Users who prefer a GUI to manage their server can install Gnome or KDE. These are the the most popular GUIs for Linux. In this tutorial, I’ll explain how to install Gnome and KDE on both Ubuntu and CentOS.
Installing KDE
KDE is a beautiful GUI. Installing it is very easy. Each of the commands need to be run by the root user. The first thing we’re going to do is update everything.
On CentOS, execute:
yum update && yum upgrade
On Ubuntu, execute:
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
After updating everything, we’re going to install the GUI.
On CentOS, execute:
yum -y groupinstall "KDE desktop" "X Window System" "Fonts"
On Ubuntu, execute:
apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
This will also install some apps. If you just want the GUI, execute:
apt-get install kubuntu-desktop --no-install-recommends
Start up the server with the GUI.
On CentOS, edit the file:
vi /etc/inittab
Locate id:3:initdefault: and change 3 to 5.
Now restart your server.
On CentOS, execute:
init 6
Installing Gnome
The first thing we’re going to do is update everything. As with KDE, each of the commands need to be run by the root user.
On CentOS, execute:
yum update && yum upgrade
On Ubuntu, execute:
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
After updating everything, we’re going to install the GUI.
On CentOS 7, execute:
yum groupinstall "GNOME Desktop" "Graphical Administration Tools"
On Ubuntu, execute:
apt-get install ubuntu-gnome-desktop
Now we need to start up the server with the GUI.
On CentOS 7, execute:
ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/runlevel5.target /etc/systemd/system/default.target
To remove Gnome on Ubuntu, execute:
apt-get remove ubuntu-gnome-desktop
Now restart your server.