Install Apache Guacamole on Ubuntu 22.04

 

Apache Guacamole Installation Guide

Remote Desktop Gateway for Ubuntu 22.04

Ubuntu 22.04 Remote Desktop

What is Apache Guacamole?

Apache Guacamole is a clientless remote desktop gateway that supports standard protocols like VNC, RDP, and SSH. Thanks to HTML5, once Guacamole is installed on a server, all you need to access your desktops is a web browser.

Clientless

No plugins or client software needed

Secure

Supports SSL/TLS encryption

Multi-protocol

RDP, VNC, SSH all in one place

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 server with root or sudo privileges
• At least 2GB RAM (4GB recommended for production)
• Minimum 10GB disk space
• Domain name pointing to your server (recommended)

Installation Steps

1

Update System Packages

Before installing any new software, it's good practice to update your system packages.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2

Install Dependencies

Guacamole requires several dependencies including Java, Tomcat, and others.

sudo apt install -y make gcc g++ libcairo2-dev libjpeg-turbo8-dev libpng-dev \
libtool-bin libossp-uuid-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libavutil-dev \
libswscale-dev freerdp2-dev libpango1.0-dev libssh2-1-dev libtelnet-dev \
libvncserver-dev libwebsockets-dev libpulse-dev libssl-dev libvorbis-dev \
libwebp-dev tomcat9 tomcat9-admin tomcat9-user

Note: This installs a large number of packages required for Guacamole's various features.

3

Install Guacamole Server

Download and compile the Guacamole server from source.

wget https://downloads.apache.org/guacamole/1.5.0/source/guacamole-server-1.5.0.tar.gz
tar -xzf guacamole-server-1.5.0.tar.gz
cd guacamole-server-1.5.0
./configure --with-init-dir=/etc/init.d
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Warning: The compilation process may take several minutes depending on your server's resources.

4

Install Guacamole Client

Download and install the Guacamole web application.

sudo mkdir -p /etc/guacamole/{extensions,lib}
wget https://downloads.apache.org/guacamole/1.5.0/binary/guacamole-1.5.0.war
sudo mv guacamole-1.5.0.war /var/lib/tomcat9/webapps/guacamole.war
sudo systemctl restart tomcat9

5

Configure Guacamole

Create configuration files for Guacamole.

sudo nano /etc/guacamole/guacamole.properties

Add the following content:

# Hostname and port of guacamole proxy
guacd-hostname: localhost
guacd-port: 4822

# MySQL properties
mysql-hostname: localhost
mysql-port: 3306
mysql-database: guacamole_db
mysql-username: guacamole_user
mysql-password: your_password_here

sudo nano /etc/tomcat9/Catalina/localhost/guacamole.xml

Add the following content:

<Context path="/guacamole" docBase="/var/lib/tomcat9/webapps/guacamole.war">
  <Parameter name="guacamole-home" value="/etc/guacamole"/>
</Context>

6

Install and Configure MySQL

Guacamole requires a database for authentication and storing connections.

sudo apt install -y mysql-server

Secure MySQL installation:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Create database and user:

sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE guacamole_db;
CREATE USER 'guacamole_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';
GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE ON guacamole_db.* TO 'guacamole_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Import the schema:

wget https://downloads.apache.org/guacamole/1.5.0/binary/guacamole-auth-jdbc-1.5.0.tar.gz
tar -xzf guacamole-auth-jdbc-1.5.0.tar.gz
sudo cp guacamole-auth-jdbc-1.5.0/mysql/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql-1.5.0.jar /etc/guacamole/extensions/
cat guacamole-auth-jdbc-1.5.0/mysql/schema/*.sql | sudo mysql -u root -p guacamole_db

7

Start Services

Start and enable the Guacamole and related services.

sudo systemctl start guacd
sudo systemctl enable guacd
sudo systemctl restart tomcat9
sudo systemctl restart mysql

8

Access Guacamole Web Interface

Guacamole should now be accessible via your web browser.

Default Login:

Username: guacadmin

Password: guacadmin

Change this password immediately after first login!

http://your_server_ip:8080/guacamole

Post-Installation Security

Change Default Credentials

Immediately change the default guacadmin password after first login.

Setup SSL/TLS

Configure Nginx or Apache as a reverse proxy with Let's Encrypt SSL certificate.

Create Additional Users

Create individual user accounts instead of sharing the admin account.

Troubleshooting

Guacamole not loading

Check Tomcat logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/tomcat9/catalina.out

Connection issues

Verify guacd is running: sudo systemctl status guacd

Database errors

Check MySQL logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/mysql/error.log

© 2023 Apache Guacamole Installation Guide

For more information, visit the official documentation