GUI for Ubuntu Server?

Hi guys, I'm very new to Ubuntu. Here at work we are planning to install Ubuntu Server. We wanted to know if Ubuntu Server comes with a GUI or is it only text mode?

Thanks for the help, I have been looking for this answer for hours.

I don't know, but it is easy to add one if you need to. After install, you'd just have to sudo aptitude install x-window-system-core gnome-core (or gnome if you want all the bells and whistles of a full desktop environment). If you also want a gui login, then also install gdm.

In general, servers will be text only out of the box because running X is considered an unnecessary security risk. Servers usually want as few services running as possible to keep them secure and running quickly.

Ubuntu server is a command line distro. It is a subset of Ubuntu. It performs no function that Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu don't also perform. Server requires less memory to run. Its fine for a server only box. If however you are trying to get more performance out of an older desktop system, I'd look at Xubuntu since it has a minimalist GUI.

So should I use Xubuntu for server purposes? We are going to use LAMP. Is it useful to have a graphical interface for this??

Thanks...

If it's just a home server that you're not too worried about security, you can certainly use Xubuntu (or just aptitude install xubuntu-desktop since ubuntu, kubuntu and xubuntu are all the same under the hood, just different package collections.

If it's a production server that's going to be open to the internet, I'd say to try to do it all at the command line since X is an unnecessary security risk.

Originally Posted by pljvaldez I don't know, but it is easy to add one if you need to. After install, you'd just have to sudo aptitude install x-window-system-core gnome-core (or gnome if you want all the bells and whistles of a full desktop environment). If you also want a gui login, then also install gdm.

Okay, I ran the command line to intall the Gnome GUI, but now how do I run/load it? I'm back at the command prompt.

Thanks!
Dale

you should just type

/etc/init.d/gdm start

and that will start the GUI login screen, also GDM should start automatically after startup.

Originally Posted by cucolin@ So should I use Xubuntu for server purposes? We are going to use LAMP. Is it useful to have a graphical interface for this??

It might be useful to have a graphical interface to create mySQL databases, tables, users, etc. There are graphical tools to do so, but they can also be used remotely. So, your server would not need a graphical interface.

- At the (X)Ubuntu setup, choose "server installation" at the very first part.

I use Webmin and do everything remotely. I'm putting together a How-To for a secure web server built on Kubuntu alternate cd. Its the same as the ubuntu server build. I have an older How-to up on my site that is Mandriva based. It will let you see the power of using WebMin as an admin tool. Here is the link.

http://www.linuxloader.com/modules.p...pid=22&page=11

(This build is actually pretty good for security but 2005 is outdated now.)

PDR60

i can't seem to get anything to install on ubuntu server or get anything to work..

tried to get aptget to install webmin, xserver, gnome, and xfce. nothing ..

now for some reason i did manage to get aptget to install mozilla .. probably cause i really didn't want it.. but at the time i just wanted to get something to install.. lol.. but i can't get figure out how to get it to work..

Originally Posted by mindsgoneawol tried to get aptget to install webmin, xserver, gnome, and xfce. nothing ..

What do you mean "nothing .."?
What errors were there?
Did they install and you just dont know how to run them?

Need more info

Originally Posted by binary_y2k2 What do you mean "nothing .."? What errors were there? Did they install and you just dont know how to run them? Need more info

i do the sudo apt-get install webmin

then it returns E: package not found. (something to that effect)

and that goes for everything i try to install except firefox.. which it shows up.. but i have no idea how to get it to work.. lol..


so the "just don't know how to run them" is correct for firefox.. and will probably be right for the rest.. but i am trying to learn.. i follow the directions i see in here and with the "manuals".. i don't even know how to edit a .conf file or save changes.. lol.

edit:

reinstalling to see if maybe it didn't install correctly. or if i missed something..

What's in your /etc/apt/sources.list ?
Make sure you have all the repositories setup (main, restricted, universe and multiverse).
Use apt-cache to search for packages, rather then guessing at the names,

apt-cache search xserver

shows

xserver-xorg - the X.Org X server

so that's the package you need. also look at "apt-cache --help" and "man apt-cache"

As for the webmin package, it's not in the ubuntu repositories so you'll have to download it from the website. You can either do that after you have gnome/xfce installed or install the package "lynx", it's a web browser for the console.

If you want a desktop environment (with Firefox etc) then you should install the desktop version, not the server version. As you can install server software on the desktop version and vice-versa. If you just want to run a server then you just need webmin. (You can install the X server as well but if you use it often then you may want to switch to the desktop version)

as soon as i get the server reinstalled i will try to see what list has.. atm i forgot how to set the root password.. i did it earlier and now i can't seem to find my notebook or the thread i found the howto in.. lol..

the gui is just because.. i am tinkering with this.. this is the first day i have downloaded and installed the ubuntu server. i may try the desktop version after i get this server version up an running so i have a place for my files.

all i really want to install is webmin. i read its easy to set up and use but so far it didn't wanna work of fd4 (which did nothing but crash.) i have used sme and it came with a browser to make changes and such but i haven't found one in ubuntu. which is why i want to try webmin.

the reason for the gui is mainly a just cause deal.. i wouldn't use it much if at all really.. once the box is up and running i don't mess with them. unless i check on it and has crashed or had hardware problems.

edit:

before i get too much further over my head here.. lol.. how do i read a file and edit a .conf then save it..

and before i forget.. a big thank you for your help.. am really greatful..

To set root password:

sudo passwd root

Enter YOUR password then the new root password twice.

To install webmin:

wget http://belnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/webadmin/webmin_1.290.deb
sudo dpkg -i webmin_1.290.deb

To edit a .conf file you can use vi nano or some other console editer, nano is the easiest as the controls are displayed on the bottom.

sudo nano /path/to/file.conf

edit the file an press "Ctrl-O" to save and "Ctrl-X" to exit

To install a X server:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg

That will install basic X capability but no display manager or window manager.