The script hereafter is outdated and has been replaced by a newer version.  Please Check the Download page for latest version.

 

Hello World, 

In this post, we will continue to investigate xRDP installation procedure on Ubuntu 17.10.  In this post, we have seen how to perform a standard xrdp installation. The purpose of this post was to describe in a clear way the different tweaks and configuration tasks needed to have a working xRDP implementation.  Then, in the following post , we have provided a simple script that can be used to automate the installation of xRDP.  The script can be used to automate standard xRDP installation meaning using the default xrdp package available within Ubuntu Official repositories. 

In this post, we will update the Install-xrdp.sh script to make it work with Ubuntu 17.10 and the new Ubuntu gnome desktop flavor.  The standard installation is working great and it’s easy to install. So why bother to perform a custom installation from source.  This is simply to get the latest improvements (and bugs) of the xRDP solution.  The xrdp version available in Ubuntu repository is 0.9.1. However, the xrdp team has released a more recent version of the xrdp package which is set to 0.9.4. 

Using the updated script in this post, you will be able to install the latest xrdp package from source in an automated way….. So, Let’s start….! 

xRDP Custom install on Ubuntu 17.10

Assumptions

The script has been developed and updated based on the following assumptions

• The Ubuntu  17.10 final release will be used
• At time of writing, all available updates were installed on the Ubuntu machine
• No alternative Desktop will be used. Default Ubuntu Gnome desktop will be the default desktop accessible via the xrdp session
• Ubuntu machine has been installed as virtual machine using Virtualbox software 
• Default session used is Wayland (it’s supported in Virtualbox)
• Internet connection is available so latest xrdp packages can be downloaded

The following screenshot shows the current version of Ubuntu we are using and shows that we are indeed running a Wayland session…The screenshot also shows you that no xRDP software is installed yet. 

Click on picture for better resolution

 

 

The Script version 2.0

The version of the script has been changed to 2.0.  Even do, the code of this version is similar to the version 1.9.1, we needed to make clear that this is a new start for the Install-xrdp.sh script.  The version 2.0 will be the base code for any new Ubuntu release using Gnome Desktop.  This version of the script is really the foundation of a possible new version that would include more features. In the future, we might want to merge the Std-Xrdp-Install-0.1.sh script into this script. We might also want to add more options and features for different distributions… We will see how much free time we have…. 

Version 2.0  has been modified a little bit and the following changes have been made 

• checking the version of your Ubuntu system.  If you are running something different than Ubuntu 17.10, the script will not execute
• No check of the desktop environment. Previous version was checking for Unity Desktop. This script assume that we are using Ubuntu Gnome Desktop. 
• We download the xrdp binaries first and then download and install the necessary software prerequisites.
• the fontutil.h section has been removed as the bug has been fixed in Ubuntu 17.10 (for more info see this post)
• the script then compile xrdp package first and then the xorgxrdp package.  A simple error handling is in place in order for you to see fatal errors during the make process 
• as in the previous versions, the script will create the polkit exception 
• the script configure the Xwrapper.config file automatically so you do not have to edit it
• the script will create the necessary services for xrdp and start the xrdp service  so you can test your connection without the need of a reboot
• Finally, the script install the xserver-xorg-core package to overcome possible issues with Virtual machines. This should not be necessary anymore but we keept it just in case
• This version of the script will not restart the machine.  This will allow you to review the installation steps of the script by scrolling up and down your terminal console 

Important Note :

If you copy/paste the script, you might encounter some issues because font formatting might be not maintained during the copy/paste operation. Please ensure that format is  accurate before launching the script. A downloadable version of the script is available at the bottom of the post

Disclaimer : As usual, use this at your own risk !! 

################################################################
# Script_Name : install-xrdp-2.0.sh
# Description : Perform an automted custom installation of xrdp
# on ubuntu 17.10
# Date : November 2017
# written by : Griffon
# Web Site :http://www.c-nergy.be - http://www.c-nergy.be/blog
# Version : 2.0
# Disclaimer : Script provided AS IS. Use it at your own risk....
##################################################################

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 0 - Try to Detect Ubuntu Version.... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

version=$(lsb_release -d | awk -F":" '/Description/ {print $2}')

if [ "$version" = " Ubuntu 17.10" ]
then
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mSupported version detected....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mUbuntu Version :$version\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"

else
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mYour system is not running Ubuntu 17.10 Edition.\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mThe script has been tested only on Ubuntu 17.10...\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mThe script is exiting...\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
exit
fi

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 1 - Download XRDP Binaries... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mDownload Packages Needed....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mDownloading Git package...Proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
sudo apt-get -y install git

cd ~/Downloads

## -- Download the xrdp latest files
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mPreparing download xrdp package\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
git clone https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xrdp.git
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mPreparing download xorgxrdp package\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
git clone https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xorgxrdp.git

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 2 - Install Prereqs... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mInstall Prereqs...proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo

sudo apt-get -y install libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libssl-dev libpam0g-dev libtool libjpeg-dev flex bison gettext autoconf libxml-parser-perl libfuse-dev xsltproc libxrandr-dev python-libxml2 nasm xserver-xorg-dev fuse pkg-config

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 3 - compiling... 
#---------------------------------------------------#
# -- Compiling xrdp package first

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mXRDP Compilation about to start ! \e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo

cd ~/Downloads/xrdp
sudo ./bootstrap
sudo ./configure --enable-fuse --enable-jpeg 
sudo make

#-- check if no error during compilation

if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then 
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mMake Operation Successful ! \e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
else 
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mError while executing make.\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mThe script is exiting...\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
exit
fi
sudo make install

# -- Compiling xorgxrdp package first

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mxorgxrdp Compilation about to start ! \e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
cd ~/Downloads/xorgxrdp 
sudo ./bootstrap 
sudo ./configure 
sudo make

# check if no error during compilation 
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then 
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mMake Operation Successful ! \e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo
else 
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mError while executing make.\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31mThe script is exiting...\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;31m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
exit
fi
sudo make install

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 4 - create services .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mCreating xRDP Services ! \e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m-----------------------------------\e[0m"
echo

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable xrdp.service
sudo systemctl enable xrdp-sesman.service
sudo systemctl start xrdp

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 5 - Install Gnome Tweak Tool.... 
#---------------------------------------------------#
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mInstalling Gnome tweak package....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool -y

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 6 - Allow console Access .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mGranting Console Access....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
sudo sed -i 's/allowed_users=console/allowed_users=anybody/' /etc/X11/Xwrapper.config

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 7 - create policies exceptions .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mCreating Polkit file....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
sudo bash -c 'cat >/etc/polkit-1/localauthority.conf.d/02-allow-colord.conf <<EOF
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
if ((action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.create-device” ||
action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.create-profile” ||
action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.delete-device” ||
action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.delete-profile” ||
action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.modify-device” ||
action.id == “org.freedesktop.color-manager.modify-profile”) &&
subject.isInGroup(“{group}”)) {
return polkit.Result.YES;
}
});
EOF'

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 8 - Enable Extensions .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#
echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mEnabling Extensions....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
gnome-shell-extension-tool -e ubuntu-dock@ubuntu.com
gnome-shell-extension-tool -e ubuntu-appindicators@ubuntu.com

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 9 - install additional pacakge .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

echo
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mInstall xserver-xorg-server (if not there)....proceeding\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\e[0m"
echo
sudo apt-get -y install xserver-xorg-core

#---------------------------------------------------#
# Step 10 - Credits .... 
#---------------------------------------------------#

/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m----------------------------------------------------------\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mInstallation Completed\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mPlease test your xRDP configuration....\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mCheck c-nergy.be website for latest version of the script\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32mwritten by Griffon - November 2017 - Version 2.0\e[0m"
/bin/echo -e "\e[1;32m----------------------------------------------------------\e[0m"
echo

How to Use the Script

Set Execute Right on the script

After you have downloaded the script install-xrdp-2.0.sh, you need to mark the file as executable before running it.  To mark a script/file as executable, from the command line, issue the following command

chmod +x  ~/Downloads/install-xrdp-2.0.sh  

Note : Adjust the path where the install-xrdp-2.0.sh script to reflect your environment

Click on Picture for Better Resolution

 

Execute the script

To execute the script, ensure that internet connection is available (so you can download the necessary packages needed for the installation) and simply open a Terminal console.  In the Terminal console, Browse to the location where the script has been stored and then issue the following command 

 ./install-xrdp-2.0.sh  

Click on Picture for Better Resolution

You will be prompted for a password. Provide the password and proceed with the installation.

Click on Picture for Better Resolution

Wait for completion of the script.  The machine will not reboot automatically when done so you can review the actions performed by the script….

Click on Picture for Better Resolution

Note

There is a small change in the way we execute the script compared to the previous instructions provided.  The script needs to be run from Terminal console.  However, we do not use the sudo command when executing the script. We perform the operation as the logged on user.  When the script reach the sudo apt-get… command, a prompt for a password is displayed… 

Test your configuration 

To Test your configuration, you need to perform the following steps 

• step 1 – Logout from the Ubuntu machine 
• step 2 – Start your favorite remote desktop client and provide the ip address or hostname of your ubuntu machine 

Click on Picture for Better Resolution

• step 3 –  At this stage, you should see the xRDP login page. Provide your credentials

Click on picture for better resolution

• step 4 – At this stage, you should see your standard Ubuntu Gnome Desktop with the Dock visible…. 

Click on picture for better resolution

 

 

Local connections, remote connections, multiple connections….

A single user can access console and remote session 

This is the most annoying one.  In the past, the same user could be locally logged on on the system and still perform a remote connection to the same machine. Nowadays, this does not seems to be the case anymore. If the user is connected through remote desktop session, and if the same user tries to connect to the console, the login process will loop.  If the user is logged into the console, the remote session will only show a black screen.  So this point is still not fixed….. 

Click on picture for better resolution

 

Download the Script 

Please download the script :  install-xrdp-2.0.zip

Final Notes 

Voila ! We have achieved our goal so far….The last three posts have been focusing on the installation process of xRDP on Ubuntu 17.10.  Because Canonical has dropped the Unity Desktop, it sounded logical to start and see how this change would have affected the xRDP installation.  We have been demonstrating how to perform a step by step installation of xRDP providing all the necessary information needed.  Then we moved a step forward in the second post where a really quick and dirty script has been provided that can be used to automate the xRDP installation process. Finally, in this post, we have been checking how to perform a custom installation on Ubuntu 17.10. 

All in all, no major changes have been introduced in the installation process. Some new tweaks are needed in order to make the xRDP software package working on the Ubuntu 17.10 operating system.  When all the necessary configuration changes have been performed; you will be able to enjoy the remote desktop capability from any machine that can make an rdp connection.  This is cool ! 

As mentioned in the past, so far, xRDP is still working on Ubuntu 17.10 where the Default Display server is Wayland.  Wayland does not officially support yet remote desktop capabilities (even do we have seen some initial work that would offer this capability). The xRDP solution is working because the solution is using a xorg backend component.  The future will tell us if xRDP will be modified to support Wayland Display server or if a new product will be developped 

That’s it for today

Till next time 

See ya