Parallels Desktop Business Edition - 12.0 Administrator’s Guide

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition

IT Administrator's Guide

Version 12

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This product is protected by United States and international copyright laws. The product’s underlying technology, patents, and trademarks are listed at http://www.parallels.com/about/legal/.

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Apple, Mac, the Mac logo, OS X, macOS, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Contents

Introduction ...............................................................................................................5

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Features Overview ......................................................5

Create a Parallels My Account........................................................................................... 7

Register a Subscription ................................................................................................... 10

View Licensed Mac Computers....................................................................................... 11

Export the Computer List to a File ......................................................................................... 13

Blacklist a Mac ...................................................................................................................... 13

Deactivate Parallels Desktop on a Mac.................................................................................. 14

Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features ...........................................15

Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop with a Custom Password........................... 15

Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password..............................16

Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend............................................................................ 18

Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine BIOS............................................................ 19

Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center ................................................. 20

Hiding Developer's Features in Parallels Desktop GUI .....................................................21

Encrypting a Virtual Machine ........................................................................................... 22

Running Virtual Machines in the Background ("headless" mode)...................................... 23

System Requirements ........................................................................................................... 23

Configuring Virtual Machines to Run in the Background ........................................................ 23

Managing the Parallels Desktop Service ................................................................................ 25

Setting an Expiration Date for a Virtual Machine ..............................................................26

Resetting the Guest OS Password ..................................................................................27

Creating Linked Clones ...................................................................................................28

NetBoot Support for Virtual Machines ............................................................................. 30

Setting Up a Local Update Server ................................................................................... 30

Installing a Web Server .......................................................................................................... 31

Creating the Parallels Update XML File .................................................................................. 31

Configuring Individual Macs................................................................................................... 33

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Contents

Customizing the Request Support Option ....................................................................... 35

Participating in the Customer Experience Program.......................................................... 36

Parallels Desktop License Renewal ................................................................................. 36

Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

..............................38

Prerequisites ................................................................................................................... 38

Supported Deployment Tools.......................................................................................... 39

Preparing Parallels Desktop Deployment Package ..........................................................39

Adding Parallels Desktop Installation Image........................................................................... 40

Adding Virtual Machines ........................................................................................................ 41

Supplying a Parallels Desktop License Key............................................................................ 43

Changing Deployment Configuration Options........................................................................ 43

Deploying Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines to Macs .............................................50

Deploying with Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM............................................ 50

Deploying with Apple Remote Desktop ................................................................................. 52

Deploying OS X Image Using NetBoot................................................................................... 56

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface........................................................... 57

Parallels Desktop Management ....................................................................................... 57

prlsrvctl Commands .............................................................................................................. 58

Virtual Machine Management .......................................................................................... 68

prlctl Commands................................................................................................................... 68

Index ........................................................................................................................96

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C HAPTER 1

Introduction

Welcome to Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition. Built on the world’s best-selling, top-rated, most-trusted solution for running Windows applications on the Mac, Parallels Desktop Business Edition adds the capabilities that help IT administrators and purchasing agents save time and money.

Note: This guide refers to version 12 of Parallels Desktop. If you are using a newer version of Parallels Desktop (including updates), please download the latest guide from the Parallels website.

In This Chapter

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Features Overview .............................................. 5

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Features Overview

With Parallels Desktop for Mac, your Mac users can seamlessly run both Windows and Mac applications side-by-side with speed, control and confidence. Business users can experience as much or as little Windows as they want. Multiple view modes make it possible for users to customize the level of integration between Mac and Windows without compromising performance. Best of all, IT can lock down, secure, and control the settings that matter most.

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Feature Highlights

• License management portal.

• Split license keys into sublicenses.

• Maintain corporate compliance with restricted virtual machines.

• Set an expiration date for a virtual machine.

• Run virtual machines in the background (“headless” mode).

• Mass deployment of virtual machines and management through Microsoft SCCM.

• Business-level support including 24/7 phone and email support options.

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Introduction

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Feature Matrix

See how Parallels Desktop Business Edition compares to Parallels Desktop Pro and Standard editions.

Feature

World’s most powerful, best-performing solution for running Windows applications on a Mac

Merge the coolness of Mac with the utility of Windows. Seamlessly utilize Mac features inside Windows and leverage Windows' strengths on your Mac.

Microsoft Visual Studio Plug-in. A Microsoft Visual Studio plug-in enables rapid debugging of apps inside your VM.

Support for popular development, design, and test tools including Docker, Jenkins, and Chef. Leverage popular productivity tools to reduce time spent on development and testing.

Advanced networking tools. Create virtual networks for complex network scenarios and testing, including simulating various network scenarios.

Mass deploy and mass manage Parallels Desktop and Windows VMs for your employees.

Licensing and Support

Premium 24/7 phone and email support

Centralized license management via Licensing Portal

Simple deployment with unified volume license key

Standard

•

First 30 days

Pro

•

Business

•

Customizable in-product “Request Support” option

Removed in-product notifications and third-party offerings

Configurable software update policy and local update server options

Security

Restrict end-users from changing virtual machine settings

Restrict end-users from creating new virtual machines

Create expiring virtual machines

Enforce USB device policies

Configurable policies via SCCM and Parallels Mac Management

•

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C HAPTER 2

Register a Subscription

After you purchase a Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition subscription, you must register it in Parallels My Account. Read this chapter to learn how to create a Parallels My Account and how to register a subscription.

In This Chapter

Create a Parallels My Account.................................................................................. 7

View Licensed Mac Computers ................................................................................ 11

Create a Parallels My Account

Parallels My Account is a web application that enables Parallels customers (consumers and organizations) to view and manage licenses for various Parallels products. The instructions below describe how to quickly get started with Parallels My Account.

You can create an account for your company or organization when you first create a Parallels My Account, or after you already created a private account.

Create a Parallels My Account from scratch

If you are a new customer and don't have a Parallels My Account, you can create one for yourself and for your organization as follows:

1 Visit Parallels My Account at https://account.parallels.com

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2 Click Register. The registration page opens.

3 Select the I represent a company or an organization option. This step is required to create a

business account for your organization.

4 Specify your personal and your company info (all fields are required) and click Create Account.

This creates an account for you personally and a business account for your organization to which you are assigned as the account administrator. When you log in to your account using you email address and password, you can manage personal and business products from the same account.

Creating a Parallels business account from an existing account

If you already have a personal Parallels My Account, follow these steps to create a business account for your organization:

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1 Log in to Parallels My Account using your email address and password.

2 Click

displayed, click Dashboard in the side menu.

3 On the Dashboard page, click Create a business account in the Quick Actions section.

4 A message box opens with an explanation of what a business account is. Read it and then click

Proceed.

5 In the Registering a Business Account dialog, type the name of your organization and then

specify your country, state/city (if applicable), ZIP or postal code, and your business phone number.

next to your user name to open a side menu. If the Dashboard page is not already

6 When done, click Create a Business Account.

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Register a Subscription

A business account is created for your organization to which you are assigned as the account administrator. When you log in to your personal account, you can manage personal and business products from the same account.

To register your Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition subscription in Parallels My Account:

1 Sign in to Parallels My Account using your email address and password.

2 Click

displayed, click Dashboard in the side menu.

3 Click the Register a license key link in the Quick Actions section. The Register a License

Key page opens.

You can also open this page by expanding Subscriptions and Licenses section in the side menu, then clicking Corporate Subscriptions, and finally clicking the Register a License Key link.

next to your user name to open a side menu. If the Dashboard page is not already

4 Type the license key that you received with your subscription and click Register.

5 When your license key is registered, you will see a confirmation message.

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6 If you would like to view your subscription information, click the Open Corporate

Subscriptions button. This will open the Subscription Details page where you can view the

information.

Your subscription is now registered and your license key can be used to activate the Parallels product to which it applies.

View Licensed Mac Computers

After you install and activate Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition on Mac computers, your Parallels Account is updated with the information about these computers.

To view the computer information:

1 Open a side menu by clicking

2 In the side menu, click Dashboard.

3 In the product box, click Manage corporate computers. The Corporate Computers page

opens.

next to your user name.

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You can also open this page by expanding Parallels Desktop for Mac in the side menu and clicking Corporate Computers.

4 Select a subscription in the upper section of the page to display the computers that use its

license key. The computers are displayed in the lower section of the page.

• If your subscription has sublicenses, click the triangle icon in front of the subscription name to display them, and then click a sublicense to see computers that were activated using its license key.

5 You may need to scroll the computer list horizontally to see all columns.

6 Click the Show / Hide Columns drop-down menu and select or deselect columns. Columns

that are not selected will not show up in the list.

7 The Actions drop-down menu allows you to:

• Export the computer list to a CSV file.

• Blacklist a computer.

• Deactivate a license on a computer.

Read on to learn more about these actions.

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Export the Computer List to a File

To export the complete computer table to a CSV file, click the Actions drop-down menu and select Export all to a SCV file.

Blacklist a Mac

Blacklisting a Mac deactivates Parallels Desktop on it and makes it impossible to activate the same Mac using the same license key. The only way to activate Parallels Desktop on a blacklisted Mac is to use a different license key.

To blacklist a Mac, select it and then click Actions > Add to blacklist.

To view the list of blacklisted computers, click the View Blacklisted Computers link at the top of the Corporate Computers page. The Blacklisted Computers page opens.

To cancel blacklisting of a computer, select the computer and then click Actions > Remove from the blacklist. The computer can be activated again using the same license key.

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Deactivate Parallels Desktop on a Mac

Deactivating a Parallels Desktop license on a Mac computer disables Parallels Desktop on it. To deactivate a license, select a computer and then click the Actions > Deactivate.

Note: Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition will continue to run on the affected computer until the computer checks in with the Parallels Licensing Server. This could be anywhere from a few minutes to seven days. If you want to deactivate the license on a computer immediately, you can log into it and run the following command in Terminal: prlsrvctl deactivate-license

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C HAPTER 3

Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

This chapter describes the Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition features.

In This Chapter

Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop with a Custom Password .................... 15

Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a

Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend ..................................................................... 18

Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine BIOS ..................................................... 19

Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center .......................................... 20

Hiding Developer's Features in Parallels Desktop GUI............................................... 21

Encrypting a Virtual Machine .................................................................................... 22

Running Virtual Machines in the Background ("headless" mode)

Setting an Expiration Date for a Virtual Machine........................................................ 26

Resetting the Guest OS Password ........................................................................... 27

Creating Linked Clones ............................................................................................ 28

NetBoot Support for Virtual Machines....................................................................... 30

Setting Up a Local Update Server ............................................................................ 30

Customizing the Request Support Option ................................................................ 35

Participating in the Customer Experience Program ................................................... 36

Parallels Desktop License Renewal........................................................................... 36

Custom Password ....................... 16

............................... 23

Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop with a Custom Password

As an administrator of Parallels Desktop Business Edition, you have the ability to restrict the following user actions in Parallels Desktop:

• Creating a new virtual machine.

• Adding an existing virtual machine.

• Removing a virtual machine.

• Cloning a virtual machine or converting it to a template.

• Opening the Parallels Desktop Preferences dialog.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

This functionality allows you to set a custom password and specify which user actions from the list above should require it. Once you apply these settings, even the local Mac administrator will not be able to perform these actions without specifying the password that you set.

To set the password and specify the actions:

1 In the Parallels Desktop menu bar, click Parallels Desktop > Preferences.

2 Click the Security tab.

3 Click the Restrict user actions with password: Turn On... button.

4 In the dialog that opens, type a custom password. This becomes the password that will be

required to perform actions that you will select in the next step. Click OK.

5 Back in the Security dialog, select the user action(s) you want to restrict.

6 Close the dialog to apply the settings.

If a Mac user now tries to perform any of the actions that were password-protected (e.g. creating a virtual machine, etc.), they will be required to enter the password. To select or deselect an action in the Parallels Desktop Preferences dialog will also require the password.

The steps described above allow you to set the password and restrict user actions in Parallels Desktop on a particular Mac. If you want to apply these settings on multiple Mac computers in your organization, you can do it using the mass deployment process. For more information, please see Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines (p. 38). Specifically, these options are set in the Configuration Options (p. 43).

Security section of the deploy.cfg file, as described in Changing Deployment

Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password

Parallels Desktop Business Edition provides you with the ability to protect the configuration of a virtual machine with a custom password. When a password is set, a Mac user will be required to enter it in order to modify virtual machine settings.

Using the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface to set the password

To set a password in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface:

1 Open Parallels Desktop and select a virtual machine.

2 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Configure to open the virtual machine

configuration dialog.

3 Select Security.

4 Click the Prevent changes to settings: Turn On... button.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

5 Enter the password, then enter it again to verify and click OK.

To change or remove the password:

• To change the password, click Prevent changes to settings: Change Password, then enter the old and the new passwords.

• To remove the password, click Prevent changes to settings: Turn Off, then enter the current password to remove the configuration lock.

If the password is set and the user tries to view or modify the virtual machine configuration, they will be required to enter the password.

Using the command line utility to set the password

In addition to the graphical user interface, you can use the prlctl command-line utility to set, reset, and view the password protection of a virtual machine.

To set the password, type the following command in Terminal:

prlctl set "vm_name" --password-to-edit

where vm_name is the virtual machine name in quotes.

You'll be asked to enter a password and then confirm it.

Please enter a new password: Please confirm password:

To change or remove the password, type the following command:

prlctl set "vm_name" --password-to-edit

where vm_name is the virtual machine name in quotes.

You'll be asked to enter the current password.

lease enter current password:

You will then be asked to enter and confirm a new password. To remove the password, leave the line blank and press Enter twice (when asked to enter and confirm the password).

Please enter a new password: Please confirm password:

To view the current protection status, type the following command:

prlctl list "vm_name" -i

The output will look similar to the following:

Encrypted: no Edit restricted: yes

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

Using the mass deployment process to set the password

If you are mass deploying Parallels Desktop and one or more virtual machines, you can set the password in the deploy.cfg file. The password will be applied to all virtual machines included in the deployment package.

For more information, please see Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines (p. 38). Specifically, the password is set in the Virtual Machines section o

f the deploy.cfg file

using the vm_password_to_edit parameter, as described in Changing Deployment

Configuration Options (p. 43).

Compatibility with Other Parallels Desktop Versions

The described functionality works only in Parallels Desktop 7 or later. If you set a password in a virtual machine and then open the virtual machine in an earlier version of Parallels Desktop, the protection will NOT work (i.e. the user will be able to view and modify the virtual machine configuration).

You can only set or remove the password in Parallels Desktop Business Edition. However, if the password is set and the virtual machine is opened in the Parallels Desktop Standard Edition, the password will continue to work (i.e the virtual machine configuration will remain locked).

Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend

To avoid possible security and privacy issues, a suspended Windows virtual machine can be completely locked from user interaction and viewing. When this option is enabled and a virtual machine is suspended, the Windows desktop in the virtual machine window (and in the Parallels Desktop Control Center) is replaced with a black background and the Windows session is interrupted. When the virtual machine is resumed, the Windows session is remained locked and the user will have to enter their user ID and password to unlock it and to see the Windows desktop.

To enable or disable this option:

1 In OS X, open Parallels Desktop and select the desired virtual machine (e.g. the source virtual

machine when preparing it for mass deployment).

2 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Configure to open the virtual machine

configuration dialog.

3 Click the Security tab.

4 Depending on your needs select or clear the On Suspend: [ ] Always lock Windows option.

5 Close the dialog.

Note: The On Suspend: [ ] Always lock Windows option is available only for virtual machine running Windows with Parallels Tools installed. For all other virtual machines, the option will be hidden.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine BIOS

Asset tags help identify, control, and track computer assets in an organization. Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition provides the ability to set an asset tag in the virtual machine BIOS, which can then be read using the standard tools of the guest operating system. You can set an asset tag using the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface or the prlctl command line utility that comes with Parallels Desktop.

To set an asset tag using the Parallels Desktop GUI:

1 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Configure to open the virtual machine

configuration dialog.

2 Select Business.

3 Use the Asset tag field to specify the desired tag.

To set an asset tag using the prlctl command line utility, use the following syntax:

prlctl set ID|name --asset-id tag

where ID|name is the virtual machine ID or name, and tag is the asset tag to set.

To obtain the asset tag in Windows, use the WMIC.exe command:

WMIC SystemEnclosure get SMBIOSAssetTag

For the complete syntax of the WMIC utility please see the Microsoft documentation.

Once set, the asset tag never changes. Even if you perform such virtual machine operations as cloning, template manipulation, registering, or any other, the asset tag always stays the same. If you do want to change an existing asset tag for any reason, you can do it manually using of the methods described above.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center

Parallels Desktop Control Center is a part of the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface. It's a window from which a Mac user launches virtual machines. By default, the Control Center displays the list of the available virtual machines, as in the following example:

You can customize the Control Center by specifying a URL to your own HTML document, which will be embedded at the top of the Control Center window. The HTML page can contain text, graphics, and links such as your company logo, some custom text, a link to a support page, etc. The HTML document format doesn't have any specific requirements.

The URL must be specified during the preparation stage of the Mass Deployment process (p. 38). Specific variables in the mass deployment configuration file (deploy.cfg):

• control_center_banner_url

• control_center_banner_height

• control_center_banner_min_width

For the description of how to specify the variables and their values, please see Changing Deployment Configuration Options (p. 43). The

section.

ally, you need to specify the URL string and the HTML page size using the following

variables are described in the Virtual Machines

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

The following is an example of Parallels Desktop Control Center displaying a custom banner at the top.

You can download a sample HTML document defining the banner from the following URL:

http://download.parallels.com/desktop/tools/header.zip

Hiding Developer's Features in Parallels Desktop GUI

Some of the features available in Parallels Desktop Business Edition are aimed at software developers using Parallels Desktop as their development platform. The same features are also available in the Parallels Desktop Pro Edition, which is the edition aimed at software development. If your users will not be using these features, you can disable them in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface. The reason you would want to do it is, some of these features (if used accidentally) may start a debugging session or some other development-specific operation that may disrupt a normal Parallels Desktop operation.

To hide the Parallels Desktop Pro Edition features in the GUI, you need to modify the com.parallels.Parallels Desktop.plist file located in the ~/Library/Preferences folder. The following command-line examples demonstrate how to do it.

To hide the Pro Edition features in the GUI, execute the following command:

defaults write "com.parallels.Parallels Desktop" "Advanced.TraditionalLook" -bool yes

To show the features in the GUI, execute the following:

defaults write "com.parallels.Parallels Desktop" "Advanced.TraditionalLook" -bool no

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

After executing the command, you'll need to restart Parallels Desktop for the changes to take effect.

Encrypting a Virtual Machine

A Parallels virtual machine can be encrypted from the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface. You can also use the prlctl command line utility (included with Parallels Desktop) to perform the full set of encryption operations on a virtual machine.

The following encryption command line options are available:

• Encrypt a virtual machine

prlctl encrypt <ID | NAME>

• Decrypt a virtual machine

prlctl decrypt <ID | NAME>

• Change the encryption password

prlctl change-passwd <ID | NAME>

The <ID | NAME> parameter can be either the virtual machine ID or the virtual machine name. When encrypting a virtual machine, you'll be asked to enter a password phrase, which will be used to encrypt the machine. When decrypting a virtual machine, you will be asked to enter the current password. When changing the password, you'll be asked to enter the old password and then the new password.

The encryption password will also be required to perform any other command line operation on an encrypted virtual machine, including starting, stopping, restarting, pausing, suspending, cloning, deleting a virtual machine, etc. For example, to start an encrypted virtual machine, you'll use the following command:

$ prlctl start my_virtual_machine

After executing the command above, you'll be asked to enter the password:

Virtual machine "my_virtual_machine" is encrypted - password required to continue operation Please enter password:

After typing in the correct password, you'll see the following output:

Starting the VM... The VM has been successfully started.

If you need to execute a command remotely without having to enter the password on every Mac, you can send the password via standard input (stdin) as shown in the following example:

$ echo mypass | prlctl start my_virtual_machine Virtual machine 'my_virtual_machine' is encrypted - password required to continue operation Please enter password: Starting the VM...

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

The VM has been successfully started.

If you need to provide two passwords (as with the change-passwd command that changes the password), you can save the passwords to a text file and then use the following syntax:

$ cat /tmp/pass | prlctl change-passwd my_virtual_machine Virtual machine 'my_virtual_machine' is encrypted - password required to continue operation Please enter password: Please enter new password: The password has been successfully changed.

The /tmp/pass file in the example above should contain the old password on the first line and the new password on the second line:

$ cat /tmp/pass mypass newpass

Running Virtual Machines in the Background ("headless" mode)

Parallels Desktop Business Edition allows to run virtual machines as background processes without the graphical user interface displayed on the Mac desktop. This is sometimes called the "headless" mode. Parallels Desktop also runs as a service in this mode and can start the virtual machines automatically on Mac startup.

With this functionality you can run multiple virtual machines on a single high-performance Mac providing virtual machine access to your users. The users can connect to their designated virtual machines using VNC, RDP, SSH, or other remote control tools.

This chapter describes how to set up and run Parallels Desktop and the virtual machines as background processes.

System Requirements

To run Parallels Desktop as a service, you need:

• Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition build 11.1.0-32138 or later.

• OS X 10.7.4 or later.

Configuring Virtual Machines to Run in the Background

To enable the headless mode, you need to configure at least one virtual machine to run in the background. To do so:

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

1 Open the virtual machine configuration dialog and then select Options > Startup and

Shutdown.

2 Select Custom.

3 The headless mode is automatically turned on if one of the following options are set for at least

one virtual machine:

• Start Automatically: When Mac starts. This tells Parallels Desktop to start a virtual

machine in the background even before the user is logged on.

• On Windows Close: Keep running in background. When this option is set, the virtual

machine will keep running in the background even if the Parallels Desktop GUI is closed.

4 After making the changes, restart Parallels Desktop GUI to enable the headless mode.

Other custom options that you can set in this window are as follows:

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

• Startup delay: sets the automatic startup delay, in second. If you have multiple virtual machines with no autostart delay set, they will start concurrently when you start or restart the host computer. By using the autostart delay you can reduce the load on the host during startup. The autostart delay option can also be helpful when one or more virtual machines depend on a service running in another virtual machine. By setting the autostart delay option for virtual machines, you can ensure that the virtual machine providing the service is up and running before the other virtual machines are started. You can also set the startup delay using a command line interface (see below).

• Startup View: select Headless if you want the virtual machine to start with no GUI showing up.

• On Mac Shutdown: select Suspend to suspend the virtual machine when the Mac is shut

down or restarted.

Using the Command-Line Interface

You can use the following command to enable or disable the headless mode:

prlsrvctl set --headless-mode-feature <on|off>

To set an automatic startup delay for a virtual machine, execute the following command:

prlctl set ID|name --autostart-delay number

where ID|name is the virtual machine ID or name, and number is the startup delay in seconds.

Managing the Parallels Desktop Service

You can manage the Parallels Desktop service using launchctl, the standard OS X command line utility that allows you to manage daemons, applications, processes, etc. The name of the Parallels Desktop service is com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon. See usage examples below.

Examples of using launchctl:

To see if the Parallels Desktop service is running:

$ sudo launchctl list | grep parallels 8421 - com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon

To stop the Parallels Desktop service:

$ sudo launchctl stop com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon

To start the service

$ sudo launchctl start com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

If Parallels Desktop is running as a service and you want to change the Parallels Desktop or a virtual machine preferences (or if you simply want to see a virtual machine window), you can open the Parallels Desktop GUI at any time by double-clicking the Parallels Desktop icon. While the application is running, you can work with it as usual. When you are done, you can close the virtual machine window and the Parallels Desktop GUI. The Parallels Desktop service will keep running in the background. The virtual machine will keep running if configured to do so.

Setting an Expiration Date for a Virtual Machine

You can set an expiration date for a virtual machine. This can be a useful option if you are preparing a virtual machine for a contractor (or a third party user) and want to make sure that it works only for the duration of the contract.

To set an expiration date for a virtual machine:

1 In OS X, open Parallels Desktop and select the desired virtual machine.

2 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Configure to open the virtual machine

configuration dialog.

3 Select the Security tab.

4 An expiration date can only be set on an encrypted virtual machine. If your machine is not yet

encrypted, click Encryption: Turn On, specify an encryption password, and click OK. Make sure to record the password or you will not be able to start the virtual machine. Wait until the encryption process finishes.

5 To set an expiration date for the virtual machine, click Expiration Date: Set Date, specify a

password and click OK. Make sure to record the password to be able to change the expiration settings later. You should keep this password secret to prevent the prospective user of the virtual machine from changing the expiration date.

6 On the next screen, specify the following options:

• Do not allow this VM start after: specifies the virtual machine expiration date.

• Contact info: specifies the system administrator email, phone number, or other contact

information. This information will be included in the message that will be displayed to the user when the virtual machine is about to expire. You can include each piece of information on a separate line.

• Time Server: specifies the time server URL. The virtual machine expiration time will be

checked against this server. The default time server is https://parallels.com.

• Date Check Frequency: specifies how often the date and time should be verified against

the time server. You can specify it in minutes, hours, or days.

• If unable to check date, use VM for: specifies for how long the virtual machine should be

kept working if the time server cannot be reached. For the duration of this period, the virtual machine will continue to check the date. If it succeeds before this period is over, the counter is reset and the virtual machine will continue to work normally.

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

7 Click OK when done entering the expiration info.

8 To modify the current expiration date or password, click Expiration Date: Change Date or

Expiration Date: Change Password and enter the new values.

Note: When giving the virtual machine to a contractor, make sure to provide them the encryption password, which is needed to start the virtual machine. Please note that this is NOT the expiration date password you've set in step 5 above. This is the password you set when you encrypted the virtual machine.

When the expiration date approaches, the virtual machine user will be notified as follows: a message will begin to be displayed seven days before the expiration date. The message will be shown to the user every 24 hours and additionally on every virtual machine startup. Once the date is reached, the virtual machine will be locked, so the user will not be able to start or resume it anymore.

Resetting the Guest OS Password

If a virtual machine user forgets the password of their guest OS account (e.g. a Windows user password), it can be reset outside the virtual machine using the command line interface.

To use this functionality the following conditions must be met:

• Parallels Tools must be installed in the guest OS.

• The virtual machine must be running. If it's stopped, start it and wait until you see the guest OS

• Depending on your requirements, the following option can be selected or cleared in the virtual machine configuration dialog: Security > Require Password to: [ ] Change guest OS password via CLI. If this option is selected, you will be asked to provide the OS X administrator password to change the guest OS password from the OS X command line. If the option is cleared, the administrator password will not be required. By default, the option is cleared.

To reset the password, open Terminal in OS X and enter the following command:

prlctl set vm_name --userpasswd username:new_password

where:

• vm_name is the virtual machine name. To obtain the list of virtual machines installed on this Mac, type prlctl list.

• username is the guest OS user name.

• new_password is the new password.

Example:

prlctl set My_Win8_VM --userpasswd JohnDoe:A12345

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If the Require Password to: Change guest OS password via CLI option is selected in the virtual machine configuration dialog (see above), the command will display the following text and prompt:

Only host administrator can change user password in the guest OS. Confirm your administrator credentials. Username:

Enter the name of the OS X user with administrative privileges and press the Enter key. Type the user password and press Enter again.

Once the new password is set, you can use it to log in to the guest OS.

Creating Linked Clones

A clone is a copy of an existing virtual machine. The result of a cloning operation is a virtual machine that is identical to the original virtual machine. A clone has the same configuration as the original, the same guest OS, and the same installed applications and data. The only exception is the virtual machine UUID and the MAC address of the network adapter, which are reset automatically during the cloning operation.

There are two types of cloning operations in Parallels Desktop:

• Full cloning. When you create a full clone, all of the files comprising the virtual machine are copied, so the new virtual machine is created as completely independent from the original virtual machine.

• Linked cloning. A linked clone is a virtual machine that shares the read-only areas of the virtual hard disk with the original virtual machine. When you create a linked clone, the original virtual hard disk file is not copied. Instead, both the original virtual machine and the clone use the same hard disk with the shared areas of it marked as read-only. When any of the virtual machines make any changes to the hard disk data, a new independent storage is created for it which only that virtual machine can read from and write to. The unaffected areas of the original virtual hard disk are continued to be shared between the original virtual machine and the clone. This functionality allows to save a considerable amount of disk space on the Mac hosting the virtual machines.

Before Your Create a Linked Clone

Before creating a linked clone of an existing virtual machine, make sure that:

• The original virtual machine is stopped.

• The original virtual machine is not encrypted.

Creating a Linked Clone

To create a linked clone of an existing virtual machine:

1 In Parallels Desktop Control Center, select the virtual machine you want to clone.

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2 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select File > New Linked Clone.

3 Select the target folder. By default, Parallels Desktop saves clones in the Documents >

Parallels folder.

4 Click Save to begin the cloning operation.

Creating a Linked Clone from a Snapshot

In addition to creating a linked clone from the current virtual machine state, you can choose an existing snapshot of a virtual machine and create a linked clone from it. You don't have to revert the original virtual machine to the snapshot to create a clone from it.

To create a linked clone from a snapshot:

1 In Parallels Desktop Control Center, select the virtual machine you wish to clone and open its

window.

2 On the Parallels Desktop menu bar, select Actions > Manage Snapshots.

3 Select a snapshot from which you wish to create a clone.

4 Click the New Linked Clone button.

5 Select the target folder. By default, Parallels Desktop saves clones in the Documents >

Parallels folder.

6 Click Save to begin the cloning operation.

Working with Linked Clones

From the user point of view, a linked clone is just like a regular, completely separate virtual machine. A user of a linked clone doesn't see what's going on in the original virtual machine and other linked clones, and vice versa. The virtual hard disk sharing and independent storage management is done in the background transparently to the virtual machine users.

When you create a linked clone, the virtual hard disk is shared almost completely between the original and the clone(s). When the users of the linked clones begin to install applications, add data, or make any other changes inside their virtual machines, a dedicated disk space is allocated to them where these changes are saved. As a result, the total usage of the host's disk space increases. Still, a large portion of the system and application data on the original virtual disk continues to be shared between the original virtual machine and the linked clones, so the overall host's disk usage remains much lower than if these were independent virtual machines. Provided that the virtual machine users don't do anything drastic, like installing a different operating system, the linked clones normally take much less disk space than independent virtual machines.

For the linked clones to work, the following must be observed:

• You must not delete the original virtual machine. If you do, the linked clones will no longer work.

• If you created a linked clone from a virtual machine snapshot, the snapshot and its entire history

in the original virtual machine must not be deleted.

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• You should not encrypt the original virtual machine if there are existing linked clones that were created from it. Doing so will make the linked clones inoperable.

NetBoot Support for Virtual Machines

NetBoot is a technology from Apple that allows to boot a Mac computer from a network. Parallels Desktop Business Edition supports NetBoot for virtual machines running OS X or macOS Sierra as a guest OS. Using this functionality, you can boot a virtual machine from a network and install (or reinstall) a desired operating system from Apple on it.

To NetBoot a virtual machine, the following requirements must be met:

1 A NetBoot server hosting a NetBoot or NetInstall image must be set up and running on your

network. If you don't know how to do it, read the NetBoot documentation from Apple first.

2 Parallels virtual machines can boot from the default image only, which means that the default

image on the NetBoot server must be the one you want your VMs to boot from.

3 A virtual machine must be of the OS X type. When creating a new virtual machine, select OS X

as the operating system.

4 Unlike physical Macs, a virtual machine will NOT boot from a network if you hold down the N

key. A virtual machine will choose a boot device (hard disk, CD/DVD, network) according to its boot order list. The following scenarios need to be considered:

• If a virtual machine is blank (OS X is not installed on it yet), it will try to boot from the hard

disk first, then the CD/DVD, and then the network (the default boot order). Since there's no OS X on either the hard disk or the CD/DVD, the boot from these devices will fail and the VM will boot from the network (NetBoot).

• If a virtual machine has a bootable disk but you want it to boot from a network instead,

Network must be specified as the first item in the VM's boot order list. To make this modification, open the virtual machine configuration dialog, select Hardware > Boot Order, and then move the Network item to the top of the boot order list.

5 When the virtual machine boots from the network, you can use the standard OS X utilities to

install or reinstall the operating system on it.

Setting Up a Local Update Server

With the Business Edition of Parallels Desktop you can set up a local update server on your network from which Mac users can get Parallels Desktop updates. Updates are released periodically to improve the performance and reliability of Parallels Desktop. To reduce Internet traffic when downloading updates, you can set up a local update server, download the available updates to it, and then set up individual Macs on your network to take the updates from it instead of the Internet. Read on to learn about setting a local update server.

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Installing a Web Server

To set up a Parallels Desktop update server, you'll need a local Web server. Install a Web server on a computer connected to your network (or use an existing one).

Creating the Parallels Update XML File

Create a file named parallels_updates.xml on the Web server where it can be accessed via HTTP. The file is an XML document that should contain specifications for a particular Parallels Desktop update available on your local updated server.

To create your own document, use the following sample XML document and the XML document specification that follows it as a reference.

Sample parallels_updates.xml file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <ParallelsUpdates schemaVersion="1.0"> <Product> <ProductName>Parallels Desktop</ProductName> <UpdateEnabled>1</UpdateEnabled> <Version> <Major>8</Major> <Minor>0</Minor> <SubMinor>12494</SubMinor> <SubSubMinor>262214</SubSubMinor> <StringRepresentation>Sumer</StringRepresentation> <Update uuid="desktop.8.0.13291.237436.en_US.parallels.mac"> <UpdateType>0</UpdateType> <UpdateName>Build 13291 is available!</UpdateName> <UpdateDescription>Update description goes here</UpdateDescription> <FilePath>URL to the update file goes here</FilePath> <FileSize>219515</FileSize> <Status>0</Status> <DateTime>2012-06-17 01:23:00</DateTime> <Chargeable>0</Chargeable> <LocaleName>en_US</LocaleName> <DistributorName>parallels</DistributorName> <OsType>mac</OsType> <Ancestry> <Ancestor>desktop.8.0.12927.482436.en_US.parallels.mac</Ancestor> <Ancestor>desktop.8.0.12473.274921.en_US.parallels.mac</Ancestor> <Ancestor>desktop.8.0.12262.823647.en_US.parallels.mac</Ancestor> </Ancestry> </Update> </Version> </Product> </ParallelsUpdates>

XML Document Specification

Name Type Description

ParallelsUpdates

Root element.

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Product

ProductName

UpdateEnabled

Version

Major

Minor

SubMinor

SubSubMinor

StringRepresentation

Update

string Use "Parallels Desktop".

int

int Minor version number. Specify 0.

Container for Parallels Desktop information.

Specifies whether the automatic updates are enabled. To enable updates, specify 1.

Container for Parallels Desktop version information.

Major version number.

For Parallels Desktop 7, specify 7.

For Parallels Desktop 8, specify 8.

Build number. This element may be empty.

Revision number. This element may be empty.

Product codename. This element may be empty.

Container for the information about the Parallels Desktop update.

Attributes:

uuid — string; a globally unique ID identifying the product.

The uuid attribute is very important and must contain the correct information for the update to work. The attribute value consists of the following parameters (substrings) separated by periods (see the provided XML example):

desktop — specify "desktop".

UpdateType

UpdateName

UpdateDescription

FilePath

FileSize

Status

DateTime

major — major version number (8).

minor — minor version number (0).

build — build number.

revision — revision number.

locale — locale ("en_US", "de_DE", etc).

vendor — vendor ("parallels").

platform — platform ("mac").

int Update type. Specify 0.

string The name for the update, user-defined.

string The update description.

string

int The update file size, in megabytes.

int Specify 0.

string

A URL to the update file on your local update server. The actual update files can be obtained from Parallels.

Date and time when the updated was published. Use the following format:

yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss

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Chargeable

LocaleName

DistributorName

OsType

Ancestry

Ancestor

int Specify 0.

string Locale name ("en_US", "it_IT", etc).

string

The update distributor name. Specify "parallels".

Operating system type. Specify "mac".

Container for the list of updates that directly preceded this update.

An individual Parallels Desktop update information.

This element may appear more than once in the same document, one for each update.

The value is combined using the following parameters (substrings) separated by periods (see the provided XML example):

desktop — specify "desktop".

major — Parallels Desktop major version number.

minor — minor version number.

build — build number.

revision — revision number.

locale — locale ("en_US", "ru_RU", etc.)

vendor — vendor ("parallels").

platform -— platform ("mac").

Configuring Individual Macs

The next step involves configuring individual Macs to take their updates from the local update server. This can be done automatically during the mass deployment of Parallels Desktop by modifying the appropriate deployment configuration option. Please see Changing Deployment Configuration Options (p. 43) for the complete info (see section of the configuration file).

If you have an existing Parallels Desktop installation that was not configured for automatic updates during deployment, then read on to learn how to do it manually.

Note: The information provided here applies only to Parallels Desktop installations that were not configured for automatic updates during the mass deployment process.

To configure the Parallels Desktop automatic updates, you need to modify the Parallels Desktop property list file on a Mac as follows:

1 Find the com.parallels.Parallels Desktop.plist file located in the

Library/Preferences subfolder in the user's home folder. This is the Parallels Desktop

property list file that contains the user-specific information.

the description of the Software Updates

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Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

2 Open the file using the Property List Editor application (included with OS X).

3 Set the update policy by modifying the Application

Preferences.VolumeLicenseUpdatePolicy property. If the property doesn't exist, add it to the file specifying its data type as String. Set the property value using one of the following options (see also the Notes subsection below):

• "Parallels" — when this value is set, the updates will be downloaded from the Parallels

update server via the Internet. The value is case-sensitive.

• Complete URL of the parallels_updates.xml file residing on your local update server.

For example, "http://10.0.0.1/pdfm/v8/en_us/parallels/parallels_updates.xml". When the URL is specified, the updates will be obtained from the local update server.

• "None" — automatic updates are disabled. The value is case-sensitive.

4 Specify how often Parallels Desktop should check for updates. This is done by modifying the

Application Preferences.Check for updates property. If the property doesn't exist, add it to the file specifying its data type as Number. Specify the property value using one of the following options:

• 0 -— Never.

• 1 — Once a day.

• 2 — Once a week.

• 3 — Once a month.

5 Set the automatic download option. Find the Application preferences.Download

updates automatically property. If it doesn't exist, add it to the file specifying its data

type as Boolean. Set the property value using one of the following options:

• true — Download updates automatically. Specify this value when using a local update

server.

• false — Notify the user about the updates but don't download them automatically. This

option is useful only when updates are downloaded from the Parallels update server and the user has full control over the update functionality.

6 Save the file and close the Property List Editor application.

Note: If Parallels Desktop is running while you are modifying the plist file, it will have to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

Notes

On initial Parallels Desktop activation using a Business Edition key, the Parallels Desktop update properties will be absent from the com.parallels.Parallels Desktop.plist file. In such a case, a Mac user will be able to configure Parallels Desktop automatic updates using the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface.

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When the update-related properties are added to the com.parallels.Parallels Desktop.plist file, the automatic updates will be performed according to the specified values. In addition, the value of the Application Preferences.VolumeLicenseUpdatePolicy property will affect the Parallels Desktop update-related elements in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface as follows:

• If the property contains a URL of the local update server or "None", the Parallels Desktop update-related controls will be disabled (grayed out) in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface. The displayed settings will have no effect on how the Parallels Desktop updates are carried out. Therefore, the user will not be able to configure automatic updates or check for updates manually.

• If the property doesn't exist, has no value, or contains "Parallels" as a value, the Parallels Desktop update controls will be enabled in the user interface giving the user the ability to configure automatic updates and check for updates manually.

Note: The Application Preferences.VolumeLicenseUpdatePolicy property value has no effect when Parallels Desktop is activated using the Parallels Desktop Standard Edition license key.

Customizing the Request Support Option

The Parallels Desktop graphical user interface has a menu option named Help > Request Support. By default, this option opens a screen with the Parallels technical support information.

With the Business Edition of Parallels Desktop you can customize the action performed by this menu option.

The following choices are available:

• The menu option can display the following default text message: "Please contact your system administrator for assistance." The message cannot be modified.

• The menu option can open a custom URL, such as a corporate Help Desk or a wiki page. The system administrator can specify a custom URL (read below).

The customization can be done during mass deployment of Parallels Desktop by modifying the appropriate deployment configuration parameter. Please see Changing Deployment Configuration Options (p. 43) for the complete info (see section of the configuration file).

You can also make these changes manually on an individual Mac as follows:

1 Log in to the Mac.

2 In the Finder, navigate to the /Users/<User_Name>/Library/Preferences directory

and locate the com.parallels.Parallels Desktop.plist file.

the description of the Help and Support

3 Open the file using the Property List Editor application, which is included with OS X.

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4 Find the SupportRequestUrl property in the file. If the property doesn't exist, add it to the

file specifying its data type as String.

5 To specify the action that should be performed by the Help > Request Support menu, set the

value of the SupportRequestUrl property:

• To display the default text message, clear the property value.

• To open a URL, specify the full URL to the desired Web page or a resource.

Note: The SupportRequestUrl property value has no effect when Parallels Desktop is activated using the Parallels Desktop Standard Edition license key.

Participating in the Customer Experience Program

The Parallels Customer Experience Program is a feedback solution that allows Parallels Desktop to automatically collect usage statistics and system information that will help Parallels to develop new features and updates for future releases. When you install Parallels Desktop on a Mac computer, it is automatically set up to participate in the Customer Experience Program. If you want to turn the participation off, you can use the prlsrvctl command line utility and execute the following command on every Mac after installing Parallels Desktop:

prlsrvctl set --cep off

To turn the participation in the Customer Experience Program back on, execute the following command:

prlsrvctl set --cep on

The same actions can also be done through the Parallels graphical user interface by clicking Parallels Desktop > Preferences > Advanced and then selecting (or un-selecting) the Feedback option.

If you are using the Parallels mass deployment package to deploy Parallels Desktop, you can set this option in the deployment configuration file (p. 43). When that's do installed on a Mac with this option already set as desired.

ne, Parallels Desktop will be

Parallels Desktop License Renewal

A Parallels Desktop Business Edition license is renewed automatically via the Internet. When Parallels Desktop is running on a Mac, it sends a license renewal request to the Parallels Key Administrator server at random intervals. Once a license update is available, it is automatically downloaded and installed.

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Parallels Desktop uses port 443 (the standard SSL port) to communicate with the Parallels Key Administrator server from which it obtains license updates. If you are not using the most recent version of Parallels Desktop, please read the Note section below for additional information.

Note

Port 443 is used for license renewal by Parallels Desktop 8 build 8.0.18345.820589 and newer. Older versions of Parallels Desktop use a non-standard port 5224.

For more information about Parallels Desktop Business Edition licensing, please contact your Parallels sales representative

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C HAPTER 4

Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

This chapter describes how to mass deploy Parallels Desktop Business Edition to Mac computers in your organization. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to prepare the deployment package and how to deploy it using one of the available deployment tools.

In This Chapter

Prerequisites ............................................................................................................ 38

Supported Deployment Tools................................................................................... 39

Preparing Parallels Desktop Deployment Package.................................................... 39

Deploying Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines to Macs....................................... 50

Prerequisites

To mass deploy Parallels Desktop Business Edition you'll need:

• A Mac computer on which you'll prepare the Parallels Desktop deployment package. The Mac must have Parallels Desktop installed in order create and configure virtual machines to be deployed together with Parallels Desktop itself.

• A Windows or a Mac computer from which you'll be performing the deployment. If you are using Parallels Mac Management for SCCM, you'll be deploying Parallels Desktop from a Windows computer running the Configuration Manager console. If you are using Apple Remote Desktop, you'll be deploying Parallels Desktop from a Mac running the Apple Remote Desktop Admin. For other remote deployment tools, see their respective system requirements.

• The Parallels Desktop for Mac installation image file (the file with the ".dmg" extension). This is the same image file that you use to install Parallels Desktop on a single Mac.

• A valid Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition license key.

• The Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg file. The file is an installation package that

contains the framework for deploying Parallels Desktop. If you haven't obtained the file yet, you can download the .zip file containing it from the following location:

http://download.parallels.com/desktop/tools/pd-autodeploy.zip

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Note: If you deployed Parallels Desktop in the past and have a prepared deployment package from that time, don't use it because it may not be compatible with your build of Parallels Desktop. Always download the latest version of the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg from the Parallels website using the link above.

Download or copy the deployment package file to the Mac computer on which you'll be preparing it for deployment of Parallels Desktop and virtual machines.

For the list of hardware and operating system requirements for running Parallels Desktop, please refer to Parallels Desktop User's Guide.

Supported Deployment Tools

Parallels Desktop Business Edition can be deployed to Macs using one of the available Mac package deployment tools. The available options are described below.

Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM

Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM is an optimal solution that offers comprehensive management of Mac devices throughout the company. One of the features of Parallels Mac Management is the ability to deploy Parallels Desktop on managed Mac computers.

The complete instructions on how to use Parallels Mac Management to deploy Parallels Desktop are provided later in this guide.

Other Mac Management Tools

If you don't use Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM to manage your Macs, you can use one of the following tools to deploy Parallels Desktop:

• Apple Remote Desktop (ARD)

• JAMF Casper Suite

• IBM Endpoint Manager

The complete instructions on how to use Apple Remote Desktop are provided later in this guide. For the instructions on how to use other tools, please see their respective documentation.

Preparing Parallels Desktop Deployment Package

Before the Parallels Desktop deployment package can be deployed on target Macs, at least the Parallels Desktop installation image must be added to it and the Parallels Desktop license key must be specified. If you would like to deploy one or more virtual machines, the virtual machine file(s) must also be included in the package. The deployment configuration options can then be customized according to your requirements.

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The subsequent sections describe how to add the necessary files and how to make modifications to the Parallels Desktop deployment package.

Adding Parallels Desktop Installation Image

To deliver the Parallels Desktop installation image to target Macs, you need to include it in the deployment package.

To add the image file to the package:

1 On a Mac computer to which you've downloaded the Parallels Desktop

Autodeploy.pkg file, right-click the file and then click Show Package Contents.

2 Expand the Parallels folder to see its contents. The folder should contain the deploy.cfg

file. This is the deployment configuration file, which you will modify later.

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3 Copy the Parallels Desktop installation image file to the Parallels folder. Your package

contents should now look like this:

Adding Virtual Machines

To add a virtual machine to the deployment package, simply copy the virtual machine file (.pvm) to the Parallels folder (the same folder in the package that contains the deploy.cfg file and the Parallels Desktop installation image). You can include more than one virtual machine.

Before copying a virtual machine to the deployment package, you should configure it according to your needs. Read the following subsections for the information about the modifications that you can make to the virtual machine configuration prior to adding it to a deployment package.

Installing Parallels Tools

Parallels Tools is a collection of utilities and drivers that vastly improve the virtual machine performance and enable some features that are not available otherwise. Parallels Tools are included with every copy of Parallels Desktop and are highly recommended to be installed in every virtual machine right after an operating system is installed in it. Your source virtual machine should have Parallels Tools installed.

Generating Windows SID and Computer Name

When you deploy a virtual machine that runs Windows as a guest operating system, the deployed copies of Windows will have the same Windows Security ID (SID) and computer name as the source. You can set up Windows in the source virtual machine in such a way that the SID and computer name will be reset in each deployed copy of Windows on its initial startup.

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Using Sysprep to Reset SID and Computer Name

Microsoft System Preparation (Sysprep) is a Microsoft tool that can be used to prepare Windows to be deployed on other computers. If your virtual machine is running Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2012 R2, use the Sysprep.exe command-line utility.

To reset the security ID (SID), include the /generalize option as shown in the following example:

Sysprep /generalize

To change the computer name, use the /oobe option that enables the user to customize their Windows operating system, including naming the computer:

Sysprep /generalize /shutdown /oobe

For the complete description of the command-line version of Sysprep, please refer to Microsoft documentation.

If your virtual machine is running another version of Windows, download the latest version of Sysprep for that version from the Microsoft website and use it according to Microsoft instructions.

Other Configuration Options

When preparing a source virtual machine for mass deployment, you may change any of its configuration settings according to your needs. The following list describes a few common options:

• Shared Folders and Profiles. Parallels Desktop offers great flexibility in bridging the capabilities of OS X and your guest operating system by configuring shared folders and profiles. Think over which files and folders you wish to share between the two operating systems and set up them in advance.

• Configuring USB Settings. Hardware devices that connect through USB ports including printers and removable drives can only be used by one operating system at a time. By default, Parallels Desktop will ask the user which OS to connect the device to when a new device is detected. This default can be changed by making all USB devices connect only to OS X or to the guest operating system.

• Installing Applications. You can install all the necessary applications in the virtual machine before deploying it.

• Parallels Desktop Business Edition Options. Parallels Desktop Business Edition provides the following additional configuration options:

• Set up a local update server and specify the Parallels Desktop automatic update options.

• Customize the "Request Support" option.

• Configure participation in the Customer Experience program.

For the information on how to configure these options, see Changing Deployment Configuration Options (p. 43) and P

arallels Desktop Business Edition Features (p. 15).

For the complete information about Parallels virtual machine configuration, please refer to the Parallels Desktop User's Guide.

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Supplying a Parallels Desktop License Key

Parallels Desktop Business Edition license key is required to activate Parallels Desktop on target Macs. The key must be embedded in the deployment package.

To embed the license key in the deployment package:

1 Right-click the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg file and then click Show Package

Contents.

2 Expand the Parallels folder to see its contents. The deploy.cfg file contained in the

folder is a deployment configuration file. One of the parameters is used to specify the Parallels Desktop license key.

3 Open the deploy.cfg file in a text editor.

4 Find the License section in the file and enter your Parallels Desktop Business Edition license

key as a value of the license_key variable. The license must be supplied in the following format: "XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXX" (including the quotes and dashes).

5 Save the deploy.cfg file.

To learn about other configuration parameters in the deploy.cfg file, please read the Changing Deployment Configuration Options section (p. 43).

Note: Parallels Desktop activation requires Internet access. The Parallels Desktop activation routine uses port 443 to communicate with Parallels licensing server. Please make sure that the Macs on which you plan to deploy Parallels Desktop can communicate through this port. Additionally, please verify that the Macs can reach the licensing server at desktop.parallels.com.

Changing Deployment Configuration Options

The deployment package contains a special script, which is automatically executed on a target Mac after the package is transferred to it. The script performs the necessary actions on the Mac to finalize the deployment. The script reads the configuration parameter values from the deploy.cfg file contained in the Parallels folder of the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg file. You can modify the configuration parameters as needed.

The configuration parameters in the deploy.cfg file are organized in sections, which are described below. You can open the file for editing in a text editor.

License

The License section is used to specify a Parallels Desktop Business Edition license key.

Variable Description

license_key

Specifies the Parallels Desktop license key. See Supplying Parallels Desktop License Key (p. 43) for more info.

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Virtual Machines

The Virtual Machines section is used to specify virtual machine deployment options.

Variable Description

Specifies the registration mode for the deployed virtual machines.

Possible values:

"Private" — The virtual machines will be registered for the active user only. The virtual machines will be placed into the

vm_register_mode

vm_reset_hwid

/Users/<user>/Documents/Parallels folder.

"Shared" — The virtual machines will be registered for all users

of a Mac. The virtual machines will be placed into the /Users/Shared/Parallels folder.

The default destination folder for virtual machines can be modified using the vm_destination_folder variable (see below).

Specifies whether the virtual machine SMBOIS ID (hardware ID) will be regenerated. Each Parallels virtual machine is assigned a universally unique SMBIOS ID when it is created. When you deploy a virtual machine to many Macs, each resulting copy of the machine will have the same SMBIOS ID. This is the default behavior and should not be normally changed. If your enterprise management system relies on unique SMBOIS IDs, you can change the value of the vm_reset_hwid variable as follows:

vm_deploy_mode

"no" — Keep the original SMBIOS ID.

"yes" — Regenerate the ID.

Specifies whether the virtual machines will be copied or moved from the deployment package to their target folders on a Mac.

Possible values:

"Copy" — Copy the virtual machine from the package to the destination folder.

"Move" — Move the virtual machine from the package to the destination folder.

Before a virtual machine can be registered in Parallels Desktop, it needs to be copied (or moved) from the deployment package to a folder on the Mac. You can specify whether to use a Copy or a Move operation.

Copying is slower but must be used if the deployment package is read-only or is placed on a network share. The virtual machine file will not be removed from the package after it's been copied to a Mac.

Moving is fast and can be used when the deployment package is copied directly to a Mac. If the virtual machine destination folder and the deployment package are placed on the same mount point, the move operation completes almost instantly. The virtual machine is removed from the package as a result. Note that moving will be as slow as copying if the virtual machine destination folder and the deployment package are placed on

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vm_destination_folder

vm_password_to_edit

<VM_file_name>

Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

different mount points.

Allows you to change the default destination folder for virtual machines. The default folder is determined by the value of the

vm_register_mode variable (see above). The vm_destination_folder variable allows you to change the

default folder while keeping the selected virtual machine registration mode.

Specifies a password that will be required to modify the configuration of a virtual machine. For more information, please see Restricting Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password (p. 16).

This variable takes a name of a virtual machine file and allows you to change the destination location and/or name of the target virtual machine.

The virtual machines contained in the Parallels folder of the deployment package will be copied to a default location on a Mac, which is determined by the vm_register_mode variable (or the vm_destination_folder variable if is present). If you have more than one virtual machine in this folder, you can specify a different destination location and/or name for a specific virtual machine if needed.

To specify a different location, you need to define a variable/value pair as shown in the examples below. The variable name should be the same as the virtual machine file name (including the ".pvm" extension). The variable value should contain an absolute path where you want the virtual machine to be copied on a Mac. You can specify a different destination location, a different virtual machine name, or both. Note that only the specified virtual machine will be copied to the specified location. All other virtual machines will be copied to the default location.

Examples:

"Shared_VM.pvm"="/Users/Shared/Shared VM.pvm"

"Private_VM.pvm"="~/Documents/Parallels/Private VM.pvm"

The following three variables belong to the same subsection which allows you to customize the Parallels Desktop Control Center by displaying a custom HTML banner at the top of its window. For additional information, see Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center (p. 20).

The URL of a custom HTML page to be displayed as a banner in

control_center_banner_url

control_center_banner_height

the Parallels Desktop Control Center window.

To disable the banner, comment out the variable or specify an empty string as a value.

The banner height, in pixels. The recommended value is 350.

To use the current value (if you are updating Parallels Desktop on a Mac), comment out the variable.

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Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

The banner minimum width, in pixels. When resizing the Control Center window, its minimum width will be limited accordingly. The

control_center_banner_min_widt h

recommended value is 350.

To use the current value (if you are updating Parallels Desktop on a Mac), comment out the variable. To disable the minimum width limitation, comment out the variable or specify 0 (zero) as a value.

Launch Options

The Launch Options section is used to specify whether Parallels Desktop should run as a service on or an application.

Variable Description

Specifies whether Parallels Desktop should run as an application or as a service.

The value of "yes" specifies that Parallels Desktop will run as a service. The service will start automatically on host startup and will stop on host shutdown. The service can be managed by launchctl (the standard OS X command line utility that allows you to manage daemons, applications, processes, etc.).

The value of "no" specifies that Parallels Desktop will run as an OS X application. The user will have to start and exit Parallels Desktop manually.

start_pd_as_service

Depending on whether Parallels Desktop is already installed on a target Mac or not, the following will happen:

- If Parallels Desktop is already installed on a Mac as a service and the value of "no" is specified, the new installation will set up Parallels Desktop to run as an application.

- If this option is commented out and Parallels Desktop is already installed on a Mac, no changes will be made to the way Parallels Desktop runs.

- If this option is commented out and Parallels Desktop is not installed on a Mac, it will run as an application.

Software Updates

The Software Updates section is used to configure Parallels Desktop automatic updates.

Variable Description

Specifies where the updates will be downloaded from.

Possible values:

"Parallels" — Download the updates from the Parallels

updates_url

website over the Internet.

"None" — Turn off automatic updates.

<URL> — Download the updates from a local update server. The

variable should contain a complete URL (in quotes) of the parallels_updates.xml file on your local Web server. For more information, please see Setting Up Local Update Server

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updates_auto_check

updates_auto_download

Help and Support

Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

(p. 30).

Specifies how often Parallels Desktop should check for updates.

Possible values:

"0" — never

"1" — once a day

"2" — once a week

"3" — once a month

Specifies the automatic update download options:

"on" — Download the updates automatically. This value should be specified when using a local update server.

"off" — Notify the user about the updates but don't download them automatically. This option is useful only when updates are downloaded from the Parallels website and the user has full control over the update functionality.

The Help and Support section is used to specify the action for the Help > Request Support menu item in the Parallels Desktop graphical user interface.

Variable Description

Specifies a URL of a page that will be displayed when user selects the Help > Request Support menu option in the Parallels

support_url

lic_admin_url

Desktop graphical user interface. To display the default message, specify an empty string (this is the default behavior). To display your own Web page (help desk, wiki, etc.), specify its URL. See also Customizing Request Support Option (p. 35).

Specifies a URL that will be included in error message dialogs related to licensing operations. The URL should point to a web page or a resource that the user can visit to get help with the problem.

The error message appears when there's a problem with activating, renewing, or deactivating a Parallels Desktop license. If you specify a URL using this variable, it will be included in the message dialog in the form "For details click <URL>". If you don't specify a URL (comment out the variable or specify an empty string), the default "Contact your system administrator" message will be displayed.

Problem Reporting

The Problem Reporting section is used to specify whether Parallels Desktop problem reports should contain screenshots of the OS X and virtual machine desktops. You can exclude the screenshots for security reasons.

Variable Description

report_allow_screenshots

"yes" — Include screenshots of the OS X and virtual machine

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desktops in Parallels Desktop problem reports.

"no" — Do not include the screenshots.

Customer Experience

The Customer Experience section allows you to specify whether the Macs should participate in the Parallels Customer Experience Program. The Parallels Customer Experience Program is a feedback solution that allows Parallels Desktop to automatically collect usage statistics and system information that will help Parallels to develop new features and updates for future releases.

Variable Description

"off" — participation in the program is turned off.

cep_participation

"on" — participation in the program is turned on.

See also Participating in Customer Experience Program (p.

36).

Security

The Security section allows you to enable or disable the password requirement for a number of Parallels Desktop operations.

Variable Description

The following set of parameters allows you set a custom password and then specify whether this password is required to perform a corresponding action in Parallels Desktop. For more information about this feature, please see Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop with a Custom Password (p. 15).

The current password (if one is already set in target Parallels Desktop installations).

Use this key if you want to disable or change the current password, or if you want to enable/disable any of the actions when the password is already set.

When disabling the password completely, simply specify the

current_password

current password and leave the new_password key (below) commented out.

When changing the password, specify the current password here and the new password using the new_password key. You can also enable or disable any of the actions if needed.

When enabling or disabling any of the actions without changing the password, both the current_password and the

new_password keys must contain the current password.

new_password

password_to_edit_prefs

Custom password. If no password is currently set, use this key to specify the password. If a password is currently set, see the description above.

"on" — require the password to open the Parallels Desktop Preferences dialog.

"off" — the password is not required.

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password_to_create_vm

password_to_add_vm

password_to_remove_vm

password_to_clone_vm

The following set of parameters allows you to specify whether a local Mac administrator password is required to perform a corresponding action in Parallels Desktop. Please note that the parameters described above provide a higher level of security since they allow you to use a custom password.

admin_password_to_create_vm

admin_password_to_add_vm

admin_password_to_remove_vm

"on" — require the password to create a new virtual machine.

"off" — the password is not required.

"on" — require the password to add an existing virtual machine.

"off" — the password is not required.

"on" — require the password to remove a virtual machine.

"off" — the password is not required.

"on" — require the password to clone a virtual machine or

converting it to a template.

"off" — the password is not required.

"on" — require a local Mac administrator password to create a

virtual machine.

"off" — a password is not required.

"on" — require a local Mac administrator password to add an

existing virtual machine.

"off" — a password is not required.

"on" — require a local Mac administrator password to remove a

virtual machine from Parallels Desktop.

"off" — a password is not required.

"on" — require a local Mac administrator password to clone a

admin_password_to_clone_vm

virtual machine.

"off" — a password is not required.

User Experience

The User Experience section allows you to hide the Parallels Desktop Pro Edition features in the graphical user interface. For more information about these features, see Hiding Developer's

Features in Parallels Desktop GUI (p. 21).

Variable Description

show_developers_menu

"no" — hide the features in the UI.

"yes" — show the features in the UI.

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Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

Deploying Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines to Macs

Once the deployment package contains all the necessary files and is configured as desired, you can deploy it to Macs using one of the available remote Mac management tools. This section provides instructions on how to deploy Parallels Desktop using the following tools:

• Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM (p. 50)

• Apple Re

Note: If you are looking for the information on how to use NetBoot to deploy an OS X image with Parallels Desktop pre-installed, please read the Deploying OS X Image Using NetBoot section (p. 56).

mote Desktop (p. 52)

Deploying with Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM

Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM enables you to deploy Parallels Desktop to Mac computers via the SCCM Software Distribution functionality. For the complete information about Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM, please read the Administrator's Guide that comes with it.

The basic steps of Parallels Desktop deployment are:

1 Prepare the Parallels Desktop deployment package (we've described this step earlier in this

guide).

2 Create a software distribution package using the Configuration Manager console.

3 Send the package to a distribution point.

4 Deploy the package.

The following describes steps 2-4 in detail.

Creating a Software Distribution Package

The Parallels Desktop deployment package is distributed to Macs using the standard Configuration Manager functionality:

1 In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to Administration / Overview / Application

Management / Packages.

2 On the toolbar, click Create Package.

3 Use the Create Package and Program Wizard to create a software distribution package and

a program.

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4 On the Package page, specify the package name and an optional description, manufacturer,

language, and version information. Select the This package contains source files option and click Browse. Select the folder that contains the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg folder. Please note that you must select the parent folder of the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg folder, NOT the .pkg folder itself.

5 Click Next.

6 On the Program Type page, select the Standard program item and click Next.

7 On the Standard Program page, specify the information about the program. Type the following

in the Command line field:

chmod 700 "Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg/Contents/Resources/postflight" && installer -pkg "Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg" -target /

8 When done specifying the program information, click Next.

9 Click Next on the Requirements page.

10 Review the summary and click Next to create the package.

Sending the Package to a Distribution Point

To send a copy of the package to a distribution point, right-click the package of interest and click Distribute Content in the pop-up menu. Use the Distribute Content Wizard to specify a distribution point to which you want to send the package.

Please make sure that the distribution point is properly configured. For more information, see the Parallels Mac Management Administrator's Guide.

Deploying Parallels Desktop

To deploy Parallels Desktop:

1 In the Configuration Manager console, right-click the package and then click Deploy in the

pop-up menu. The Deploy Software Wizard opens.

2 On the General page, click the Browse button next to the Collection field and select the

collection containing your Macs (e.g. All Mac OS X Systems). Click OK and then click Next.

3 On the Content page, verify the distribution point info and click Next.

4 Click Next on the Deployment Settings page.

5 On the Scheduling page, specify the schedule for this deployment. Click New to specify the

assignment schedule. When done, click Next.

6 Use the default values on the rest of the wizard pages and complete the wizard.

The package will be advertised to Macs in the specified collection and will be distributed to them according to the specified schedule.

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Deploying with Apple Remote Desktop

To use Apple Remote Desktop, you need Apple Remote Desktop Admin, which should run on your administrator Mac, and Apple Remote Desktop client, which should run on client Macs.

Apple Remote Desktop Admin doesn't come standard with OS X. You will have to obtain the software from Apple and install it on a Mac from which you are deploying Parallels Desktop. Apple Remote Desktop client is installed during the standard OS X installation.

Note: Before continuing, please verify that the versions of Apple Remote Desktop Admin and each instance of Apple Remote Desktop client match. If they don't, update the necessary software.

Configuring Remote Management Services on Target Macs

For a remote management tool (ARD in our case) to be able to distribute the software, the Remote Management Services have to be configured in OS X on each individual Mac. In order to do so, you need to log in to each Mac and perform the following steps:

1 In OS X, open System Preferences.

2 Click Sharing.

3 In the Service list, select Remote Management.

4 Click Options.

5 Select the following options: Observe, Control, Open and quit applications, Change

settings, Delete and replace items, Copy items (see the picture below).

6 Click OK.

7 Close System Preferences.

Deploying the Package

To deploy the package to Macs:

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Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

1 On the administrator Mac, open the Finder and click Applications > Remote Desktop to

display the main window of Apple Remote Desktop.

Note: If you have set up a Task Server, you can deploy the package from that server.

2 Click All Computers in the left section of the ARD main window. The Mac computers

connected to your network are displayed in the right pane of the window.

3 Select the desired destination Macs and click Install in the ARD toolbar (or select Manage >

Install Packages menu). The Install Packages window opens.

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Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

4 Add the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg file to the Packages list either by

dragging it there with the mouse or by locating the package using the '+' button

5 Click Install to distribute the deployment package to selected Macs. The installation progress is

displayed in the main window. The result of the package distribution to each individual Mac is displayed in the Status column.

When the package is distributed to a Mac, it runs on it and installs Parallels Desktop and the virtual machine(s). It then activates Parallels Desktop using the supplied license key.

Using Apple Remote Desktop Templates

Apple Remote Desktop allows you to save package installation settings as templates. This feature may be useful if you need to deploy Parallels Desktop more than once using different settings. For example, you may have a virtual machine specifically configured for your developers and another one configured for your graphics designers or quality assurance engineers. Instead of modifying the deployment package every time you need to deploy Parallels Desktop to a specific group of Mac users, you can create separate packages and save them as templates.

To create an ARD template:

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Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

1 On the administrator Mac, open Apple Remote Desktop.

2 Click All Computers in the left pane of the ARD main window.

3 Select the computers where the deployment package is to be installed and click Install in the

ARD toolbar.

4 In the Install Packages window, add the desired Parallels Desktop deployment package either

by dragging it to the top area of the displayed window or locating it by using the '+' button.

5 Save current installation setup as a template by selecting Save as Template from the

Template pop-up menu located in the upper right-hand corner of the Install Packages

window.

6 In the displayed window, specify the name that you would like to use for the template and click

OK.

The next time when you are ready to deploy Parallels Desktop to a specific group of Mac users, simply select the desired template from the same Template pop-up menu in the Install Packages window and then click Install.

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Deploying OS X Image Using NetBoot

If you are using NetBoot to deploy an OS X image with Parallels Desktop Business Edition preinstalled, some additional steps need to be taken to properly activate a copy of Parallels Desktop on individual Macs.

The following describes the process of installing Parallels Desktop in OS X and creating an image from it suitable for NetBoot deployment:

1 Install OS X on a Mac.

2 Install Parallels Desktop Business Edition.

3 Make sure your Mac can connect to the Internet.

4 Activate Parallels Desktop using your Business Edition license key.

5 Tune Parallels Desktop settings and install and configure virtual machines according to your

needs.

6 In OS X, open Terminal and deactivate the Parallels Desktop license by typing the following

command:

prlsrvctl deactivate-license

On successful license deactivation, you should see the following output:

The License has been successfully deactivated

7 Quit Parallels Desktop.

8 In Terminal, type the following command to prepare Parallels Desktop to activate a license in

deferred mode:

prlsrvctl install-license --key <key> --deferred

where <key> is the Parallels Desktop Business Edition license key.

On success, you should see the following output:

The License has been successfully prepared for deferred activation.

This means that the next time Parallels Desktop starts, it will try to activate the license automatically. The Internet connection is required for activation. If a Mac can't connect to the Internet, the Parallels Desktop license activation will be postponed until the Internet connection is available.

9 You can now create an OS X image from this system and deploy it to other Macs in your

enterprise using NetBoot.

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C HAPTER 5

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Parallels Desktop Business Edition comes with two command-line utilities: prlsrvctl and prlctl.

prlsrvctl

The prlsrvctl utility is used to administer Parallels Desktop. The tasks that can be performed include getting general information about Parallels Desktop and its configuration settings, modifying Parallels Desktop preferences, getting a list of users, obtaining statistics, installing a license, and others.

prlctl

The prlctl utility is used to perform administration tasks on virtual machines. The utility supports a full range of tasks from creating and administering virtual machines to installing Parallels Tools, getting statistics, and generating problem reports.

The rest of this chapter provides detailed technical information about the commands and options available with each utility.

In This Chapter

Parallels Desktop Management ................................................................................ 57

Virtual Machine Management ................................................................................... 68

Parallels Desktop Management

The prlsrvctl command-line utility is used to perform management tasks on Parallels Desktop. The tasks include getting the Parallels Desktop information, modifying Parallels Desktop preferences, installing a license, obtaining statistics and problem reports, and others.

Syntax

prlsrvctl command [options] [-v, --verbose number]

Parameters

Name Description

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

command

options

-v, --verbose number

The name of the command to execute.

Command options. See individual commands for available options.

Show verbose output. The greater the number, the more verbose output will be produced.

Remarks

To display help, enter prlsrvctl on the command line without any parameters.

prlsrvctl Commands

The subsequent sections describe individual commands of the prlsrvctl utility.

prlsrvctl info

Displays the host computer and Parallels Desktop configuration information.

Syntax

prlsrvctl info

Remarks

The information returned by the info command includes the following:

• Host machine name.

• Parallels Desktop version number.

• Host operating system type and version.

• The default virtual machine directory name and path.

• Parallels Desktop memory limits.

• Parallels Desktop minimum allowable security level.

• Parallels Desktop license information.

• Host machine hardware configuration information.

• Other miscellaneous info.

prlsrvctl install-license

Installs Parallels Desktop license on the host computer.

Syntax

prlsrvctl install-license -k,--key key [-n,--name name] [-c,--company name] [--deferred]

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Parameters

Name Description

-k, --key key

-n, --name name

License key.

License user name.

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

-c,--company name

--deferred

License company name.

The license will be activated the next time Parallels Desktop is started. If a license has already been activated, it should be deactivated first before using this option. See prlsrvctl deactivate-license (p. 59)

prlsrvctl deactivate-license

Deactivates Parallels Desktop license.

Syntax

prlsrvctl deactivate-license

prlsrvctl net

The prlsrvctl net command is used to create and configure virtual networks.

Subcommands

Name Description

net add

net set

net del

net list

Creates a new virtual network

Configures the parameters of an existing virtual network.

Removes an existing virtual network.

List the available virtual networks.

net add

The prlsrvctl net add command is used to create a new virtual network.

Syntax

prlsrvctl net add vnetwork_id [-i,--ifname if] [-m,--mac mac_address] [-t,--type bridged|host-only|shared] [-d,--description description] [--ip addr[/mask]][--dhcp-server on|off][--dhcp-ip ip] [--ip-scope-start ip][--ip-scope-end ip] [--ip6 addr[/mask]][--dhcp6-server on|off][--dhcp-ip6 ip]

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

[--ip6-scope-start ip][--ip6-scope-end ip]

Parameters

Name Description

vnetwork_id

A user-defined name that will identify the new virtual network.

-i,--ifname if

-m,--mac mac_address

-t,--type value

-d,--description description

--ip addr[/mask]

--dhcp-server on|off

--dhcp-ip ip

--ip-scope-start ip

--ip-scope-end ip

--ip6 addr[/mask]

--dhcp6-server on|off

The name of a physical network adapter on the host to which this virtual network should be bound.

The MAC address of a virtual network adapter on the host to which this virtual network should be bound.

The type of the virtual network to create. Possible values are:

• bridged. A virtual machine connected to this type of virtual network appears as an independent computer on the network.

• host_only (default). A virtual machine connected to this type of virtual network can access only the host and the virtual machine connected to the same virtual network.

• shared. A virtual machine shares the network adapter with the host computer.

A user-defined description of the virtual network.

IPv4 address and mask for the Parallels virtual adapter.

Enable or disable the Parallels virtual DHCPv4 server.

Set an IPv4 address for the Parallels virtual DHCPv4 server.

Sets the start and end IP addresses for the DHCP pool. The virtual machines connected to the network you are creating will automatically receive their IP addresses from this DHCP pool.

Set an IPv6 address and subnet mask for the Parallels virtual adapter.

Enable or disable the Parallels virtual DHCPv6 server.

--dhcp-ip6 ip

--ip6-scope-start ip

--ip6-scope-end ip

Set an IPv6 address for the Parallels virtual DHCPv6 server.

Set a start IPv6 address for the pool of IPv6 addresses.

Set an end IPv6 address for the pool of IPv6 addresses.

net set

The prlsrvctl net set command is used to modify an existing virtual network.

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Syntax

prlsrvctl net set vnetwork_id [-i,--ifname if] [-m,--mac mac_address] [-t,--type bridged|host-only|shared] [-d,--description description] [-n, --name new_name] [--ip addr[/mask]][--dhcp-server on|off][--dhcp-ip ip] [--ip-scope-start ip][--ip-scope-end ip] [--ip6 addr[/mask]][--dhcp6-server on|off][--dhcp-ip6 ip] [--ip6-scope-start ip][--ip6-scope-end ip]

Parameters

Name Description

vnetwork_id

The name of the virtual network to modify.

-i,--ifname if

-m,--mac mac_address

-t,--type value

-d,--description description

-n, --name new_name

--ip addr[/mask]

--dhcp-server on|off

The name of a physical network adapter on the host to which this virtual network should be bound.

The MAC address of a virtual network adapter on the host to which this virtual network should be bound.

The type of the virtual network to create. Possible values are:

• bridged. A virtual machine connected to this type of virtual network appears as an independent computer on the network.

• host_only (default). A virtual machine connected to this type of virtual network can access only the host and the virtual machine connected to the same virtual network.

• shared. A virtual machine shares the network adapter with the host computer.

A user-defined description of the virtual network.

A new name for the virtual network. Use this parameter if you would like to rename the virtual network.

IPv4 address and mask for the Parallels virtual adapter.

Enable or disable the Parallels virtual DHCPv4 server.

--dhcp-ip ip

--ip-scope-start ip

--ip-scope-end ip

--ip6 addr[/mask]

--dhcp6-server on|off

--dhcp-ip6 ip

Set an IPv4 address for the Parallels virtual DHCPv4 server.

Sets the start and end IP addresses for the DHCP pool. The virtual machines connected to the network you are creating will automatically receive their IP addresses from this DHCP pool.

Set an IPv6 address and subnet mask for the Parallels virtual adapter.

Enable or disable the Parallels virtual DHCPv6 server.

Set an IPv6 address for the Parallels virtual DHCPv6 server.

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

--ip6-scope-start ip

--ip6-scope-end ip

Set a start IPv6 address for the pool of IPv6 addresses.

Set an end IPv6 address for the pool of IPv6 addresses.

net del

The prlsrvctl net del command is used to delete an existing virtual network.

Syntax

prlsrvctl net del vnetwork_id

Parameters

Name Description

vnetwork_id

The name of the virtual network to delete.

net list

The prlsrvctl net list command lists the existing virtual networks.

Syntax

prlsrvctl net list

prlsrvctl problem-report

Obtains the Parallels Desktop problem report and displays it on the screen.

Syntax

prlsrvctl problem-report [-s, --send] [-d, --dump]

Parameters

Send the problem report to Parallels (-s, --send) or dump it to stdout (-d, --dump).

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Remarks

The command collects technical data about the Parallels Desktop and displays the report on the screen (the output can also be piped to a file). The report can then be directed to Parallels technical support for analysis.

prlsrvctl set

Sets the Parallels Desktop preferences.

Syntax

prlsrvctl set [--mem-limit auto|size] [-s,--min-security-level low|normal|high] [-c,--cep on|off] [--mng-settings allow|deny] [{--device device --assignment host|vm}] [--default-encryption-plugin plugin-id] | [--reset-default-encryption-plugin] [--allow-attach-screenshots on|off] [--require-custom-pwd {create-vm|add-vm|remove-vm| clone-vm|edit-preferences}:on|off] [--custom-pwd [--custom-pwd-mode on|off|change]]

Parameters

Name Description

--mem-limit

-s,--min-security-level

Sets the upper limit of the memory size that can be reserved for Parallels Desktop operations. The following options are available:

• auto -- if this option is used, the memory size will be calculated automatically.

• size -- user-defined memory size, in megabytes.

The lowest allowable security level that can be used to connect to the Parallels Desktop. The following options are available:

• low -- plain TCP/IP (no encryption).

• normal -- most important data is sent and

received using SSL over TCP/IP (user credentials during login, guest OS clipboard, etc.) Other data is sent and received using plain TCP/IP with no encryption.

• high -- all of the data is sent and received using SSL.

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

-c,--cep

--mng-settings

--device device --assignment

--default-encryption-plugin

plugin-id

--reset-default-encryption-plugin

--allow-attach-screenshots

Enables/disables the participation in the Customer Experience Program. The following options are available:

• on -- enables CEP.

• off -- disables CEP.

Grants or denis permission to new users to modify Parallels Desktop preferences. By default, only administrators of the host OS can modify Parallels Desktop preferences. When a new Parallels Desktop user profile is created (this happens when a user logs in to Parallels Desktop for the first time), he/she will be granted or denied this privilege based on the default setting. This parameter allows you to set that default setting. Please note that this parameter only affects new users (the users that will be created in the future). The profiles of the existing users will not be modified.

Sets the assignment mode for the specified VTd device. The following options are available:

• host -- assign the device to host.

• vm -- assign the device to virtual machines.

Specifies which encryption plug-in should be used by default. An encryption plug-in implements an encryption algorithm, which is used to encrypt a virtual machine. Use this option to specify the ID of the plug-in, which should be used by default.

Resets the default encryption plug-in assignment and sets the built-in plug-in to be used by default.

Specifies whether to attach screenshots to problem reports:

--require-custom-pwd

--custom-pwd

• on -- attach screenshots.

• off -- do not attach screenshots.

Enables custom password requirement for a specified user action in Parallels Desktop. The actions are: create-vm, add-vm, remove-vm, clone-vm, edit-preferences. The on|off switch turns the requirement on or off.

To set the password, use the --custom-pwd command (see below).

Sets the custom password for restricting user actions in Parallels Desktop.

To use the command in interactive mode, execute it with no parameters.

To perform a particular task, include the --custom-pwdmode parameters and specify whether you want to turn the password on, off, or to change it.

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prlsrvctl shutdown

Shuts down Parallels Desktop.

Syntax

prlsrvctl shutdown [-f,--force]

Parameters

Name Description

-f, --force

Specifies whether the shutdown operation should be forced. If one or more virtual machines are running, clients are connected, or some tasks are currently in progress, then forcing the shutdown will stop all processes automatically and will shut down the Parallels Desktop.

prlsrvctl statistics

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Obtains Parallels Desktop statistics.

Syntax

prlsrvctl statistics [-a, --all] [--loop] [--filter name]

Parameters

Name Description

-a, --all

--loop

--filter name

This parameter is not currently used.

Subscribes to receive statistics on the periodic basis. Once you execute the command with this option, the statistics will be displayed in your console window every time a new set of values is collected. To unsubscribe, press the Enter key or Ctrl-C in your console window.

This parameter is not currently used.

prlsrvctl usb

The prlsrvctl usb command is used to permanently assign a USB device to a specific virtual machine. A permanently assigned USB device will be connected to the virtual machine automatically on server restart.

Subcommands

Name Description

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usb list

usb set

usb del

Lists USB devices connected to the host together with the information about their virtual machine assignments for the current user.

Permanently assigns a USB device to the specified virtual machine.

Removes a previously created USB device assignment.

usb list

Lists the USB devices connected to the host.

Syntax

prlsrvctl usb list

Options

None.

Returns

A list of USB devices in tabular format with the following columns:

Name — the USB device name.

ID — a string that uniquely identifies the USB devices on the physical server. The ID never changes

even if the device is disconnected from the server and then reconnected again. Please note that if a device ID is listed in quotes, they are a part of the ID and must be included in other calls that use it as an input parameter.

VM UUID — a universally unique ID of the virtual machine to which this USB device is permanently assigned. If a USB device is not assigned to any virtual machine, this column will be empty.

usb set

Permanently assigns a USB device to the specified virtual machine. A permanently assigned USB device will be connected to the virtual machine automatically on server restart. The USB device assignment is performed for the current user only. Other users may create their own USB device assignments.

Syntax

prlsrvctl usb set <usb_dev_ID> <vm_ID|vm_name>

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Options

Name Description

<usb_dev_ID>

The USB device ID.

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

<vm_ID|vm_name>

The universally unique ID or name of the virtual machine to which to assign the USB device.

usb del

Deletes a USB device assignment. The USB device assignment is performed on the user level, so if you remove an assignment, it will only be removed for the current user. Other users may have their own USB devices assignments, which will not be affected.

Syntax

prlsrvctl usb del <usb_dev_ID>

Options

Name Description

<usb_dev_ID>

The USB device ID.

prlsrvctl user list

Displays the list of Parallels Desktop users.

Syntax

prlsrvctl user list [-o,--output name[,name...]]

Parameters

Name Description

-o,--output name

Names of the fields to include in the output. The following fields are available:

• name -- User name.

• mng_settings -- Indicates whether the user is

allowed to modify Parallels Desktop preferences.

• def_vm_home -- The user default virtual machine folder.

The fields must be specified using the lower case letters.

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Virtual Machine Management

The prlctl utility is used to perform administration tasks on virtual machines. The utility supports a full range of tasks from creating and administering virtual machines to getting statistics and generating problem reports.

Syntax

prlctl command ID|name [options] [-v, --verbose number]

Parameters

Name Description

command

The name of the command to execute.

name

options

-v, --verbose number

The ID of the virtual machine on which to perform the operation. To obtain the list of the available virtual machines, use the prlctl list command (p. 77).

The name of the virtual machine on which to perform the operation. To obtain the list of the available virtual machines, use the prlctl list command (p. 77).

Command options. See individual commands for available options.

Show verbose output. The greater the number, the more verbose output will be produced.

Remarks

To display help, enter prlctl without any parameters.

prlctl Commands

The subsequent sections describe individual commands of the prlctl utility.

prlctl capture

Captures the screen of a virtual machine desktop and saves it to a file on the client machine. The data is saved in the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format.

Syntax

prlctl capture ID|name --file name

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Parameters

Name Description

name

--file name

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Name and path of the file to which the image should be saved. You should include the file extension (.png) or the file will be saved without one.

prlctl change-passwd

Changes the encryption password for the specified virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl change-passwd ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

name

Virtual machine ID.

Virtual machine name.

Remarks

The command can be used to change the password that was used to encrypt a virtual machine. A user will be asked to enter the current and the new password.

The virtual machine must be currently encrypted for this command to work. If you would like to encrypt an unencrypted virtual machine, use the encrypt command (p. 75).

prlctl convert

This command is used to convert third-party virtual machines and disks to Parallels virtual machines and disks. The following third-party virtual machines and disks are supported:

• Microsoft Hyper-V

• Microsoft Virtual PC

• Virtual Box

• VMware

Syntax

prlctl convert <path> [--dst <path>] [--force]

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Options

Name Description

<path>

Full path to the third-party virtual machine's configuration file on the local server.

--dst=<path>

--force

Set the destination directory for the resulting virtual machine and its configuration file. If omitted, the default directory (/var/parallels) is used.

Convert the third-party virtual machine even if its guest OS cannot be identified.

prlctl clone

Creates an exact copy of the specified virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl clone ID|name --name new_name [--template] [--dst path] [--changesid] [--linked] [--detach-external-hdd yes|no]

Parameters

Name Description

name

--name new_name

--template

--dst path

--changesid

--linked

--detach-external-hdd yes|no

ID of the virtual machine to clone

Name of the virtual machine to clone.

Name to be assigned to the new virtual machine.

Create a virtual machine template instead of a real virtual machine. Templates are used as a basis for creating new virtual machines.

Name and path of the new virtual machine directory. If this parameter is omitted, the new virtual machine will be created in the default directory.

Generate a new Windows security identifier (SID) for a Windows-based virtual machine. For this parameter to work, Parallels Tools must be installed in the virtual machine.

Create a linked virtual machine.

If set to no, hard disks located outside a source virtual machine are not removed from the configuration of the resulting clone. Setting the parameter to yes removes outside hard disks from the configuration.

Note: Outside hard disks are not copied to the cloned virtual machine.

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prlctl create

Creates a new virtual machine. A virtual machine can be created from scratch or from a virtual machine template. When created from scratch, the target operating system type or version must be specified. To create a virtual machine from a template, the template name must be passed to the command.

Syntax

prlctl create name {--ostype name|--distribution {name|list}} [--location path] prlctl create name --ostemplate name [--location path]

Parameters

Name Description

name

User-defined new virtual machine name. If the name consists of two or more words separated by spaces, it must be enclosed in quotes.

-o, --ostype name

The name of the family of the operating system that will be installed in the virtual machine. Select from one of the following:

• windows

• linux

• macos

• feebsd

• os2

• msdos

• netware

• solaris

• other (specify this option if the operating system you are

planning to install is not listed above).

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-d, --distribution

name|list

The operating system version that you are planning to install in the virtual machine.

To display the list of known operating systems, supply the list value instead of the OS name.

Or supply one of the following values (grouped by family):

Windows

• win-311

• win-95

• win-98

• win-me

• win-nt

• win-2000

• win-xp

• win-2003

• win-vista

• win-2008

• win-7

• win (specify this option if the Windows OS version you

are using is not listed above).

Linux

• rhel

• rhel3

• suse

• debian

• fedora-core (specify this option for all Fedora Core

distributions except for Fedora Core 5).

• fc-5

• ubuntu

• mandriva

• centos

• redhat

• opensuse

Mac OS

• macos-10.4

• macos-10.5

• snowleopard

FreeBSD

• freebsd-4

• freebsd-5

• freebsd-6

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--ostemplate name

--location path

The name of the virtual machine template from which to create the new virtual machine. Use the prlctl list --template command to obtain the list of the available templates.

Name and path of the directory where to store the new virtual machine files. If this parameter is omitted, the files will be crated in the default virtual machine directory.

Remarks

When creating a virtual machine from scratch, you may specify the operating system family or version. If an operating system version is specified using the --distribution parameter, the virtual machine will be configured for that operating system. If an operating system family is specified using the --ostype parameter, the virtual machine will be configured for the default version of this OS family. The default versions are determined internally by Parallels and are kept in sync with other Parallels management tools such as Parallels Management Console. The best way to find out the default versions used in your Parallels installation is by creating a sample virtual machine.

prlctl debug-dump

Creates a virtual machine dump in ELF format and saves it to a file. The resulting dump file can be opened with the Linux crash utility or (with some limitations) with the GDB debugger. To convert the dump file to a Windows or OS X format, use the supplied prlcore2dmp utility (p. 74).

Syntax

prlctl debug-dump ID|NAME [--name dump_file_name] [--path output_directory_path]

Parameters

Name Description

ID|NAME

--name

--path

Source virtual machine ID or name.

Destination dump file name. If not specified, the file is named guest_<date>_<time>.dmp

Destination directory. If not specified, the dump file will be created in the directory containing the virtual machine.

Remarks

To create a dump, the virtual machine must be running or paused. Suspended virtual machines are not supported by this command.

The command returns 0 (zero) on success and a non-zero value on failure.

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Examples

The following command creates the guest_2015-08-10-215443.dmp dump file in the virtual machine directory. The virtual machine is specified by ID.

prlctl debug-dump {a885d908-4938-4d84-91bd-6eac81174cc1}

The following command created the /tmp/crash_D1.dmp file. The virtual machine is specified by name.

prlctl debug-dump "Win_8" --name crash_D1.dmp --path /tmp

prlcore2dmp

The prlcore2dmp utility can be used to convert an ELF dump file created with the prlctl debug-dump (p. 73) command to a

Windows or OS X format. A resulting Windows compatible file can be opened in the WinDbg debugger. An OS X compatible file can be opened in the LLDB debuger.

Syntax

prlcore2dmp core_file_path [--name output_file_name] [--path output_directory] [-windbg] [--macho] [--cpu]

Parameters

Name Description

core_file_path

--name

--path

--windbg

--macho

--cpu

Path to the source dump file.

Destination file name. If not specified, the memory.dmp name is used.

Destination directory. If not specified, the file is created in the source directory.

Convert for WinDbg (Windows).

Convert for LLDB (OS X Mach-O format).

The CPU number to use for virtual to physical address translation. This option can be used only with the --macho option.

Remarks

The command returns 0 (zero) on success and a non-zero value on failure.

Examples

The following command creates the /tmp/memory.dmp file which can be opened with WinDbg.

prlcore2dmp /tmp/crash_D1.dmp --windbg

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The following command creates the ~/Documents/core_dump.dmp file which can be opened with LLDB.

prlcore2dmp /tmp/crash_D1.dmp --macho --cpu 1 --name core_dump.dmp --path ~/Documents

prlctl delete

Deletes a virtual machine from the <host computer>. The command removes a virtual machine from the Parallels Service registry and permanently deletes all its files from the host. Once completed, this operation cannot be reversed.

Syntax

prlctl delete ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

name

The ID of the virtual machine to delete.

The name of the virtual machine to delete.

prlctl encrypt, decrypt

Encrypt or decrypt a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl encrypt ID|name prlctl decrypt ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

name

Remarks

The encrypt command will encrypt the specified virtual machine and all its data. A user will be prompted to enter an encryption password after the command is executed from the command line.

The ID of the virtual machine to encrypt or decrypt.

The name of the virtual machine to encrypt or decrypt.

The decrypt command will decrypt the specified virtual machine. A user will have to enter a password that was selected when the virtual machine was encrypted.

The encryption password can be modified for an encrypted virtual machine using the change- passwd command (p. 69).

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prlctl enter

Creates a command prompt channel to a virtual machine. By using this command, you can create a command prompt channel and execute commands in a virtual machine. Parallels Tools must be installed in a virtual machine to use this utility.

Syntax

prlctl enter exec vm_id|vm_name

Parameters

Name Description

vm_id|vm_name

The UUID or the name of the virtual machine.

prlctl exec

Executes a command inside a virtual machine. Parallels Tools must be installed in a virtual machine to use this utility. Commands in Linux guests are invoked with bash -c.

Syntax

prlctl exec vm_id|vm_name command

Parameters

Name Description

vm_id|vm_name

command

The UUID or the name of the virtual machine.

A command to execute.

prlctl installtools

Installs Parallels Tools in the specified virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl installtools ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

name

The ID of the target virtual machine.

The name of the target virtual machine.

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Notes

To use this command, the target virtual machine must be running.

prlctl list

Obtains a list of virtual machines on the host computer. The command allows you to obtain a summary list containing only the virtual machine ID, name, and status, or to obtain a detailed information about a specific or all virtual machines.

Syntax

prlctl list [--all] [--template] [--no-header] [-o, --output name[,name...]] [-s, --sort name|-name]

prlctl list --info [ID|name]

Parameters

Name Description

-a, --all

-t, --template

--no-header

-o, --output name

List all, running, stopped, suspended, and paused virtual machines. If this and the rest of the parameters are omitted, only the running virtual machines will be displayed.

List the available virtual machine templates. The real virtual machines will not be included in the output.

Do not display column headers.

Display one (or any combination) of the following fields:

-s, --sort name

-i, --info

name

• uuid -- Virtual machine ID.

• name -- Virtual machine name.

• status --Virtual machine status (running, stopped, etc.).

The above fields can be combined in a single command using comma separator (e.g. uuid, name). The excluded fields will not be displayed. The field names must be typed in lower case.

Sort the virtual machine list by the specified parameter in ascending order.

Display detailed information about a virtual machine.

The ID of the virtual machine for which to display the detailed information. If not specified, the information will be displayed for all registered virtual machines.

The name of the virtual machine for which to display the detailed information. If not specified, the information will be displayed for all registered virtual machines.

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

prlctl pause, suspend, resume

Pause, suspend, and resume a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl pause ID|name prlctl suspend ID|name prlctl resume ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

name

Remarks

The pause command pauses a virtual machine. To continue the virtual machine operation, use the prlctl start command (p. 94).

The ID of the virtual machine to pause, suspend, or resume.

The name of the virtual machine to pause, suspend, or resume.

The suspen

d command suspends the virtual machine operation. When a running virtual machine is suspended, the state of the virtual machine processes is saved to a file on the host. After that, the machine is stopped. To resume the machine, use the resume command.

prlctl problem-report

Obtains a problem report for the specified virtual machine and displays it on the screen.

Syntax

prlctl problem-report ID|name <-d,--dump|-s,--send [--proxy [user[:password]@proxyhost[:port]]] [--no-proxy]>

Parameters

Name Description

name

-d, --dump

-s, --send

The ID of the virtual machine for which to obtain the problem report.

The name of the virtual machine for which to obtain the report. If the name consists of separate words, it must be enclosed in quotes.

Collect technical data about a virtual machine and display it on the screen. You can also pipe the output to a file and then send it to the Parallels technical support to analyze your problem.

Send the generated problem report to the Parallels technical support.

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--proxy user:password@proxyhost:port

--no-proxy

Use the specified information to send the generated report through a proxy server, if you use one to connect to the Internet.

Do not use a proxy server to send the generated report. This is the default behavior, so you can omit this parameter.

prlctl register, unregister

The register command is used to register a virtual machine with Parallels Service.

The unregister command removes a virtual machine from the Parallels Service registry.

Syntax

prlctl register path prlctl unregister ID|name

Parameters

Name Description

path

ID|name

An absolute path to the virtual machine directory.

The ID or the name of the virtual machine to remove from the Parallels Service registry.

Remarks

Use the register command when you have a virtual machine on the host that doesn't show up in the list of the virtual machines registered with the Parallels Service. This can be a machine that was previously removed from the registry or a machine that was manually copied from another location.

The unregister command removes a virtual machine from the Parallels Service registry but does not delete the virtual machine files from the host. You can re-register such a machine with the Parallels Service later using the register command.

prlctl server

Obtains information about the host computer and Parallels the Parallels Desktop installed on it. Also, allows you to shut down the Parallels Desktop.

Syntax

prlctl server shutdown|info

Parameters

Name Description

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info

shutdown

Displays the Parallels Desktop information.

Shuts down Parallels Desktop. If one or more virtual machines are running, clients are connected, or some tasks are currently in progress then the shutdown operation will be aborted.

prlctl set

The prlctl set command is used to modify the configuration of a virtual machine and manage virtual machine devices and shared folders. The following subsections provide technical information on how to use the command to perform these tasks.

Modifying Virtual Machine Configuration

The prlctl set command can be used to modify virtual machine configuration parameters, including virtual CPU availability, RAM and video memory size, startup and shutdown options, and some others.

Syntax

[--userpasswd os_user:new_pass] [--asset-id tag]

Parameters

Name Description

name

--cpus number

--memsize number

--videosize number

--description VM_description

Target virtual machine ID.

Target virtual machine name.

Number of virtual CPUs in the virtual machine. If the host has more than one CPU, this option allows you to set the number of virtual CPUs to be available in the virtual machine.

The amount of memory (RAM) available to the virtual machine, in megabytes.

The amount of video memory available to the virtual machine graphics card.

Short description of the virtual machine.

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--autostart off|open-window|startapp|start-host

--autostart-delay number

--autostop stop|suspend

--start-as-user administrator|owner|user:passwd

Defines the virtual machine start-up options:

• off — turns autostart off (default).

• open-window — the VM starts when

its window is opened in the PD Control Center.

• start-app — the VM starts when Parallels Desktop is started.

• start-host — the VM starts on the host start-up.

Sets the time delay used during the virtual machine automatic startup.

Sets the automatic shutdown mode for the specified virtual machine:

• stop -- the virtual machine is stopped when you shut down the Parallels Service.

• suspend -- the virtual machine is suspended when the Parallels Service is shut down.

Specifies the account to use to autostart the virtual machine:

--tools-autoupdate on|off

--userpasswd os_user:new_pass

--asset-id ID

• administrator -- start the virtual

machine as the administrator of the host operating system.

• owner -- start the virtual machine as the virtual machine owner.

• user:passwd -- start the virtual machine as the specified user.

Turns on/off automatic updating of Parallels Tools in the guest operating system. If this option is set to ON, Parallels Tools updates will be performed automatically every time an update is available for your Parallels Desktop. If this option is set to OFF, no automatic Parallels Tools updates will be performed, so that you can do it manually at a convenient time.

Resets the password for the specified user of the guest OS running in a virtual machine. The parameters are:

os_user -- guest OS user name.

new_pass -- new password.

Sets an asset ID (aka asset tag) in the virtual machine BIOS. Asset IDs are used for computer identification and inventory purposes.

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Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Managing Virtual Devices

Adds virtual devices to a virtual machine, modifies and deletes existing virtual devices.

General Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add dev_type options prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set name options prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-del name

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

--device-add dev_type options

--device-set name options

--device-del name

Adds a virtual device to the specified virtual machine.

The dev_type parameter specifies the virtual device type (hdd, cdrom, fdd, net, etc.).

The options parameters specifies device-type specific options.

Modifies the configuration of an existing virtual device in the specified virtual machine.

The name parameter specifies the virtual device name.

The options parameters specifies device-type specific options.

Deletes a virtual device from the virtual machine. The name parameter specifies the name of the virtual device to delete.

Remarks

All device-related parameters can be subdivided into the following categories:

• Hard disk drives (p. 83)

• Optical disk drives (p. 85)

• Network cards (p. 87)

• Floppy disk

• USB devices

drives (p. 86)

(p. 90)

• Serial ports (p. 88)

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• Parallel ports (p. 89)

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

• Sound cards

Each group

(p. 90)

of parameters is explained in the following subsections in detail.

Notes

All operations on virtual machine devices (adding, modifying, or removing a device) must be performed on a stopped virtual machine. An attempt to perform any of these operations on a running virtual machine will result in error.

Hard Disk Drive Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to add and configure virtual hard disks in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add hdd [--image name] [--type expand|plain][--size number][--split] [--iface ide|scsi][--position number] [--enable|--disable]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add hdd --device name [--iface ide|scsi][--position number] [--enable|--disable]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set hddN [--image name] [--type expand|plain][--size number][--split] [--iface ide|scsi][--position number] [--enable|--disable]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set hddN --device name [--iface ide|scsi][--position number] [--enable|--disable]

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

--device-add

--device-set

hdd

hddN

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Adds a virtual hard disk drive to the virtual machine.

You can connect up to four IDE devices and up to seven SCSI devices to a virtual machine. This includes hard disks and optical disk drives.

Modifies the parameters of an existing virtual hard disk.

Specifies the type of the virtual device to add to the virtual machine (in this instance, a virtual hard disk).

The name of the virtual hard disk to modify. Virtual hard disks are named using the hddN format where N is the drive index number starting from 0 (e.g. hdd0, hdd1). To obtain the list of disk names, use the prlctl

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list command with the --info option.

--image name

This options is used to create a virtual hard disk using an image file. You have an option of creating a new image file or to use an existing image.

• To use an existing image file, specify its name and path using the name parameter.

• To create a new image file, omit the --image parameter. New image files are created in the virtual machine directory and are automatically named using the harddiskN.hdd format, where N is the disk index number (e.g. harddisk0.hdd, harddisk1.hdd).

--device name

--type expand|plain

--size number

--split

--iface ide|scsi

--position number

This option is used to create a virtual hard disk based on a boot camp partition (Mac hosts). The name parameter must contain the boot camp partition name.

For image file based virtual disk drives, specified the disk type:

• expand -- expanding disk. The image file is small initially and grows in size as you add data to it. This is the default virtual disk type.

• plain -- plain disk. The image file has a fixed size from the moment it is created (i.e the space is allocated for the drive fully). Plain disks perform faster than expanding disks.

The size of the virtual hard disk, in megabytes. The default size is 32,000 MB.

Splits the hard disk image file into 2 GB pieces. You should split a virtual disk if it is stored on a file system that cannot support files larger than 2 GB (e.g. FAT16).

Interface type:

• ide -- IDE drive.

• scsi - SCSI drive (default).

The SCSI or IDE device identifier to be used for the virtual disk. The allowed ID ranges are the following:

--enable

--disable

• for IDE devices: 0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 1:1;

• for SCSI device: 0:0, 1:0, 2:0, 3:0, 4:0, 5:0, 6:0.

You can use one of the following formats for specifying IDs: ID:bus, ID-bus, ID. For example, if you specify 3:0 (or 3-0 or 3) as number for

a SCSI drive, the guest OS will see the drive as having ID 3 on SCSI bus

Enables the specified virtual disk drive. All newly added disk drives are enabled by default (provided the --disable option is omitted).

Disables the specified virtual disk drive. The disk drive itself is not removed from the virtual machine configuration.

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Optical Disk Drive Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to add and configure virtual optical disk drives, such as DVD or CD drives.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add cdrom --image image_name [--iface ide|scsi] [--position number] [--enable|--disable] [--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add cdrom --device device_name [--iface ide|scsi] [--position number] [--enable|--disable] [--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set cdromN {--device name|--image name} [--iface ide|scsi] [--position number][--enable|--disable] [--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

name

--device-add

--device-set

cdrom

cdromN

--device name

--image name

--iface ide|scsi

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Adds a DVD/CD drive to the virtual machine. You can connect up to four IDE devices and up to seven SCSI devices to a virtual machine. This includes virtual hard disks and DVD/CD drives.

Modifies the parameters of an existing virtual optical disk.

Specifies the virtual device type (in this instance, a CD or DVD drive).

The name of the DVD/CD drive to modify. The N postfix indicates the drive index number. To obtain the list of the available drives, use the prlctl list command with the --info option.

The name of the physical optical disk to connect to the virtual machine.

The name of an existing disk image file to mount in the virtual machine. Currently, the following image file formats are supported: .iso, .cue, .ccd, and .dmg. The image must not be compressed and/or encrypted.

Interface type:

• ide -- IDE disk.

--position number

• scsi -- SCSI disk (default).

The SCSI or IDE device identifier to be used for the DVD/CD drive. The allowed ID ranges are the following:

• for IDE devices: 0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 1:1;

• for SCSI device: 0:0, 1:0, 2:0, 3:0, 4:0, 5:0, 6:0.

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You can use one of the following formats for specifying IDs: ID:bus, ID-bus, ID. For example, if you specify 3:0 (or 3-0 or 3) as number for a SCSI drive, the guest OS will see the drive as having ID 3 on SCSI bus

--enable

--disable

--connect

--disconnect

Enables the specified DVD/CD drive. All newly added drives are enabled by default (provided the --disable option is omitted).

Disables the specified optical disk drive. The disk drive itself is not removed from the virtual machine configuration.

Automatically connect the specified optical disk drive during the virtual machine startup process.

Do not automatically connect the specified optical disk drive during the virtual machine startup process.

Floppy Disk Drive Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to add floppy disk drives to a virtual machine and to modify existing virtual floppy disk drives.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add fdd [--device name] [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set fdd [--device name] [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

fdd

--device-add

--device-set

--device name

--enable

--disable

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Specifies the type of the virtual device to add or modify (in this instance, a floppy disk drive).

Adds a new floppy disk drive to the virtual machine. You can connect only one floppy disk drive to a virtual machine.

Modifies the parameters of an existing virtual floppy disk drive.

The name of the physical floppy disk drive to connect to the virtual machine. If this parameter is omitted, a floppy drive image emulating the floppy disk drive will be created.

Enables the specified floppy disk drive. All newly added floppy drives are enabled by default (provided the --disable option was omitted during the drive creation).

Disables the specified floppy disk drive. The drive itself is not removed from the virtual machine configuration.

--connect

Connect the specified floppy disk drive automatically during the virtual machine startup process.

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--disconnect

--image path

Use this option if you don't want the specified floppy disk drive automatically connected to the virtual machine on its start.

The name and path of an existing floppy disk image file (usually floppy.fdd) to mount in the virtual machine.

Network Adapter Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to manage virtual network adapters in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add net --type shared [--mac addr][--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add net --type host --net_id network_id [--mac addr][--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add net --type bridged --iface name [--mac addr][--enable|--disable] [--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set netN --type shared [--mac addr][--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set netN --type host --net_id network_id [--mac addr][--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set netN --type bridged

--iface name [--mac addr|auto][--enable|--disable] [--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

--device-add

--device-set

net

netN

--type shared|host|bridged

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Adds a new virtual network adapter to the virtual machine.

Used to configure an existing virtual network adapter.

Specifies the virtual device type to add (in this instance, a virtual network adapter).

The name of the virtual network adapter to modify. To obtain the list of the available adapters, use the prlctl list command with the --info option.

Sets the networking mode for the virtual network adapter:

• shared -- Shared networking. Select this option if you wish to enable Network Address Translation (NAT) for the adapter. The adapter will share the IP address with the host computer when communicating with external networks.

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• host -- Host-only networking. Select this option if you wish the virtual machine to communicate only with the host computer and other virtual machines included in the same network. Access to external networks is not allowed.

• bridged -- Bridged networking. The adapter is bound to the specified physical network adapter. The virtual machine will appear as a standalone computer on the network.

--iface name

--net_id network_id

--mac addr

--mac addr|auto

--enable

--disable

--connect

--disconnect

Used with the bridged networking mode (see above). Specifies the name of the physical network adapter to which the virtual adapter should be bound.

Used with the host-only networking mode (see above). Specifies the name of virtual network to which the virtual adapter should be bound.

The MAC address to be assigned to the virtual network adapter. If this option is omitted, the MAC address will be generated automatically.

Specifies the MAC address to assign to an existing network adapter. Specify a desired MAC address using the addr parameter value or use the auto option to re-generate the existing address automatically.

Enables the virtual network card. All newly created network adapters are enabled by default (provided the --disable option is omitted).

Disables virtual network adapter. The adapter itself is not removed from the virtual machine configuration. Please note that a disabled virtual network adapter can only be enabled in a stopped virtual machine.

Automatically connect the virtual network adapter during the virtual machine startup process.

Do not automatically connect the virtual network adapter during the virtual machine startup process.

Serial Port Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to manage serial ports in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add serial {--device name|--output file|--socket name} [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set serialN {--device name|--output file|--socket name} [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

--device-add

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Adds a new serial port to the virtual machine. You can connect up to four

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--device-set

serial

--device name

--output file

--socket name

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

serial ports to a virtual machine.

Modifies the parameters of an existing serial port.

Specifies the type of the virtual device to add (in this instance, a serial port).

The name of the physical serial port to which to connect the virtual machine.

The name and path of the output file to which to connect the virtual serial port.

The name of the physical socket to which to connect the virtual serial port.

--enable

--disable

--connect

--disconnect

Enables the virtual serial port. All newly added serial ports are enabled by default (provided the --disable option is omitted).

Disables the virtual serial port.

Automatically connect the virtual serial port during the virtual machine startup process.

Do not automatically connect the virtual serial port during the virtual machine startup process.

Parallel Port Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to manage parallel port in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add parallel {--device name|--output file_name} [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set parallelN {--device name|--output file_name} [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

name

--device-add

--device-set

parallel

parallelN

--device name

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Adds a new parallel port to the virtual machine. You can connect up to three parallel ports to a virtual machine.

Modifies the parameters of an existing virtual parallel port.

Specified the type of the virtual device to add (in this instance, a virtual parallel port).

The name of the parallel port to modify. To obtain the list of ports, use the prlctl list command with the --info option.

The name of the physical parallel port to which to connect the virtual parallel port.

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--output file_name

--enable

--disable

--connect

--disconnect

The name of the output file to which to connect the virtual parallel port.

Enables the specified parallel port. All newly added parallel ports are enabled by default (provided the --disable option was omitted during the port creation).

Disable the specified virtual parallel port. The port itself is not removed from the virtual machine configuration.

Automatically connect the specified virtual parallel port during the virtual machine startup process.

Do not automatically connect the specified virtual parallel port during the virtual machine startup process.

USB Controller Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to manage the USB controller in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add usb [--enable|--disable]

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

usb

--enable

--disable

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

The type of the virtual device to add to the virtual machine (in this instance, a USB device).

Enables the USB controller. This is the default option.

Disables the USB controller.

Sound Device Management Parameters

This group of parameters is used to manage sound devices in a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-add sound --output name [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --device-set sound --output name [--enable|--disable][--connect|--disconnect]

Parameters

Name Description

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VM_name

sound

--output name

--input name

--enable

--disable

--connect

--disconnect

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

The type of the virtual device to add to the virtual machine (in this instance, a sound device).

The name of a physical output device to which to connect the virtual sound device.

The name of the physical input device to which to connect the virtual sound device.

Enables the specified sound device. All newly added sound devices are enabled by default (provided the --disable option is omitted).

Disables the specified virtual sound device.

Automatically connect the sound device during the virtual machine startup process.

Do not automatically connect the sound device during the virtual machine startup process.

Removing Devices from Virtual Machine

The --device-del option is used to remove virtual devices from a virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|name --device-del name

Parameters

Name Description

--device-del name

The name of the virtual device to delete from the virtual machine. To obtain the list of virtual devices, use the prlctl list command with the -info option.

Managing Shared Folders

The prlctl set command can be used to add shared folders to a virtual machine and to modify and delete existing shared folders.

Syntax

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-host-add name --path path [--mode ro|rw] [--shf-description txt] [--enable|--disable]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-host-set name [--mode ro|rw] [--path path] [--shf-description txt]

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[--enable|--disable]

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-host on|off

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-host-defined off|home|alldisks

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-host-del name

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-guest on|off

prlctl set ID|VM_name --shf-guest-automount on|off

Parameters

Name Description

VM_name

--shf-host-add

--shf-host-set

--shf-host on|off

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Shares the specified folder on the host computer with the virtual machine.

Modifies the settings of an existing shared folder.

Turns the host folder sharing on or off.

--shf-host-defined off|home|alldisks

--shf-host-del

--shf-guest on|off

--shf-guest-automount on|off

name

--path

--mode

--shf-description

--enable

--disable

Configures shared folders settings.

off -- only Custom Shared Folders will be configured. All others will be disabled.

home -- home folders only (default).

alldisks -- all disks will be enabled.

Removes the specified shared folder from the shared folder list.

Turns the guest folder sharing on or off.

Mounts or unmounts virtual disks on the host computer.

User-defined shared folder name.

Name and path of a folder on the host computer to share with the specified virtual machine.

Sharing mode:

• ro -- read-only

• rw -- read and write

User-defined shared folder description.

Enable the shared folder.

Disable the shared folder.

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prlctl snapshot

Takes a snapshot of a running virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl snapshot ID|name [-n,--name name] [-d,--description desc]

Parameters

Name Description

name

-n, --name name

-d, --description desc

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

User-defined snapshot name.

User-defined snapshot description.

prlctl snapshot-delete

Deletes a virtual machine snapshot.

Syntax

prlctl snapshot-delete ID|name -i,--id snapshot_id [-c,--children]

Parameters

Name Description

name

-i, --id snapshot_id

-c,--children

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

The ID of the snapshot to delete.

Delete child snapshots.

Note: If the specified snapshot has child snapshots that were derived from it, they will not be deleted.

prlctl snapshot-list

Displays a list of snapshots of the specified virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl snapshot-list ID|name [-t,--tree] [-i,--id snapshot_id]

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Parameters

Name Description

name

-t, --tree

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

Displays the snapshot list as a tree. The default display format is tabular with Parent Snapshot ID and Snapshot ID as columns.

-i, --id snapshot_id

The ID of the snapshot to use as a root. If this parameter is omitted, the entire snapshot tree will be displayed.

prlctl snapshot-switch

Reverts the specified virtual machine to the specified snapshot.

Syntax

prlctl snapshot-switch ID|name -i,--id snapshot_id

Parameters

Name Description

name

-i, --id snapshot_id

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

The ID of the snapshot to revert to.

prlctl start, stop, restart, reset, status

Start, stop, reset, and check the status of a virtual machine.

Syntax

Parameters

Name Description

name

The ID of the virtual machine to start, stop, restart, reset, or check the status of.

The name of the virtual machine to start, stop, restart, reset, or check

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the status of.

--kill

Perform a 'hard' virtual machine shutdown. If this option is omitted, an attempt to perform a graceful shutdown will be made.

Remarks

The stop command can perform a 'hard' or a graceful virtual machine shutdown. If the --kill parameter is included, the 'hard' shutdown will be performed. If the parameter is omitted, the outcome of the graceful shutdown attempt will depend on the following:

• If the Parallels Tools package is installed in a virtual machine, the graceful shutdown will be performed using its facilities.

• If the Parallels Tools package is not installed, the command will try to perform a graceful shutdown using ACPI. Depending on the ACPI support availability in the guest operating system, this may work or not.

The restart command first gracefully shuts down a virtual machine and then starts it again.

The reset command first performs a 'hard' virtual machine shutdown and then starts it again.

The start command can be used to start a stopped virtual machine or to resume a paused virtual machine.

prlctl statistics

Obtains performance statistics for the specified virtual machine.

Syntax

prlctl statistics ID|name [--loop] [--filter name]

Parameters

Name Description

name

--loop

--filter name

The virtual machine ID.

The virtual machine name.

This parameter is not currently used.

Page 96

Index

Adding Parallels Desktop Installation Image -

Adding Virtual Machines - 41

Blacklist a Mac - 13

Changing Deployment Configuration Options

- 43 Configuring Individual Macs - 33 Configuring Virtual Machines to Run in the

Background - 23 Create a Parallels My Account - 7 Creating Linked Clones - 28 Creating the Parallels Update XML File - 31 Customizing the Request Support Option -

Deactivate Parallels Desktop on a Mac - 14 Deploying OS X Image Using NetBoot - 56 Deploying Parallels Desktop and Virtual

Machines to Macs - 50 Deploying with Apple Remote Desktop - 52 Deploying with Parallels Mac Management for

Microsoft SCCM - 50

Encrypting a Virtual Machine - 22 Export the Computer List to a File - 13

Floppy Disk Drive Management Parameters -

Generating Windows SID and Computer

Name - 41

Hard Disk Drive Management Parameters -

Hiding Developer's Features in Parallels

Desktop GUI - 21

Installing a Web Server - 31 Installing Parallels Tools - 41 Introduction - 5

Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend - 18

Managing Shared Folders - 91 Managing the Parallels Desktop Service - 25 Managing Virtual Devices - 82 Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and

Virtual Machines - 38

Modifying Virtual Machine Configuration - 80

net add - 59 net del - 62 net list - 62 net set - 60 NetBoot Support for Virtual Machines - 30 Network Adapter Management Parameters -

Optical Disk Drive Management Parameters -

Other Configuration Options - 42

Parallel Port Management Parameters - 89 Parallels Desktop Business Edition Features

Overview - 5

Page 97

Index

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface -

57 Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition

Features - 15 Parallels Desktop License Renewal - 36 Parallels Desktop Management - 57 Participating in the Customer Experience

Program - 36 Preparing Parallels Desktop Deployment

Package - 39 Prerequisites - 38 prlcore2dmp - 74 prlctl capture - 68 prlctl change-passwd - 69 prlctl clone - 70 prlctl Commands - 68 prlctl convert - 69 prlctl create - 71 prlctl debug-dump - 73 prlctl delete - 75 prlctl encrypt, decrypt - 75 prlctl enter - 76 prlctl exec - 76 prlctl installtools - 76 prlctl list - 77 prlctl pause, suspend, resume - 78 prlctl problem-report - 78 prlctl register, unregister - 79 prlctl server - 79 prlctl set - 80 prlctl snapshot - 93 prlctl snapshot-delete - 93 prlctl snapshot-list - 93 prlctl snapshot-switch - 94 prlctl start, stop, restart, reset, status - 94 prlctl statistics - 95 prlsrvctl Commands - 58 prlsrvctl deactivate-license - 59 prlsrvctl info - 58 prlsrvctl install-license - 58 prlsrvctl net - 59 prlsrvctl problem-report - 62 prlsrvctl set - 63 prlsrvctl shutdown - 65 prlsrvctl statistics - 65 prlsrvctl usb - 65 prlsrvctl user list - 67

Register a Subscription - 7, 10 Removing Devices from Virtual Machine - 91 Resetting the Guest OS Password - 27 Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration

with a Custom Password - 16

Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop

with a Custom Password - 15

Running Virtual Machines in the Background (

- 23

Serial Port Management Parameters - 88 Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine

BIOS - 19

Setting an Expiration Date for a Virtual

Machine - 26 Setting Up a Local Update Server - 30 Sound Device Management Parameters - 90 Supplying a Parallels Desktop License Key -

43 Supported Deployment Tools - 39 System Requirements - 23

USB Controller Management Parameters - 90 usb del - 67 usb list - 66 usb set - 66 Using Custom Graphics and Links in the

Control Center - 20

View Licensed Mac Computers - 11 Virtual Machine Management - 68

Parallels Desktop Business Edition - 12.0 Administrator’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Introduction

Parallels Desktop Business Edition Features Overview

Register a Subscription

Create a Parallels My Account

Register a Subscription

View Licensed Mac Computers

Export the Computer List to a File

Blacklist a Mac

Deactivate Parallels Desktop on a Mac

Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition Features

Restricting User Actions in Parallels Desktop with a Custom Password

Restricting a Virtual Machine Configuration with a Custom Password

Locking a Virtual Machine on Suspend

Setting an Asset Tag in the Virtual Machine BIOS

Using Custom Graphics and Links in the Control Center

Hiding Developer's Features in Parallels Desktop GUI

Encrypting a Virtual Machine

Running Virtual Machines in the Background ("headless" mode)

System Requirements

Configuring Virtual Machines to Run in the Background

Managing the Parallels Desktop Service

Setting an Expiration Date for a Virtual Machine

Resetting the Guest OS Password

Creating Linked Clones

NetBoot Support for Virtual Machines

Setting Up a Local Update Server

Installing a Web Server

Creating the Parallels Update XML File

Configuring Individual Macs

Customizing the Request Support Option

Participating in the Customer Experience Program

Parallels Desktop License Renewal

Mass Deployment of Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines

Prerequisites

Supported Deployment Tools

Preparing Parallels Desktop Deployment Package

Adding Parallels Desktop Installation Image

Adding Virtual Machines

Installing Parallels Tools

Generating Windows SID and Computer Name

Other Configuration Options

Supplying a Parallels Desktop License Key

Changing Deployment Configuration Options

Deploying Parallels Desktop and Virtual Machines to Macs

Deploying with Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM

Deploying with Apple Remote Desktop

Deploying OS X Image Using NetBoot

Parallels Desktop Command Line Interface

Parallels Desktop Management

prlsrvctl Commands

prlsrvctl info

prlsrvctl install-license

prlsrvctl deactivate-license

prlsrvctl net

net add

net set

net del

net list

prlsrvctl problem-report

prlsrvctl set

prlsrvctl shutdown

prlsrvctl statistics

prlsrvctl usb

usb list

usb set

usb del

prlsrvctl user list

Virtual Machine Management

prlctl Commands

prlctl capture

prlctl change-passwd

prlctl convert

prlctl clone

prlctl create

prlctl debug-dump

prlcore2dmp