Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure vs. Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Nutanix in San Jose, California offers their software-defined Enterprise Cloud as a hyper-converged infrastructure solution. The Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure solution combines the Nutanix Acropolis virtualization solution, Nutanix AHV hypervisor (though Acropolis works with other hypervisors), Prism cluster manager, Nutanix Calm and Nutanix Flow server management, and is available on the Nutanix NX series of server hardware appliances, as well as third-party OEM appliances.N/A
Parallels RAS
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS, formerly 2X RAS), is application virtualization technology, billed as a solution to extend the life of legacy OS (like Windows XP) with its virtual desktop for any device. Maltese company 2X Software developed the technology, but was acquired by Parallels (in Seattle, WA) in February, 2015 to extend their cross-platform support solutions.N/A
Pricing
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels RAS
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Considered Both Products
Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix integrates very well with Rubrik for backup and protection of the environment. Nutanix gave us simplicity and scalability compared to VMware and allowed us to extend our infrastructure into the cloud using EC2. One unified management pane for all our workloads, unlike …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Management decided to have multiple hypervisor platform and Nutanix was the best in the market so far. The cluster management was so easy to manage, so no regret.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Dell PowerEdge
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Storage - I no need to worry about buying separate products like in VMware LCM - Separate appliance in VMware GPU - Nightmare in updating these software's Planning - Need to have a separate license in ESXI vROPS; I can use cost analysis and capacity runaway in Nutanix 3-Tier - …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
The HPe solution we looked at was not as good, this was only introduced as one of the aquired companies used it and we. after we took over and looked under the hood, we felt that it was not a very ideal solution for use and that is what prompted use to abandon that infra and …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
vSAN on VXrail and a Cisco Flashstack was our two existing systems before bringing in a Nutanix cluster. The performance of Nutanix HCI was far better than vSAN's performance (hybrid vs. hybrid and AF vs. AF.) However, Pure does deliver on its claim of being the fastest storage …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
We've decided to go for both VxRail and Nutanix AOS to make sure we can get the best deals from both sides. I appreciate this may not be a path most companies can go down, but always good to have a bit of healthy competition between vendors to ensure you're getting the best …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Hyperconverged infrastructure
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Enterprise Cloud (EC) is made of three core components: Prism, Acropolis, and Calm. Prism is the management plane that provides a unified management interface that generates actionable insights for optimizing virtualization, infrastructure management, and everyday operations. …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
The only other hyper-converged I have used is Rubrik so my comparison here won't be very good I am afraid.

The two products seem comparable in terms of them just being a service in a box but of course one of them is a very good backup solution and the other is a very good …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Simply put Nutanix AOS is in another class. It is so much better, faster, easier to use, train, etc. I would recommend Nutanix every time.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
I've been a big Nimble fan and would consider it if I was deploying in a green field site (it always comes down to price of course).
Nutanix are an existing supplier so for now it makes the choice easier.
We did look at VxRail but again for the VDI solution Nutanix won out.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Unlimited VM without extra licensing. The AOS is based on KVM.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
We used UCS before, which is a little complicated to setup. There are multiple devices need to connect together (for example two FIs and main process chassis needs to cross-connected first), and there is no storage built-in. But once all setup and configured, it is good. The …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
VxRail would have incurred extra costs that were not apparent in the original presentations from suppliers.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
We really haven't done much with the other modules. Our organization is small enough that implementing most of them would have been overkill and rarely utilized. It doesn't mean we never will, but it wasn't a need as we stand today. With our next refresh, I would like to look …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
We made benchmarks and evaluated other storage solutions. But the HCI component and the integration from storage, computer, virtualization are what mostly made the choice clear for us.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix is not as a mature product but the ability to automate through using their API is one of the strongest reasons for choosing this platform. Automation helps remove human error and this leads to more time for deployment teams to spend on other activities. Their feature …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix is the most user-friendly with rich web UI and features. Nutanix is the easiest to do upgrades and updates with.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix AOS provides simplified, stable, fast deployment, security, and easy operations.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Nutanix AOS is a hands-down much better thought-out and more robust solution than vSAN.
Better priced than SimpliVity.
Simpler HCI solution than Pure.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
Other HCI products used or evaluated have been Acuity, HC3, Hyperflex, Maxta, Overt, Proxmox, Simplivity, Symphony, VXRack. Nutanix was really first to market and has had many first features available in their product, familiarity with the product, and our organization's track …
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
They're on par with each other but it seems like management prefers Nutanix.
Chose Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure
We were looking at Simplivity before they were bought out by HP. We liked Nutanix because of the included hypervisor and file services - we were paying way too much for VMware licensing to continue using it.
Parallels RAS
Chose Parallels RAS
Provides similar function to Microsoft Remote Desktop services, including administrative and user quality of life, ability to get support, at the cost of licensing of course.
Chose Parallels RAS
We haven't evaluated it against anything else. It works well for us so there was no need to look elsewhere
Chose Parallels RAS
Much easier to deploy, support and use. Far better support. Overall a superior experience.
Chose Parallels RAS
Less expensive. Better support. Better documentation. It's easier to set up.
Chose Parallels RAS
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) provided the most cost effective option for virtualizing applications.
Chose Parallels RAS
We wanted to try out an alternative to VMware or Citrix.
Chose Parallels RAS
Citrix has more bells and whistles within their product line, but we've actually been pleasantly surprised with the performance of Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) vs our Citrix implementation. Citrix Netscaler has way more functionality than the Parallels …
Chose Parallels RAS
it requires strong IT skills to manage the "behind the scene" engine. Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) solved all that.
Chose Parallels RAS
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) provides the finest end user experience while being cost-effective and reducing administrative and support man hours.
Chose Parallels RAS
Cameyo, Citrix DaaS and Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)
Chose Parallels RAS
Citrix is a great products but very expensive. That's why we choose Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS). Citrix is a great products but very expensive. That's why we choose Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS). Citrix is a great products but very …
Chose Parallels RAS
easier to deploy and understand, quicker to deploy, easy for end users.
Chose Parallels RAS
Parallels well developed product that receives product updates and features regularly. Parallels is also a cost effective solution compared to more prominent providers such as Citrix but won't have as many features.
Chose Parallels RAS
Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) stacks up against VMWare Horizon and Citrix workspace because it was much more cost effective and easier to install, configure and implement. Our decision to use Parallels RAS was because of using all features with one license …
Chose Parallels RAS
In my experience, a much simpler solution, less expensive than citrix.
Chose Parallels RAS
I have used but not admined similar products from VMware and seen demos from Cisco and I would not personally find any benefit in migrating away from our Parallels configuration to those platforms.
Chose Parallels RAS
We used Microsoft RemoteApp prior to this. RAS is simpler and less expensive. Seems to perform better as well.
Chose Parallels RAS
Cost:Parallels RAS is generally considered to be more cost-effective than Citrix, with a lower upfront investment and lower ongoing maintenance costs.
Parallels RAS is generally more user-friendly than Citrix, with a simpler user interface and more intuitive navigation for both …
Chose Parallels RAS
We evaluated Citrix as well as Parallels when we undertook this project, and our research concluded that not only was Parallels much easier to set up and use, but it was much more cost-effective.
Chose Parallels RAS
We have been a customer for 2x, at some point there is no going back.If the costs do not explode we stay with Parallels Remote Application Server.
Best Alternatives
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Small Businesses
StarWind HCA
StarWind HCA
Score 8.7 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 7.2 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
StarWind HCA
StarWind HCA
Score 8.7 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 7.2 out of 10
Enterprises
VMware vSAN
VMware vSAN
Score 8.5 out of 10
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion
Score 7.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(0 ratings)
9.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.2
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.5
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.7
(0 ratings)
7.8
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.2
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.2
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
5.2
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Nutanix Cloud InfrastructureParallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS)
Likelihood to Recommend
For an organization that requires top-notch performance HCI, Nutanix is the best. You may start with 3 nodes and expand the cluster as required. The management through Nutanix Prism Central and Element was so easy that even a Junior Engineer was able to handle it. The Nutanix platform is not suitable for organizations with a small budget and fewer requirements for high-performance infrastructure, as the Nutanix solution itself is suited for enterprises.
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Scenarios where time is a factor in having a solution in place and up and running safely and securely. Where there are older devices that ordinarily wouldn't be up to the task of running modern apps and services. Where users need to work away from the network, and security is a concern.
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Pros
  • "Nutanix is an operating system playing inside an existing, rich IT ecosystem." Listen to Wendy M. Pfeiffer, CIO of Nutanix, as she shares game-changing results with the implementation of infrastructure-as-code.
  • With one-click simplicity, Nutanix AOS streamlines IT operations and relieves budget pressures by integrating storage, networking, and compute services into a single solution managed by IT generalists. Start small and scale without limit to meet business demands.
  • Deliver applications with the highest possible performance throughout the full lifecycle, not just day one. Provide reliable performance SLAs without worrying about workload changes or growth in application demands.
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  • The printing driver is quite excellent, both in the Parallels Client and on the HTML5 client.
  • Setup is incredibly easy; the default setup is very functional, and adding features is a breeze.
  • Speed is very acceptable in general for end-users, the clients adapt quite well to the amount of bandwidth available, and features are available to adjust further.
  • Automation through PowerShell is great.
  • Support is usually quite fast and efficient.
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Cons
  • Can be priced high at times.
  • The one downside I have working with Nutanix is the sales team. They seem to try to add in extra goodies to sales quotes or push for extras that you don't really need and you have to tell them to take them out. Don't be afraid to push back on them.
  • Need to analyze sizing with sales team to ensure right sizing.
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  • Licensing, our perpetual license was forcefully removed from us after 8 years without warning, causing a doubling of the price, after providing a signed sales quote for renewal through our VAR. Parallels sales team did not seem to care, and was willing to throw away a customer who used their services for nearly a decade, and throw our VAR under the bus.
  • continued addition of new features for existing platforms, not just a focus on the hot new cloud offerings.
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Likelihood to Renew
AOS definitely make our dev/test virtual environment management much easier than before. And the consolidation the test/dev environment from Azure and Cisco UCS, we have less need to transfer large amount of data between different hardware platforms which was very big challenge. To expand the capacity is very easy to archive as well.
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The product is very useful and fairly easy to maintain. We enjoy the multiple additonal platforms we can now run our Windows only Client Server applications on, such as Macs, iPads, phones, etc. We also find that speed is improved for using this applications over a WAN, while it still FEELS like running the application locally.
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Usability
It's not out of the box easy, but once you get the fundamentals the steep learning curve flattens out and the processes to get things done and how it works becomes very apparent. It's wrapping the slight change in workflow from prior VM management methods took time to unbox and apply the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure way
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Parallels RAS was easy to setup, with great admin guides and resources. We especially liked the included Visio templates which made diagramming much easier. The reference deployment diagrams also simplified our deployment process. Our end users love Parallels RAS. Apps launch faster than Citrix, and the Parallels RAS client is far more reliable than Workspace.
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Reliability and Availability
We have not had any Nutanix availability issues over the years.
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If there are any issues with Parallels - they are usually more about the server operating systems than Parallels itself. It would be rare for us to have any reason to take Parallels offline - we schedule a reboot on the servers at 3am to keep the O/S itself fresh, but again - it is not a Parallels issue. If individual users have any issues we ask them to completely log out of parallels - which ends their session - and then back in - and that typically resolves the issue right away.
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Performance
Nutanix AOS performance is light years ahead of HPE. We were nervous about using Nutanix AHV but it has been a vast improvement and saves on cost. Applications has been much improved and end users have commented. It has also freed up time for our Network Administrators and made their lives easier.
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I am giving Parallels 9/10 on this one because the only application that sometimes seems slow or has issues - is Microsoft Outlook. It is sometimes the result of a pop-up that may not show up in the published application (vs full desktop). Other than that - pages load very quickly - and it does not seem to slow down other applications that are running at the same time. Most of our users run Outlook, softphone and Teams locally - and published applications for everything else. When they do that - it is very solid.
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Support Rating
Nutanix provide top tier support - their only rival in this field in my experience is Rubrik. Their sales and the aftersales team really put the effort in to make the initial install an easy process to complete and support we've required post that has been expertly handled. Their support's first point of contact is the equivalent of 3rd line at other vendors and they're always more than willing to explain concepts to help us better understand the issue/solution provided.
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Good support in place if required, very helpful when it comes to upgrades or any issues faced. The support team is knowledgeable, friendly, and quick to respond to issues The company also provides a range of online resources, including a
knowledge base, documentation, and forums, which can be helpful before raising a ticket
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In-Person Training
We requested more training than typical which was very in depth
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
A lot of online training courses, most of them are free.
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Documentation is fair but sometimes a little difficult to follow
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Implementation Rating
IPv6 is needed for link local discovery. We do not have IPv6 configured on our network so the easiest way to get our nodes configured and discovered by foundation was to configure the IPv4 addressing within the node prior to trying to discover with foundation.
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Overall, it was pretty simple compared to most other projects. Again, we had a strong familarity with the product so there was not much of a learning curve. Our 'biggest' issue is the end-user understanding of a 'local' application and a published application. For example - Online meetings need to run locally for camera/video to work smoothly so opening a link to a meeting from a published application continues to be an occasional issue.
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Alternatives Considered
vSAN on VXrail and a Cisco Flashstack was our two existing systems before bringing in a Nutanix cluster. The performance of Nutanix HCI was far better than vSAN's performance (hybrid vs. hybrid and AF vs. AF.) However, Pure does deliver on its claim of being the fastest storage possible, which is true. However, the flashstacks management and complex setup do not compare to the ease of using Nutanix HCI.
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Citrix has more bells and whistles within their product line, but we've actually been pleasantly surprised with the performance of Parallels Remote Application Server (Parallels RAS) vs our Citrix implementation. Citrix Netscaler has way more functionality than the Parallels Halb, but for the most part, we used none of that extra functionality and the Halb simplicity is refreshing. very little upkeep needed
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Scalability
Can add on new cluster and join it to existing cluster
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We added our Integrated Services Staff to parallels, with filtered, published applications - in a single afternoon. We added licensing and installed the desktop client software on multiple platforms both in the office and at remote sites all on the same day - and got remote users that had never used the product up and running - very quickly.
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Return on Investment
  • Found an immediate reclamation of time. SAN's are a pain to manage and update - Nutanix made turned a couple hours of work into one click.
  • They are a software company. Every Time they come out with an update I find my performance improving, or a new feature added. Soon I'll be able to give my developers controlled self-service capabilities. I originally bought hardware and it's evolving on me into a private cloud in a box.
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  • Our customers have had dramatic cost decreases due to no longer needing IT departments to work with our software.
  • We've been able to charge more for our hosting services due to our customers saving money in the long run. Parallels Remote Application Server has more than paid for itself, and the increased income has gone right back into the business.
  • Both our customers and our company have benefited from this transition.
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ScreenShots

Parallels RAS Screenshots

Screenshot of the console interface, showing Parallels RAS' support for on-premises, private and public cloud providers, including Azure and AWS.Screenshot of the Parallels Web Client, which is accessible from any HTML5 browser or choose one of the many local clients.Screenshot of Parallels RAS' integration with MSIX app attach for modern, dynamic app delivery.Screenshot of Parallels RAS' support for multiple MFAs for security and flexibility.Screenshot of the integrated Let's Encrypt security certificates, to issue and manage certificates in Parallels RAS.Screenshot of expression-based filtering which makes it easier to set policies in the Parallels RAS.