Managing Your Linux Box from Windows w/ XRDP.

Prerequisites:

• Windows Computer
• Linux Computer
• Internet Connection

Intro:

Hello Everyone,

Working on our Linux box has been a great journey so far. Although having another computer around can be inconvenient. Another keyboard, mouse, and Monitor. Not to mention all of the space it takes up. Good news, this doesn’t have to be the only way.

XRDP

Many of you might have heard of the Windows protocol, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). This Protocol allows us to manage other Windows host from a remote Windows host.

XRDP is an open source remote access solution that will allow us to remotely manage our Linux Box from a Windows host. No more walking to the Linux Box, or switching peripherals.

Installing XRDP

To install XRDP we need to login to our Linux box and open the terminal. If you haven't already, update your distro and packages. If you have been following my recent blogs, go ahead and run your Bash script.

Okay, now that we are up-to-date we need to install Xfce. Xfce is a light-weight desktop environment. This is how we will be interacting with our Linux Box remotely, through xfce. To Install xfce enter the following command:

sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies

Next, we need to actually install XRDP. Go ahead and enter the command:

sudo apt install xrdp

This will install the program to our Linux box. Next, we need to make sure that the service is running. To do this, enter the following command:

systemctl status xrdp

Our output should look something like this, notice the green text above. To exit the systemctl status mode, press:

q

Now that we know that the xrdp service is running, we need to identify our systems IP address.

Enter the following command:

ip address

The output should look something like the image above. Take note of your Linux Box’s IP address.

Testing XRDP

Now to make sure we did everything correct. We need to login to our Windows machine and type the following into the Windows search bar and hit enter.

Remote Desktop Connection

We should see this window appear. Input your Linux Box’s IP address into the text bar, and hit connect.

We should be presented with a login screen similar to the picture above. Enter the username/password you would use to login to your Linux box.

After you have entered your credentials you will be greeted with the xfce desktop environment. Little bit different than GNOME but I find it works just as well.

BOOM!

You can now remotely manage your Linux Box from your Windows machine. Hopefully you found this helpful.