Remote desktop for Ubuntu or Linux is very easy to set up. It just requires a few simple steps. The first thing you will need is a remote desktop client and server-side setup. There are many different remote desktop clients available, but the two most popular are RDP and VNC.
In previous videos/article of MineX Tuts, you learned to set up a VNC connection to a Linux server. This tutorial is about setting up a direct RDP connection from Ubuntu or Linux server.
This method is more user-friendly and more convenient for users rather than the VNC method. You can use the RDP client to connect your remote VPS. RDP client is available for various operating systems such as Windows, Android, and iOS. Follow these steps with the tutorial.
Create Linux Server and SSH Connection
First, you have to deploy your virtual private server using any provider. If you want to get cheap VPS, check the below link. You will find all the cheap VPS providers there.
For this tutorial, I use an ARM-64 machine from the Oracle Cloud Platform. This is a free VPS with a 4-core processor and 24 GB RAM. If you want to know more details about this check this video.
For this tutorial, I use an ARM-64 machine from the Oracle Cloud Platform. This is a free VPS with a 4-core processor and 24 GB RAM. If you want to know more details about this check this video.
Let me quickly create a new server with Ubuntu 20.04 operating system. You can use this method for both AMD and ARM servers. I will speed up this process, you can slow down the video and watch it if you use Oracle Cloud. Now the server is up and running.
Next you need to connect the server terminal by SSH. You can use any SSH client like Bitvise SSH or Putty SSH client.
Start Configuring GUI and RDP on Ubuntu
You can find the download links in the article also. Lastly, we get the terminal. Now start to configure RDP on the server-side. All the commands and guidelines are in this article. You just need to copy and paste the commands.
Add New Admin User on Ubuntu
First, you need to get root access to the server. Type this command for that.
sudo -iNext you need to add a user with administrator privileges. Use the “adduser” command then type a name for the new user account.
adduser <username>It will ask you to enter a new password for the user account and you need to verify it afterward. This entry is not visible due to security reasons, just type the password and verify it. You can skip these questions by pressing the “Enter” key. If this information is correct, you have to enter “Y”.
Ok your user is added to the system. You have to give administrator privileges for this server. Use this command for that. Remember to replace the username with your own username that you entered.
sudo usermod -aG sudo <username>Install Ubuntu Graphical User Interface (GUI)
We added a user with administrator privileges to this VPS. Before you install the Graphical user interface of the Ubuntu server, you need to update the applications. Use this command to do that.
sudo apt update -yGreat, now you can install the Ubuntu desktop environment using this command.
sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop -yThis allows users to interact with the graphical user interface rather than a terminal. It takes some time to finish, so I will speed up the process.
Install and Configure RDP Server
Next, you have to install the RDP on the server. Use this command.
sudo apt install xrdp -yYou can check whether xrdp is active or not using this command.
systemctl status xrdpThen activate the RDP port on the server-side. Open the xrdp file using this command.
sudo nano /etc/xrdp/xrdp.iniGo down in the file until you meet port 3389. You have to change this line like this to enable RDP connection through this port. After the change, save the file and exit. Press “ctrl + X” to exit, it asks whether you want to save the changes, press “Y” to save changes.
Ok now you have to restart the xrdp application to apply the changes. Enter this command to restart it.
systemctl restart xrdpOpen IP Table for Outside Connections
If you are using the Oracle Cloud server, you have to follow the next step also. For other VPS providers, this step is not necessary to do so.
Oracle Cloud has been setting up an IP table inside the server by restricting outside connections. You have to modify it using this command.
iptables -P INPUT ACCEPT && iptables -P OUTPUT ACCEPT && iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT && iptables -F && sudo netfilter-persistent saveOpen the RDP Port on Firewall
Ok now we finished the setup process, just need to enable the RDP port in the firewall of the server. To connect to the server, you have to add TCP port 3389 to the firewall. This step may vary depending on the VPS provider. I will show you how to do it in Oracle Cloud.
In Oracle Cloud, you should go to the subnet of the server and navigate to the security list. Then add a new ingress rule.
Here you just need to select the protocol as RDP. But in other providers, you have to enter the source IP range like this (0.0.0.0/0) and port it as TCP 3389.
Connect the Remote Desktop Using RDP Client
Great, now we are going to connect to the remote desktop from the Windows 10 machine. You can open any RDP client application. I use the default one.
Enter the server’s public IP address and click the “connect” button. Here you have to enter your username and the password that you added at the beginning of the process.
It asks for the password again, enter it. Ok now we are connected to the server you can use this Ubuntu 20.04 server with the graphical user interface. You can even connect it from your tab and mobile.
In this video tutorial, we covered the steps needed to finish our remote desktop to the Ubuntu Linux server. Hope you enjoy the article and the video tutorial. Thank You.
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