Guidance

IMS connectivity guide — help and support

Updated 1 September 2026

Applies to England

This guide explains how to access and use the Investment Management System (IMS) through Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS).

You must register to access the IMS if you have not already done so.

Resizing the IMS screen

To resize the IMS screen, resize the active web browser window.

You can also resize and move IMS application windows within the browser page itself. The Parallels web page acts as a workspace where application windows can be repositioned as needed.

Using multiple monitors

If you use multiple monitors, you can drag the browser window from one screen to the other. IMS will automatically rescale to match the resolution of the screen it is displayed on.

Session timeout and logout

You will be logged out of your IMS application if:

• your session is idle for too long
• your network connection is lost
• you manually close the browser tab

Idle session timeout

If there is no activity in your IMS application for 15 minutes, you will see the following message:

Idle timer expired.

Session has been idle over its time limit.

Logoff will start in 2 minutes.

Press any key now to continue session.

Select ‘OK’ to continue the session.

If there is a further 2 minutes of inactivity, your IMS session will be logged out automatically and the browser tab will close.

Network connection lost

Your device will be logged out when a device goes to sleep or if it loses its network connection.

Locking your computer screen will not log you out of your session.

If the device has gone to sleep, you will see a message on the RAS home page when you next access your device:

The connection was ended because of a network error. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.

If the device loses network connectivity you will see:

Connection Error

The connection was ended because of a networking error. Please try connecting to the remote computer again.

Once your network connection is restored and the message is closed, reload the RAS home page before reconnecting.

Closing browser tabs manually

If you close the application browser tab it will end your session. A confirmation prompt will appear before the browser closes the tab.

If you select the browser reload button within an application tab, you will be logged out of your current session and returned to a new RAS home page session. You can then either close the page or launch IMS again.

Parallels RAS portal timeout

The RAS portal page will time out if it is inactive for an extended period.

If this happens, you will be returned to the sign-in page. Select ‘Sign In’ to return to the application list.

Printing

Printing uses the browser’s print functionality rather than your device’s default printer dialog.

When you select Print, the browser’s print window opens, allowing you to:

• preview the document
• choose a printer or destination
• adjust print settings before printing

Changing your password

You will be prompted to change your Parallels password 7 days before it expires. You can also change it at any time.

Passwords expire every 60 days and must:

• be at least 8 characters long
• contain at least 3 of the following:
  
  
  • uppercase letters
  • lowercase letters
  • numbers
  • special characters

You cannot reuse the last 5 passwords.

1. Select the profile icon in the top-right corner of the website.

2. Select ‘Change Password’.

3. Enter your current password.

4. Enter and confirm your new password.

5. Select ‘OK’.

When the password change is successful, a confirmation message will appear. Select ‘OK’ to continue working.

Application not launching

If IMS does not launch, contact your IT support team. This is often caused by your firewall blocking or dropping this type of connection.

Provide your IT support team with the following URL: https://ras.homesengland.org.uk

The Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) web portal and HTML5 client is used for accessing the published applications. It uses TCP port 443 (HTTPS and WSS). This is used for the user portal login, session negotiation, and tunnelling the actual RDP traffic over secure WebSockets (WSS).

There can be several reasons why a connection is being dropped due to a client-side network or firewall configuration. Reviewing the relevant network or firewall logs should help identify the root cause of the issue. The 2 most common causes are strict application filtering and Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). If either of these features is enabled on your firewall, check the following:

• Allow WebSockets (WSS): The HTML5 client packages RDP data inside standard WebSocket traffic. The filtering rules and settings responsible for WebSockets must be enabled on the firewall because if the firewall blocks WebSockets on port 443, the application will fail to launch.

• Disable SSL/TLS Decryption (Break and Inspect): If your firewall intercepts, decrypts and re-signs SSL traffic it may break the WebSocket tunnel. In this case you’ll need to add the Parallels RAS Gateway FQDN or IP address to your firewall’s exclusion list.

Help and support

Further guidance is available in the main IMS connectivity guide.

You can also contact the Homes England Service Desk.

Phone: 01908 353604

Email: servicedesk@homesengland.gov.uk.