloudMicrosoft Azure