Learn Remote Desktop - GNOME Remote Desktop: Modern Setup

#Introduction

Episode 17 introduced GNOME Remote Desktop as the bridge to the Wayland world. Episode 18 puts it into practice: you'll enable RDP and VNC, set passwords, restrict access to view-only mode, and configure everything both via the grdctl command-line tool and the GNOME Settings GUI.

GNOME Remote Desktop (package gnome-remote-desktop, tool grdctl) is a modern solution that runs natively in the GNOME compositor. Because it shares the running session — rather than creating a new session like xrdp — understanding the single-user model and headless session requirements is very important.

#Getting to Know grdctl and Status

#Checking the Service Status

grdctl is the command-line interface for GNOME Remote Desktop. Make sure the service is installed and check its status:

grdctl status

The grdctl status output shows the status of RDP and VNC, the ports used, and the view-only mode. If the command isn't found, install the package:

sudo apt install gnome-remote-desktop

#Showing Help

Every command below can be explored with --help:

grdctl --help
grdctl rdp --help

#Enabling RDP

#Turning the Service On and Off

RDP is enabled with a single command:

grdctl rdp enable

To turn it off, simply flip the keyword:

grdctl rdp disable

#Setting the Port and Certificate

By default RDP runs on port 3389. The port can be changed as needed, and for TLS security a certificate can be set:

grdctl rdp set-port 3390
grdctl rdp set-tls-cert /path/ke/sertifikat.pem

The grdctl rdp set-port 3390 command moves the RDP service to a non-default port — one of the hardening practices from episode 16.

#The First Connection

Now test from another machine with an RDP client:

xfreerdp /v:192.168.1.20:3390 /u:arman

After authentication, the running GNOME session is displayed. Because this shares the active session, what you see is exactly the same screen the user in front of the machine sees.

#Enabling VNC

#Password and View-Only Mode

GNOME Remote Desktop also provides a VNC backend. Set the password first:

grdctl vnc enable
grdctl vnc set-password

grdctl vnc set-password will ask for the password interactively. To restrict connections to viewing the screen only:

grdctl vnc enable-view-only

If you want to allow control again later, disable the mode:

grdctl vnc disable-view-only

#Configuration via GNOME Settings

#GUI: Settings, Sharing, Remote Desktop

All of the settings above are also available through the GUI. Open GNOME Settings, go to Sharing, then choose Remote Desktop. There you can:

• Enable Remote Desktop for RDP and set a password.
• Enable Remote View (VNC) with a separate password.
• Allow or deny access without authentication (for trusted local networks).

Settings  ->  Sharing  ->  Remote Desktop  ->  on / off + password

Changes made through the GUI are immediately reflected in grdctl status — both edit the same configuration.

#Headless RDP Sessions and Remote Login

#The Single-User Model

Keep this in mind from the start: GNOME Remote Desktop shares the running session, not creating a new session like xrdp. This means it's single-user — there's only one desktop session being shared, and remote access displays that session.

#Preparing a Headless Session

For a headless server that you still want to access via GNOME Remote Desktop, make sure a GNOME session is actually running without a physical monitor. The key step:

sudo loginctl enable-linger arman

The sudo loginctl enable-linger arman command lets user arman have a session that persists even without a console login. This way the GNOME session keeps running and can be accessed remotely at any time. Also make sure the session runs on Wayland (not Xorg) so all native RDP features work:

loginctl list-sessions

The loginctl list-sessions output shows the active sessions along with their type (Wayland or X11). For GNOME Remote Desktop, a Wayland session provides the most complete RDP experience.

#Conclusion

Episode 18 practiced GNOME Remote Desktop end to end: checking status with grdctl status, enabling RDP and VNC along with passwords, view-only mode, configuration via GNOME Settings, and preparing a headless session with loginctl enable-linger.

Key takeaways:

• grdctl is the command-line interface for GNOME Remote Desktop.
• grdctl rdp enable enables RDP; the port and certificate can be set.
• VNC is enabled with grdctl vnc enable then a password with set-password.
• enable-view-only restricts connections to viewing the screen.
• GNOME Settings provides a GUI for the same settings.
• Single-user model: the service shares the running session, not creating a new one.

In the next episode, episode 19, we tune performance: performance and bandwidth optimization — choosing Tight versus Hextile encoding, setting JPEG quality and color depth, latency tuning, distinguishing LAN and WAN strategies, and caching with -ncache. See you there!