Microsoft Remote Desktop Mac To Ubuntu
Mina Delahoussaye
When new to Linux, or for quick troubleshooting scenarios, the use of remote desktop may be easier than Secure Shell (SSH) access. This article details how to install and configure a desktop environment (xfce) and remote desktop (xrdp) for your Linux VM running Ubuntu.
Using Remote Desktop over the internet will introduce noticeable "lag" (input latency) when compared to local desktop use. This can be influenced by multiple factors including local internet speed and distance from the datacenter where the virtual machine is hosted. This lag does not usually reflect the performance of the VM itself.
Most Linux VMs in Azure don't have a desktop environment installed by default. Linux VMs are commonly managed using SSH connections rather than a desktop environment, however there are several desktop environments that you can choose to install. Depending on your choice of desktop environment, it consumes up to 2 GB of disk space and take up to ten minutes to both install and configure all the required packages.
The following example installs the lightweight xfce4 desktop environment on an Ubuntu VM. Commands for other distributions vary slightly (use yum to install on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and configure appropriate selinux rules, or use zypper to install on SUSE, for example).
Now that you have a desktop environment installed, configure a remote desktop service to listen for incoming remote access connections. xrdp is an open source Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) server that is available on most Linux distributions and works well with xfce. Install xrdp on your Ubuntu VM as follows:
If you created a password for your user account when you created your VM, skip this step. If you only use SSH key authentication and don't have a local account password set, specify a password before you use xrdp to log in to your VM. xrdp can't accept SSH keys for authentication. The following example specifies a password for the user account azureuser:
Specifying a password does not update your SSHD configuration to permit password logins if it currently does not. From a security perspective, you may wish to connect to your VM with an SSH tunnel using key-based authentication and then connect to xrdp. If so, skip the following step on creating a network security group rule to allow remote desktop traffic.
To allow Remote Desktop traffic to reach your Linux VM, a network security group rule needs to be created that allows TCP on port 3389 to reach your VM. For more information about network security group rules, see What is a network security group? You can also use the Azure portal to create a network security group rule.
The following example adds a network security group rule with Add-AzNetworkSecurityRuleConfig on port 3389 to the existing network security group. From the Azure PowerShell, not the SSH session to your VM, get the existing network security group named myVMnsg:
Add an RDP network security rule named open-port-3389 to your $nsg network security group and update the network security group with Set-AzNetworkSecurityGroup in order for your changes to take effect:
If your local RDP client uses network level authentication (NLA), you may need to disable that connection setting. XRDP does not currently support NLA. You can also look at alternative RDP solutions that do support NLA, such as FreeRDP.
If you don't receive any response in your remote desktop client and don't see any events in the system log, this behavior indicates that remote desktop traffic can't reach the VM. Review your network security group rules to ensure that you have a rule to permit TCP on port 3389. For more information, see Troubleshoot application connectivity issues.
With Microsoft Remote Desktop clients, you can connect to Remote Desktop Services from Windows Server and remote PCs, and use and control desktops and apps that your admin has made available to you. There are clients available for many different types of devices on different platforms and form factors, such as desktops and laptops, tablets, smartphones, and through a web browser. Using your web browser on desktops and laptops, you can connect without having to download and install any software.
Some features are only available with certain clients, so it's important to check Compare the features of the Remote Desktop clients to understand the differences when connecting to Remote Desktop Services or remote PCs.
You can also use most versions of the Remote Desktop client to also connect to Azure Virtual Desktop, as well as to Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server or to a remote PC. If you want information on Azure Virtual Desktop instead, see Remote Desktop clients for Azure Virtual Desktop.
Here's a list of the Remote Desktop client apps and our documentation for connecting to Remote Desktop Services or remote PCs, where you can find download links, what's new, and learn how to install and use each client.
The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allows users to connect to another computer across a network and assume remote control over the host machine. The remote desktop connection can be established between different platforms, e.g., Linux users can RDP into a Windows system and vice versa.
Users running Ubuntu Server or a minimal installation of Ubuntu without a graphical user interface (GUI) can use command-line-based RDP clients, such as FreeRDP. However, some RDP clients like Remmina do not work without a GUI.
If the password /p: option is not included in the command, xfreerdp will prompt for the RDP user password. This practice is more secure than entering the password within the command.
The RDP experience depends on bandwidth, network latency, and the capabilities of the Windows host machine. The table below outlines the minimal and optimal requirements for the Ubuntu and Windows systems:
To enhance the security of an RDP session from Linux to Windows, you can implement security measures on the Windows side, Linux side, and on the network. The lists below offer useful tips for each security segment.
RDP can be efficient even over slower connections. However, specific tasks require a minimal level of visual quality and responsiveness. The table offers an overview of minimal and recommended bandwidth for general RDP tasks:
Controlling the amount of detail that a RDP client transfers over the network can produce significant performance gains. Read the sections below to learn how to adjust resolution and color depth in your RDP session.
A low depth may work for simple tasks like text editing, but the True color setting, with 32 bits per pixel, provides the high-quality visuals required for video playback or graphic design.
You have successfully used an RDP client to connect to a remote Windows PC from your Ubuntu system. Use this connection to administer remote Windows systems, provide technical support to Windows users, and operate Windows-specific tools and applications.
The xrdp server listens for incoming RDP connections on port number 3389. Using a non-standard port for RDP connection is a form of protection through obscurity. It is not a robust security measure, but can protect a system from rudimentary brute-force attacks.
3. Enter the IP address or name of the remote Ubuntu system in the Computer field. If you changed the default port number for RDP connections on Ubuntu, enter the port number after the IP address in the following format:
The RDP connection quality from Windows to Ubuntu primarily depends on the RDP server software (xrdp) and the type of tasks and applications running on the Ubuntu system. The Ubuntu system should meet the following requirements:
Users may encounter a black screen when using xrdp with specific Ubuntu configurations. The screen appears after an RDP session has been successfully established and prevents users from interacting with the Ubuntu system.
The bits per pixel value defines the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel. High bpp values increase the amount of data that needs to be transferred and can affect performance and cause compatibility issues.
The default Ubuntu GNOME desktop occasionally has compatibility issues with xrdp. Install an alternative Ubuntu GUI, such as the XFCE desktop environment, and attempt to establish an RDP connection.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a network protocol developed by Microsoft that allows users to remotely access and interact with the graphical user interface of a remote Windows server. RDP works on the client-server model, where an RDP client is installed on a local machine, and an RDP server is installed on the remote server.
RDP is widely used for Windows remote connections, but you can also access and interact with the graphical user interface of a remote Linux server by using a tool like xrdp, an open-source implementation of the RDP server.
In this tutorial, you will install and configure an RDP server using xrdp on a Ubuntu 22.04 server and access it using an RDP client from your local machine. You will understand how to establish access to a remote Linux server by configuring and using an RDP connection.
In this step, you will install and configure a desktop environment on your Ubuntu server. By default, an Ubuntu server comes with a terminal environment only. A desktop environment will need to be installed to access a user interface.
You will be prompted to choose a display manager, which is a program that manages graphical login mechanisms and user sessions. You can select any option from the list of available display managers, but this tutorial will use gdm3.
By default, the username and password parameters are set to ask, which means the user will be prompted to enter their username and password to connect over RDP. Parameters, such as name, username, and password, can be modified if necessary. For the initial RDP connection to the server, the default configuration will suffice.
Next, you will configure your firewall to allow remote connections from your public IP on port 3389. An RDP connection serves on TCP/IP port 3389. To access the remote server over RDP, you must allow port 3389 in your firewall.
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