TurboVNC installation [Ubuntu 22.04]

turbovnc_install.md

I've tested this gist with this setup:

• Odroid N2
• Armbian 24.2.1 Jammy CLI
• Ubuntu Desktop

Useful links:

• Useful (but old) doc for VirtualGL with TurboVNC: https://virtualgl.org/vgldoc/2_1_1/#hd003001
  • VirtualGL complete guide: https://rawcdn.githack.com/VirtualGL/virtualgl/main/doc/index.html
  • How to install VirtualGL using APT: https://virtualgl.org/Downloads/YUM
  • How to install libjpeg using APT: https://libjpeg-turbo.org/Downloads/YUM
• Documentation? https://rawcdn.githack.com/TurboVNC/turbovnc/main/doc/index.html#hd005001
• Compatibility list: https://turbovnc.org/Documentation/Compatibility30
• Available configurations: https://github.com/TurboVNC/turbovnc/blob/main/unix/turbovncserver.conf.in

The workflow:

1. Go to https://turbovnc.org/Downloads/YUM and follow the instructions in the APT section to install TurboVNC:

   • Prepare to install TurboVNC (run as root):

     wget -q -O- "https://packagecloud.io/dcommander/turbovnc/gpgkey" | gpg --dearmor > "/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/TurboVNC.gpg"
     wget -q -O "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/TurboVNC.list" "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TurboVNC/repo/main/TurboVNC.list"

   • Optional if you need OpenGL (run as root):
     • Prepare to install libjpeg:

       wget -q -O- https://packagecloud.io/dcommander/libjpeg-turbo/gpgkey | gpg --dearmor >/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/libjpeg-turbo.gpg
       wget -q -O "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/libjpeg-turbo.list" "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/libjpeg-turbo/repo/main/libjpeg-turbo.list"

     • Prepare to install VirtualGL (run as root):

       wget -q -O- https://packagecloud.io/dcommander/virtualgl/gpgkey | gpg --dearmor >/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/VirtualGL.gpg
       wget -q -O "/etc/apt/sources.list.d/VirtualGL.list" "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/VirtualGL/repo/main/VirtualGL.list"

   • Install TurboVNC:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install -y turbovnc

   • Install TurboVNC and VirtualGL:

     sudo apt update
     sudo apt install -y turbovnc virtualgl libjpeg-turbo-official

2. [EXPERIMENTAL]

   • Run sudo vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-vnc.conf and insert:

     Section "Module"
     Load "vnc"
     EndSection
     
     Section "Screen"
     Identifier "Screen0"
     Option "UserPasswdVerifier" "VncAuth"
     Option "PasswordFile" "<home_path>/.vnc/passwd"
     EndSection
     

   • Change <home_path> with your own home path

   • This section is experimental and needs verification

3. Create the password for the user:

    $ /opt/TurboVNC/bin/vncpasswd
   

4. Start a server the first time, as user:

    $ /opt/TurboVNC/bin/vncserver
   

   • An instance on screen :1 should start without problem

5. Kill the newly created server:

    $ /opt/TurboVNC/bin/vncserver -kill :1
   

6. Setup the server to start at boot:

   • Modify /etc/sysconfig/tvncservers:

       $ sudo vim /etc/sysconfig/tvncservers
     

     Uncomment the last two lines (or just the VNCSERVERS and manage the configurations in ~/.vnc/turbovncserver.conf):

       VNCSERVERS="1:<username>"
       VNCSERVERARGS[1]="-geometry 1920x1080"
     

     Change <username> with your own and change the args as preferred

   • Reboot and start the systemd service and enable it:

       $ sudo systemctl start tvncserver
       $ sudo systemctl enable tvncserver
     

   • Check if the service started correctly:

       $ sudo systemctl status tvncserver
     

7. Desktop environment can be set, with other parameters, insdie ~/.vnc/turbovncserver.conf

        $wm = plasma
        $geometry = 1920x1080
   

   • The value of $wm can be found in /usr/share/xsessions, it's the name of the file without .desktop; in the case of the KDE Plasma DE, the file found is plasma.desktop