This article will guide you through the process of accessing the Ubuntu instance via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
Remote Desktop Protocol is a technology developed by Microsoft for remotely accessing and controlling computers over a network. It allows users to interact with a remote computer's graphical desktop as if they were physically present, transmitting desktop visuals to their local machine while sending keyboard and mouse inputs back to the remote system.
Prerequisites
Create an Instance on your preferred location.
Then, you would need to open inbound TCP traffic on port 3389 to allow RDP connections. So, create Security Group on the same location with TCP port 3389 and then add your Instance to the Security Group.
For the guide on how to create a Security Group, please click here.
Log into the Instance
For Linux or macOS: How to securely access your Instance via SSH Key
For Windows: How to Create SSH Keys with PuTTY on Windows
Install XFCE (Desktop Environment) & XRDP (RDP server) in the instance
Update list of packages
sudo apt update |
Install newer versions of the packages that are already installed
sudo apt update -y |
Install the XFCE Desktop Environment
sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies |
Install XRDP (RDP server)
sudo apt install xrdp |
Enable XRDP service to start on boot
sudo systemctl enable xrdp |
Check the status of XRDP service
sudo systemctl status xrdp |
Change password of ubuntu user
sudo passwd ubuntu |
You will be prompted to enter and verify a password.
Create .xsession file in /home/ubuntu directory
touch .xsession
touch .xsession
Open .xsession file in Vim editor
sudo vim .xsession |
Add xfce4-session in .xsession file and Save & Exit the file
Restart the XRDP service
sudo systemctl restart xrdp |
Check the status of XRDP service
sudo systemctl status xrdp |
After this, open Microsoft Remote Desktop client on your local machine.
Click on the "+" button to add a new connection.
In the "PC Name" field, enter the public IP address of your Ubuntu instance.
Click "Save" to save the connection settings.
Now, you should see your Ubuntu RDP connection listed in the Microsoft Remote Desktop application. Double-click on it to initiate the RDP connection.
You may receive a security warning, click "Continue" to proceed.
Provide your username as ubuntu, and password (which you set earlier) when prompted.
The RDP session should now connect, and you will have access to the Ubuntu desktop from your local system.
Once you are connected, you will see the default XFCE Desktop like in the image below.
