0

I am looking to install a Desktop environment on my headless Centos 7 server, and retain the headless functionality of the server. I have one caveat. I am nowhere near the server. It is in a server farm on another continent. So the whole DE install and setup must be done via command line. I have googled and tried various things, but have decided to ask here in the hope somebody has done this before me.

I have installed xfce...and the vnc connection resulted in a grey/black screen. Removed xfce. I have never done this before, my experience being local machines with Ubuntu and Windows. Working on a production server, 1000's of miles away is a bit scary. Basically, I am looking for a solution for a desktop environment that will not require keyboard input or a monitor connected to the production server. I need to run a few apps (one or two via Wine) on a hi speed connection machine, my production server link being 100 times faster than my local broadband link (literally!).

The server hosts a few dozen domains, and functions perfectly My VNC is setup and i am able to connect to it without problems. I also have root access via SSH. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Brian Ellse
  • 11
  • 1
  • 4

1 Answers1

2

Take a look at the output of 

yum group list

you will find a number of options for installing various desktop groups.

You can then for example use 

yum groupinfo Desktop
...
Group: Desktop
   Group-Id: basic-desktop
   Description: A minimal desktop that can also be used as a thin client.

To get more information on the relevant group. Once you decide on a group to install you can use e.g. 

yum groupinstall 'General Purpose Desktop'

to install it.

user9517
  • 115,471
  • 20
  • 215
  • 297
  • My issue is not the install as such, having done XFCE as you described above. My concern is a situation where I install a desktop that will require some keyboard input at the server during first boot up.I am looking for anyone with experience or advice on a desktop that DOES NOT require a human presence at the server once installed by cli. Is that what "minimal" and "thin" refer to in your example above? – Brian Ellse Sep 06 '15 at 22:01