Users who prefer a GUI to manage their server can install Gnome or KDE, the most popular GUIs for Linux. In this tutorial, I’ll explain how to install Gnome and KDE on Ubuntu and CentOS.

Installing KDE

KDE is a beautiful GUI. Installing it is very easy. Each of the commands needs to be run by the root user. The first thing we’re going to do is update everything.

On CentOS, execute:

yum update && yum upgrade

On Ubuntu, execute:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

After updating everything, we’re going to install the GUI.

On CentOS, execute:

yum -y groupinstall "KDE desktop" "X Window System" "Fonts"

On Ubuntu, execute:

apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

This will also install some apps. If you just want the GUI, execute:

apt-get install kubuntu-desktop --no-install-recommends

Start up the server with the GUI.

On CentOS, edit the file:

vi /etc/inittab

Locate id:3:initdefault: and change 3 to 5.

Now, restart your server.

On CentOS, execute:

init 6

Installing Gnome

The first thing we’re going to do is update everything. As with KDE, each of the commands needs to be run by the root user.

On CentOS, execute:

yum update && yum upgrade

On Ubuntu, execute:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade

After updating everything, we’re going to install the GUI.

On CentOS 7, execute:

yum groupinstall "GNOME Desktop" "Graphical Administration Tools"

On Ubuntu, execute:

apt-get install ubuntu-gnome-desktop

Now we need to start up the server with the GUI.

On CentOS 7, execute:

ln -sf /lib/systemd/system/runlevel5.target /etc/systemd/system/default.target

To remove Gnome on Ubuntu, execute:

apt-get remove ubuntu-gnome-desktop

Now, restart your server.