Since I have found some issues with my previous LXQT setup in real-life work I decided to fall back to standard Lubuntu for my cloud desktop. As part of this I also switched to TightVNC which seems a lot easier to configure.

Add local user account

adduser USERNAME
adduser USERNAME sudo

Install Lubuntu Desktop

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends lubuntu-desktop tightvncserver

TightVNC Configuration

sudo vim /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf

#
# VNC Server configuration
#
# enabled = True if VNC connections should be allowed
# port = TCP/IP port to listen for connections on
#
[VNCServer]
enabled=true
port=5900
width=1366
height=768
depth=24

sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm restart

Connect to the remote system

ssh -L 5900:localhost:5900 -i /path/to/your/aws/keyfile.pem YOUR.EC2.IP.ADDRESS

tightvnc

 

If you are using a Chromebook then this article might help.

Leo Gaggl

ict business owner specialising in mobile learning systems. interests: sustainability, internet of things, ict for development, open innovation, agriculture

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Alexhein

    hi there ,
    1st issue
    when i start sudo /etc/init.d/lightdm restart its tell
    * Stopping X display manager lightdm is that right?
    2nd issue
    public key permission denied i put the right key ,path and public ip. any suggestion?

  2. Leo Gaggl

    @Alexhein:
    1) ‘sudo service lightdm restart’ is probably the more appropriate way on Ubuntu
    2) Most likely key permissions. Search for ‘ssh key permissions too open’.

    HTH

  3. Doug Moran

    Thanks for the article! Worked perfectly and saved me some time.

  4. JohnGalt

    I notice the sessions are not persistent across closing VNC viewer down, has anyone managed to achieve this?

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