xRDP (Remote Desktop) on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

ubuntu_desktop_xrdp.md

How To Enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Using xrdp on Ubuntu 24.04

Setup

Step 1: Install xfce4 (Light Desktop Environment) on Ubuntu

Tip: You should be able to run both Qt (KDE) and GtK (Gnome) based apps.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies -y

Step 2: Install xRDP on Ubuntu

$ sudo apt install xrdp -y

Step 3: Xsession setup for auto-init of GUI

Switch to the user you intend to login as: (i.e. I had k8s as user)

# sudo systemctl status xrdp
# sudo systemctl start xrdp
# sudo su - k8s
$ echo "xfce4-session" | tee .xsession
# sudo systemctl restart xrdp

On Ubuntu Server:

sudo sudo ss -pnl | grep 3389 or `sudo netstat -tunpl | grep 3389' to verify listening port.

Step 4: Verify connectivity (Testing the RDP Connection)

Install RDP Client on Client side

• macOS: App Store: Windows Apps (Renamed from Remote Desktop Client)
• Windows: Microsoft Remote Desktop
• Linux: Remmina

Use ip:3389 format to login and linux username/password.

rdp://full%20address=s:ip:3389