adding on-demand desktop environment (XFCE) and additional services (Cockpit) to proxmox, plus remote servers (XRDP, VNC) - unsafe, pragmatic at best
I wanted something to manage my proxmox server in an easier way when working on the local PVE file system (e.g. in search for a conf file, manage services, logs, networks...) I prefered a gui for that part, and a gui for this admin work on the pve itself is something the proxmox gui - understandably - doesn't offer (and really is more of a hack for an individial with their own small homelab.)
I guess either cockpit or xfce would have been enough, i added a script for on-demand usage of them
Cockpit seemed like the more current Webmin, as a web-based interface for system administration for Linux server from a browser, eliminating the need for a full desktop GUI or direct access to the terminal.
-
Save each script to a file on your Proxmox server, for example, install-gui.sh for the installation script and disable-gui.sh for the disable script.
-
Make each script executable with the command chmod +x install-gui.sh and chmod +x disable-gui.sh.
-
Run the installation script with sudo ./install-gui.sh and the disable script with sudo ./disable-gui.sh when needed.
Be sure to test these in a safe environment before considering to run them on a production system. Also, configure the VNC server according to your security needs. The script above does not set it up with a password or secure configuration. It's just installing the packages, and you'd need to follow up with proper configuration.
... again, it's a hack mostly, but with more time I would
I Seperate the scripts into the option of
- A - the (lightweight) window manager on the one the one side and
- B) - the use of cockpit on the other side as they are really two different options, as well as
- C) - the remote desktop servers, which are needed for both
II Change enable/disable scripts as i neither want the xfce window manager nor cockpit, vnc/rdp servers to be started automatically
III configure VNC or XRDP on the Proxmox host to properly and securly allow remote access.