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Can someone explain to me the GUI and CLI of Ubuntu Server?

kiri
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floyd
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2 Answers2

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By default the Server version of Ubuntu has an interface similar to this one:

server interface of Ubuntu

So, only the command-line is available.

Source: Ubuntu Server “desktop” versus Ubuntu Desktop Version.

Most Ubuntu Server developers recommend not installing a GUI on a server. There are multiple reasons for not installing a GUI.

Some reasons to not install a GUI include:

  1. You'll have more code subject to security vulnerabilities, more packages that need updating, and more server downtime.
  2. Performance may suffer because resources (memory, hard disk space, CPU, etc.) will be consumed by the GUI.
  3. It is best practice to only install needed software on a production server.

  4. The GUI may include other network services that are inappropriate for a server.

    • One of the goals of Ubuntu Desktop Edition is to make it easier for users to use Linux. When installing some desktop environments, services that you may not specifically want will be installed. For example avahi-daemon, which is used to help configure networking, adds another open port and may introduce unwanted DNS conflicts with a .local domain.

So for the most secure server it is best to not install a GUI.

Source: ServerGUI.

See also:

Community
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Radu Rădeanu
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What is the user interface design of Ubuntu Server?

There's no user interface for the Ubuntu Server. Just a plain log in prompt and 6 TTY's. In fact servers do not include a User Interface beyond a prompt.

Can someone explain to me the GUI and CLI of Ubuntu Server?

Ubuntu server is just a strip down version of the Ubuntu Desktop packages. It includes the very same set of packages. If you install any of the -desktop packages you will notice no differences. Ubuntu (Linux) is modular. You can plug/unplug as many part/pieces you consider. The differences between you installing the Ubuntu Server and any of the Desktop versions is that you will not have a GUI to boot, but can dedicate all those resources to your servers (daemons).

Braiam
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