Using Parallels @ Windows on Two Macs

[Pam1]

My setup is desktop Macs at home and at work. Most of my work is done on software which runs on Windows and which needs frequent updates. An internet connection is only available at one location. I would like to install the .pvm on an external Thunderbolt 2 Flash drive which I can commute with. The .pvm will be utilized heavily on both computers. I am happy to purchase and install both Parallels and Windows on both machines if needed. I am anticipating the question, "why not a laptop" and the answer is that the two Macs also provide needed redundancy in case of hardware failure or theft. The commuting drive will have two disks which are mirrored.
I am worried that there may be some gotchas with this setup.
Will an internet connection be needed at both locations to satisfy Windows that the license is valid?
Will Windows want to verify every time the .pvm is run on a different mac?
What format does the drive need to be? Seems like it can be HFS +J as the files written by the windows software are stored in the .pvm.
Will both Parallels and Windows be installed on both Macs? In a standard configuration?

 

[ManojK@Parallels]

We suggest you to access your virtual machine using a different method as online storage of PVM and switching slows down the overall performance. Rather we advise you to check that we have a software called Parallels Access which enables you to access you Mac remotely from another Mac/PC/iOS device/Android device.
To get started with Parallels Access, please refer to http://kb.parallels.com/en/116770
Kindly reply to this email if you have any further issues.

 

[Pam1]

Please reread my post. You must have confused someone else's question with mine.
2 computers.... separated by a few miles.... one is NOT internet connected
Can the pvm be on a Thunderbolt 2 Flash drive and used with both Macs... (not identical)?

 

[Sylvester@Parallels]

Hi Pam1 ,
You will not need internet connection to run Windows from an external drive using Parallels and it will not create any license conflict.
All that you need to have is Parallels Desktop installed on both the Macs in which you want to use Windows.
Have a copy of .pvm in an external hard drive which is of (Ex-FAT format) recommended and connect it to the Mac and just double click on it, it will open your Windows.
You can also see this article to know more about the file format and .pvm on an external drive.

 

[Pam1]

"Now we are cooking!" So I gave this a try and got some interesting results. I took a copy of a pvm over to a second Mac with a Parallels Trial 11 on it, the pvm was created with Parallels 10. The first attempt failed so I gave it a second try. Some of the screen shots I took along the way are attached. I think the time it failed I selected copied and the time that worked I tried the move option. I do not recall seeing anything about this in the instructions. It does make sense that to utilize things like the ethernet or wireless cards that Windows would need to update to the new machine... but it is not clear what the difference is between copy and move. Also, it seems like every time I move back and fourth a new item of windows pops up like this windows, windows(1), windows(2), windows(...). Since I am moving a single pvm from one computer to another, doing work, returning to the first, doing work, returning to the second.... these "instances" are going to breed like rabbits or do I only need two and I simply select based on which computer... these do not seem to be separate actual pvm files. This was a fairly painful experience as the external drive was slow and the connection (USB 2) was slow. I was hopeful that with a flash storage and Thunderbolt 2 it would be workable... but the funny "move or copy" message and proliferation of "instances" has me worried. I am confident that if I had to move machines due to a failure that it would work. I am not confident that moving a pvm between machines as a daily practice is sound.