Securely Connect to your Rocky Linux Cloud Server over VNC

Overview

VNC (Virtual Networking Computing) is a system to access computing systems remotely by sharing graphical desktop environments.

Prerequisites

• Deploy a new Rocky Linux 8 Vultr cloud server.
• Set up a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Verify that your server is up to date.

Install Dependencies

1. Install Gnome.

    $ sudo yum groupinstall "Gnome"
   

2. Install TigerVNC.

    $ sudo yum install tigervnc-server

Setup VNC Server

If you want to set up a restricted session for a user, type "y" during the view-only password option. Clients who authenticate with the view-only password will have restricted mouse and keyboard access.

1. Setup VNC user password.

    $ vncpasswd
   

2. Edit vncserver.users.

    $ sudo nano /etc/tigervnc/vncserver.users
   

3. At the bottom of the file, add a new VNC user. Replace user with your VNC user.

    :1=user
   

4. Copy VNC server service boilerplate.

    $ sudo cp /lib/systemd/system/vncserver@.service /etc/systemd/system/vncserver@:1.service
   

5. Allow the server to run at startup.

    $ sudo systemctl enable vncserver@:1
   

6. Start the VNC server.

    $ sudo systemctl start vncserver@:1
   

7. Verify VNC server is running.

    $ sudo systemctl status vncserver@:1
    Active: active (running)

Server Connection

1. Initiate SSH tunneled connection on the client machine.

    $ ssh -L 5901:localhost:5901 10.32.31.128 -4

   Use the flag -4 if your server only has an ipv4 address.

2. Using a VNC viewer of your choice, enter the following server address:

    localhost:5901
   

3. After entering VNC authentication credentials, you should be presented with a Gnome desktop environment.

Additional Configuration

VNC server configurations can be set through the $HOME/.vnc/config file.

1. If it doesn't already exist, create and edit the config file.

    $ nano ~/.vnc/config
   

2. Arguments are line-separated and use an equal sign for values. Here's a sample config file:

    geometry=800x600
    depth=24
   

3. Restart the VNC server to apply changes.

    $ sudo systemctl restart vncserver@:1

Conclusion

You should have a working secure VNC connection to your Rocky Linux Cloud Server. For more info, refer to the official TigerVNC website for documentation.