Note: This article was originally published in 2013. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Ubuntu documentation for the latest information.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn run ubuntu server with a gui?. Ubuntu is a popular Linux distribution based on Debian, widely used for servers and development environments.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • A system running Ubuntu (desktop or server edition)
  • Terminal access with sudo privileges
  • Basic familiarity with Linux command line

How to: Run (http://www.ubuntu.com “Ubuntu (operating system)”) with a (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphical_user_interface “Graphical user interface”)?

Windows Azure allows you to run several Linux distributions and one of them is Ubuntu Server. I have been trying to use Ubuntu to deploy a (http://wordpress.org “WordPress”) installation so I was playing with the Ubuntu images. Because I am new with this I realized there is no easy way to remotely connect to a GUI and that the server version does not come with the Desktop package installed out of the box. However, installing the desktop/GUI on Ubuntu Server is rather simple:

First I recommend you get the latest updates first by running:

sudo apt-get update

You can install the default Ubuntu desktop by executing the following: sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop alternatively you can install a light weight version:

  • To install graphical interface without addons like (Email, Openoffice): sudo aptitude install --without-recommends ubuntu-desktop
  • To install a very light weight desktop environment, just the basic GUI (xfce): sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

In order to start the desktop/GUI you need to type start-x There are many desktop alternatives which you may install and use, like:

Local and or remote administration Except from the above you can administer your server by using a web based solution using less resources:

(http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_e.png?x-id=e5e468f2-e9d5-4cf8-8cdb-9a19256fd30f)](http://www.zemanta.com/?px “Enhanced by Zemanta”)

Summary

You’ve successfully learned run ubuntu server with a gui?. If you run into any issues, double-check the prerequisites and ensure your Ubuntu environment is properly configured.