Install xrdp on CentOS 7 / RHEL 7 Remote desktop Linux on Windows [2.centos]

xrdp is an Open Source Remote desktop Protocol server, which allows you to RDP to your Linux server from Windows machine; it is capable of accepting connections from rdesktop, freerdp, and remote desktop clients.

This post will help you to setup xrdp server on CentOS 7 / RHEL 7.

Prerequisites

1. First, install Gnome GUI on CentOS 7 / RHEL 7

2. xrdp is available in EPEL repository, so Install and configure EPEL repository.

rpm -Uvh https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm

Install xrdp on CentOS 7

Use YUM command to install xrdp package on CentOS 7 / RHEL 7.

yum -y install xrdp tigervnc-server

Output:

Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, langpacks
Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
 * base: centos.excellmedia.net
 * epel: del-mirrors.extreme-ix.org
 * extras: centos.excellmedia.net
 * updates: centos.excellmedia.net
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package tigervnc-server.x86_64 0:1.8.0-2.el7_4 will be installed
---> Package xrdp.x86_64 1:0.9.5-1.el7 will be installed
--> Processing Dependency: xorgxrdp for package: 1:xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64
--> Running transaction check
---> Package xorgxrdp.x86_64 0:0.2.5-3.el7 will be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

=================================================================================================
 Package                    Arch              Version                   Repository          Size
=================================================================================================
Installing:
 tigervnc-server            x86_64            1.8.0-2.el7_4             updates            213 k
 xrdp                       x86_64            1:0.9.5-1.el7             epel               413 k
Installing for dependencies:
 xorgxrdp                   x86_64            0.2.5-3.el7               epel                61 k

Transaction Summary
=================================================================================================
Install  2 Packages (+1 Dependent package)

Total download size: 688 k
Installed size: 2.7 M
Downloading packages:
warning: /var/cache/yum/x86_64/7/epel/packages/xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64.rpm: Header V3 RSA/SHA256 Signature, key ID 352c64e5: NOKEY
Public key for xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64.rpm is not installed
(1/3): xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64.rpm                                        | 413 kB  00:00:01
(2/3): tigervnc-server-1.8.0-2.el7_4.x86_64.rpm                           | 213 kB  00:00:01
(3/3): xorgxrdp-0.2.5-3.el7.x86_64.rpm                                    |  61 kB  00:00:01
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                            409 kB/s | 688 kB  00:00:01
Retrieving key from file:///etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-7
Importing GPG key 0x352C64E5:
 Userid     : "Fedora EPEL (7) <epel@fedoraproject.org>"
 Fingerprint: 91e9 7d7c 4a5e 96f1 7f3e 888f 6a2f aea2 352c 64e5
 Package    : epel-release-7-11.noarch (installed)
 From       : /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/RPM-GPG-KEY-EPEL-7
Running transaction check
Running transaction test
Transaction test succeeded
Running transaction
Warning: RPMDB altered outside of yum.
  Installing : xorgxrdp-0.2.5-3.el7.x86_64                                                   1/3
  Installing : 1:xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64                                                     2/3
  Installing : tigervnc-server-1.8.0-2.el7_4.x86_64                                          3/3
  Verifying  : xorgxrdp-0.2.5-3.el7.x86_64                                                   1/3
  Verifying  : tigervnc-server-1.8.0-2.el7_4.x86_64                                          2/3
  Verifying  : 1:xrdp-0.9.5-1.el7.x86_64                                                     3/3

Installed:
  tigervnc-server.x86_64 0:1.8.0-2.el7_4                xrdp.x86_64 1:0.9.5-1.el7

Dependency Installed:
  xorgxrdp.x86_64 0:0.2.5-3.el7

Complete!
</epel@fedoraproject.org>

Once xrdp is installed, start the xrdp service using the following command.

systemctl start xrdp

xrdp should now be listening on 3389. You can confirm this by using netstat command.

netstat -antup | grep xrdp

Output:

tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:3389            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      1508/xrdp
tcp        0      0 127.0.0.1:3350          0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      1507/xrdp-sesman

READ: netstat command not found on CentOS 7 / RHEL 7 – Quick Fix

By default, xrdp service won’t start automatically after a system reboot. Run the following command in the terminal to enable the service at system startup.

systemctl enable xrdp

Firewall

Configure the firewall to allow RDP connection from external machines. The following command will add the exception for RDP port (3389).

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=3389/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

SELinux

Configure SELinux

chcon --type=bin_t /usr/sbin/xrdp
chcon --type=bin_t /usr/sbin/xrdp-sesman

Test xrdp Remote Connectivity

Now take RDP from any windows machine using Remote Desktop Connection. Enter the ip address of Linux server in the computer field and then click on connect.

Install xrdp on CentOS 7 - Enter IP Address in Remote Desktop Connecton Window — Install xrdp on CentOS 7 – Enter IP Address in Remote Desktop Connection Window

You may need to ignore the warning of RDP certificate name mismatch.

Install xrdp on CentOS 7 - Accept the Certificate — Install xrdp on CentOS 7 – Accept the Certificate

You would be asked to enter the username and password. You can either use root or any user that you have it on the system. Make sure you use module “Xvnc“.