11 Create an Ubuntu Desktop
Dante Rocca
Sometimes we need a Linux desktop with more power than Tiny Core Linux. Like other Linux flavors (known as distributions), Ubuntu’s primary strength is the command line interface. Ubuntu Desktop has a graphical interface already installed but we will use the terminal for the installation in this lab anyway.
Learning Objectives
- Successfully download, install, and run Ubuntu Desktop in a GNS3 environment
Prerequisites
- Virtualbox Installed
- GNS3 Workspace Installed
Deliverables
- None – this is a preparatory lab that supports other labs in this book
Resources
- Download Ubuntu Desktop
Contributors and Testers
- Mathew J. Heath Van Horn, PhD, ERAU-Prescott
Phase I – Download and Installation
- Download Ubuntu Desktop from here
- Start Oracle Virtual Box Manager
- Click on New (Figure 1)
- Pick a name, here we will use Ubuntu Desktop New
- Choose a directory where you want the VM installed. Here we used an external M2 drive
- Use the dropdown menu to select the Ubuntu Desktop ISO that you downloaded
- IMPORTANT! Click Skip Unattended Installation
- Click Next (Figure 2)
- Change the base memory to 4096 MB and click next (Figure 3)
NOTE: Ubuntu Desktop requires 4GB of RAM to install. This unfortunately makes it more intense than other machines used in this book. If you need an Ubuntu Desktop that uses less RAM we recommend version 22 instead of version 24. That can be found here.
- Leave the default Virtual Hard Disk settings and click next (Figure 4)
- Review the summary and click Finish (Figure 5)
- Start the Ubuntu Desktop VM
- Hit enter to try or install Ubuntu (Figure 6)
- When the welcome to Ubuntu window appears select your language and click next (Figure 7)
- On the Accessibility screen, select any accessibility settings relevant to you. Once done, hit next
- Select your keyboard layout and hit next (Figure 8)
- On the Internet Connection screen leave the Use wired connection radio button selected and hit next (Figure 9)
- Select Install Ubuntu and hit Next (Figure 10)
- Select Interactive Installation and hit next (Figure 11)
- Select Default selection and hit next (Figure 12)
NOTE: If desired you may select Extended selection but it isn’t required for the labs present in this book and will take longer to install.
- Select any proprietary software you desire, none of them will be needed for labs in this book. Hit next
- Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu then click next (Figure 13)
- Enter a name and the computer and username should be automatically filled out. Like every other machine we will use the name student. Enter a password, as with every other machine, we use Security1 as our password. Click next (Figure 14)
- Select your time zone and location (Figure 15)
- Review your choices and click Install (Figure 16)
- Once the installation is complete, click Restart now (Figure 17)
- Hit enter when prompted to boot into the machine
Phase II – Installing SSH
Secure Shell (SSH) is a common remote shell and administration tool. It is used to securely remote login and command-line execution. We install it here for later use.
- Log into the Ubuntu Desktop virtual machine
- Click the Canonical logo (show applications) button in the bottom left corner. In the search screen that appears, search for and open the terminal (Figure 18)
- In the newly opened terminal, type the following command to install SSH
sudo apt install ssh
- Enter y when prompted
- Once the install is finished, ssh will successfully be installed (Figure 19)
End of Lab
Figures for Printed Version