A hardened, headless Ubuntu workstation configured for secure remote administration via xRDP and SSH, optimized for lightweight performance and infrastructure lab use.
This project documents the implementation of a monitorless Linux system designed to simulate a remote cloud node or secure administrative workstation.
- Enable Ubuntu to boot without a physical monitor (headless operation)
- Resolve black screen issues caused by missing EDID display detection
- Configure secure remote access via xRDP and SSH
- Replace GNOME with lightweight XFCE for improved remote performance
- Optimize session stability and display manager configuration
- Implement baseline security controls for home-lab infrastructure
Environment:
- Ubuntu Desktop (22.04/24.04 compatible)
- xRDP for remote desktop access
- XFCE desktop environment
- Xorg dummy display driver
- UFW firewall
- Optional Brave private-mode launcher
Access Model:
Local Network → xRDP / SSH → Headless Linux Node
Ubuntu desktop environments typically fail to initialize without a connected monitor due to EDID detection.
This project resolves that issue by:
- Installing the Xorg dummy video driver
- Creating a persistent virtual display configuration
- Forcing a 1920x1080 framebuffer in
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/
Result:
✔ System boots without HDMI attached
✔ Remote sessions initialize properly
✔ No black screen on login
GNOME was replaced with XFCE to:
- Reduce CPU and memory overhead
- Improve responsiveness over RDP
- Minimize animation and rendering load
- Improve stability in headless environments
XFCE was explicitly configured as the xRDP session.
- xRDP configured to use Xorg backend
- Session startup modified for clean XFCE initialization
- SSH service enabled for administrative access
- Firewall configured to allow only required ports
- UFW firewall enabled (default deny incoming)
- Only SSH (22) and RDP (3389) allowed internally
- System updates maintained
- Remote access restricted to home network (no port forwarding)
This mirrors secure remote-access design principles used in cloud-hosted Linux nodes.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install xrdp xorgxrdp -y
sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp
Cloud-focused infrastructure lab project demonstrating:
Linux systems administration
Remote access troubleshooting
Desktop environment migration
Headless display engineering
Baseline security hardening
Bobby Kirkland Jr
AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Cloud Engineer | Infrastructure | Security