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I'm very new at Linux. I'm running a mediaserver (pms) on Ubuntu 18.04.3 mini, with no desktop or something like that.

Now I'm wondering if it's possible to connect to the server, and run applications like luckybackup GUI, or is it a requirement to have a desktop installed on the server?

JoBe
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2 Answers2

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What you're looking for is called X-forwarding and it can be done. The server will require to have the X11 server-side stuff installed, and SSH will require to be configured to allow it. Have a look here and see if this helps: https://www.addictivetips.com/ubuntu-linux-tips/set-up-x11-forwarding-on-linux/

If you need cross-platform compatibility then Spice project is a bit more involved but might also help: https://www.spice-space.org/

VNC is another cross platform solution. Here's one tutorial but there are probably plenty more out there: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-and-configure-vnc-on-ubuntu-18-04

K. Hinch
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  • I've followed the instructions, but getting an error on the other Linux machine (not the server) qt.qpa.screen: QXcbConnection: Could not connect to display Could not connect to any X display. – JoBe Jan 18 '20 at 17:34
  • Is X11Forwarding enabled on both machines? /etc/ssh/sshd_config on the server, /etc/ssh/ssh_config on the client. – K. Hinch Jan 19 '20 at 08:44
  • Also, from the error it looks like you're forwarding a qt application (and I see Lucky Backup is a qt application). From Googling this it looks like many people are having issues forwarding qt applications, with varying levels of success. It might be worth trying to forward a non-qt application until you get it working, then try Lucky Backup when you know it's working for other things. Any of the bundled Ubuntu apps will likely be non-qt. Try gnome-terminal or something? – K. Hinch Jan 19 '20 at 08:54
  • X11 is now on both, but the same issue. The gnome-terminal says: Unable to init server: Could not connect: Connection refused

    Failed to parse arguments: Cannot open display:

     – JoBe Jan 19 '20 at 10:30
  • Can you also check on your server that /etc/ssh/sshd_config contains: X11DisplayOffset 10 TCPKeepAlive yes And that the ssh service has been restarted since the changes. I just tested this with my own Ubuntu 18.04 server and 18.04 desktop by installing gvim on the server: apt install vim-gtk. Connected with ssh -X <user>@<host> and then gvim and it worked. – K. Hinch Jan 19 '20 at 11:56
  • Also edited my original answer to include VNC. A bit more involved than Xforwarding, but probably easier than my other suggestion of Spice. Worth looking into if you get nowhere with Xforwarding. Also, if your server is already providing some services I suggest using a VM or a spare system to test out a solution so that you're not making big experimental changes to a working server. – K. Hinch Jan 19 '20 at 12:06
  • The last try resulted in E233: cannot open displayed. What I'm unsure about is that the server is installed from Ubuntu mini, so it might be missing something, or it might have something to do with that I'm running Linux on virtualbox, and when running Linux I always get a information windows that says Linux can't find the graphics, and are running in software mode.. – JoBe Jan 20 '20 at 07:58
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Ubuntu Server is a variant of the Ubuntu OS that does not include a graphical user interface (GUI) by default. GUI applications consume system resources needed for server-oriented tasks, so Linux server distributions usually avoid a GUI in favor of the command-line terminal.

Some tools, however, perform better and are easier to manage with a GUI. If you use a tool with a GUI, installing a desktop environment may improve the experience of working with the server.

This guide will show you how to install a desktop (GUI) graphical interface on your Ubuntu server.

I find this link helpful so you try also
https://phoenixnap.com/kb/how-to-install-a-gui-on-ubuntu
it is the instruction on how to install kinds of GUI in the server without a GUI like
Slim by
$sudo service slim start
Ubuntu Desktop by
sudo apt install ubuntu-desktop
KDE Plasma
sudo apt install kde-plasma-desktop
.
.
.

Babak Ahari
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