Ubuntu 24.04 LTS GNOME Desktop | Support by cloudimg

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with the GNOME desktop, over RDP

This image is Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) with Ubuntu's own GNOME 46 desktop from the main archive and GNOME Remote Desktop set up for remote login. Connect with any RDP client (Windows App, Remote Desktop Connection, Remmina, FreeRDP), see the GNOME login screen, and sign in to a full desktop session on the virtual machine: Files, Terminal, Text Editor, System Monitor and Settings are ready to use, and anything else installs with apt. Ubuntu 24.04 LTS receives standard security maintenance through 2029.

Secure by default: remote desktop ships off, no default password

A freshly deployed machine exposes nothing but SSH on port 22. Remote desktop is installed but switched off, no account has a password, and the RDP server cannot be enabled until you have set your own. At first boot each machine generates its own RDP credential and its own TLS certificate, readable by root only, so nothing is shared between machines or baked into the image. SSH stays key only even after you set a desktop password.

Three steps to the desktop

• SSH in with your key and set your own account password
• Run sudo cloudimg-remote-desktop enable
• Open an SSH tunnel to port 3389, connect your RDP client to localhost, pass this VM's RDP credential, and log in at the GNOME login screen

Built for Azure

Networking, provisioning and updates work exactly as on Ubuntu Server: cloud-init and the Azure Linux agent provision the machine and systemd-networkd manages the network interface. Every available security update is applied at build time and unattended security updates are armed. Recommended size: Standard_B2ms (8 GB) or larger; the desktop renders in software, no GPU required.

What you get from cloudimg

• The GNOME desktop and GNOME Remote Desktop from the Ubuntu main archive, proven end to end on every build from the RDP client through the login screen to a working desktop
• No default password, remote desktop off by default, per-VM RDP credential and TLS certificate
• A deployment guide tested against this exact image
• 24/7 expert support from cloudimg

Licensing

Ubuntu and GNOME are free and open source: a collection of independently licensed packages (GPL, LGPL, MIT, BSD, Apache-2.0, MPL and more). No subscription, licence key or Canonical entitlement is required; Ubuntu Pro is an optional Canonical subscription that is neither included nor required. Ubuntu is a trademark of Canonical Ltd. and GNOME a trademark of the GNOME Foundation, used here only to identify the software; cloudimg is not affiliated with either. The cloudimg charge ($0.04 per vCPU/hour) covers packaging, security patching, image maintenance and 24/7 support.