VNC is a graphical desktop sharing system that allows users to connect remotely to a system with keyboard and mouse access. This is an open-source alternative to Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol. When you’re ready to get started with installing and configuring the VNC server on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:

Install Desktop Environment

By default, Ubuntu servers don’t come with a desktop environment and VNC requires the desktop environment to function. Since we don’t want to install a full-blown desktop environment, a better alternative is a lightweight environment called Xfce. To install Xfce, run the commands below

Install VNC Server

Now that a lightweight desktop environment is installed, run the commands below to install the VNC server. There are many VNC servers available, including TightVNC, x11vnc, and TigerVNC. for this post, we’re going to be using TigerVNC. To install TigerVNC, run the commands below: After installing TigerVNC, run the commands below to set up an initial setup including creating a password to access the desktops. That should output a similar message as below: After that, the server command will create a password file and store it in your ~/.vnc folder.

Configure VNC Server

Now that the VNC server is installed, run the commands below to configure it. Then create a startup config file. add the lines into the file and save. Run the commands below after the above. Next, create a systemd file. Then add the lines below into the file and save. After saving the file run the commands below to reload the systemd config. Start and enable the VNC server After checking to see if VNC is started and running. You should see something similar to the one below Now you’re all set. Find a VNC client and attempt to the server. A good VNC to use is VNC Viewer from RealVNC. Install it and connect it to the server. server_name:5901 Type in the password you created above and connect Enjoy! Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed, configure, and connected to a VNC server on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 You may also like the post below: