VM Setup on Windows (Hyper-V)

VM Setup on Windows without paying for virtualization software

VM Setup on Windows (Hyper-V)
- Hyper-V Enhanced Session Mode for Ubuntu VM

Hyper-V Enhanced Session Mode for Ubuntu VM

Hyper-V has two modes for interacting with VMs. The default for a Linux guest is the standard console mode, which is what you get when you run a VM. The second is Enhanced Session Mode, which allows you to use RDP to connect to the VM. This is useful if you want to use a GUI on the VM, or if you want to copy/paste between the VM and your host system, or share resources in some other fashion. So how do we enable this on our Ubuntu VM?

First, and this should be obvious, you should install a desktop environment on you VM. Which you choose is entirely up to you, but I use the package kubuntu-desktop. Other options include cinnamon-desktop-environment, ubuntu-desktop, lubuntu-desktop, ubuntu-mate-desktop, xubuntu-desktop, and others. There are more DEs than you can shake a stick at!

In point of fact, I would suggest installing the following packages:

$ sudo apt install xubuntu-desktop tmux zsh

Once you have a DE in place and running, run the below script to enable Enhanced Session Mode from the VM side. You’ll need to reboot the VM after running it.

#!/bin/bash

#
# This script is for Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish to download and install XRDP+XORGXRDP via
# source.
#
# This script originally from Github user Hinara (https://github.com/Hinara/linux-vm-tools/blob/ubuntu20-04/ubuntu/22.04/install.sh) with modifications to work for us

# To download from the ubuntu VM:
# curl -LO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dkmcgrath/sysadmin/main/enhanced_session.sh

# tweaked to remove some stuff that wasn't necessary.
###############################################################################
# Update our machine to the latest code if we need to.
#

if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
    echo 'This script must be run with root privileges' >&2
    exit 1
fi

apt update && apt upgrade -y

if [ -f /var/run/reboot-required ]; then
    echo "A reboot is required in order to proceed with the install." >&2
    echo "Please reboot and re-run this script to finish the install." >&2
    exit 1
fi

###############################################################################
# XRDP
#

# Install hv_kvp utils for XRDP
# Install the xrdp service so we have the auto start behavior
if apt install -y xrdp linux-tools-virtual linux-cloud-tools-virtual >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "Successfully installed xrdp."
else
    echo "Failed to install xrdp." >&2
    exit 1
fi

systemctl stop xrdp
systemctl stop xrdp-sesman

# Configure the installed XRDP ini files.
# use vsock transport.
sed -i_orig -e 's/port=3389/port=vsock:\/\/-1:3389/g' /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini
# use rdp security.
sed -i_orig -e 's/security_layer=negotiate/security_layer=rdp/g' /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini
# remove encryption validation.
sed -i_orig -e 's/crypt_level=high/crypt_level=none/g' /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini
# disable bitmap compression since its local its much faster
sed -i_orig -e 's/bitmap_compression=true/bitmap_compression=false/g' /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini

# rename the redirected drives to 'shared-drives'
sed -i -e 's/FuseMountName=thinclient_drives/FuseMountName=shared-drives/g' /etc/xrdp/sesman.ini

# Changed the allowed_users
sed -i_orig -e 's/allowed_users=console/allowed_users=anybody/g' /etc/X11/Xwrapper.config

# Blacklist the vmw module
if [ ! -e /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-vmw_vsock_vmci_transport.conf ]; then
  echo "blacklist vmw_vsock_vmci_transport" > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-vmw_vsock_vmci_transport.conf
fi

#Ensure hv_sock gets loaded
if [ ! -e /etc/modules-load.d/hv_sock.conf ]; then
  echo "hv_sock" > /etc/modules-load.d/hv_sock.conf
fi

# Configure the policy xrdp session
cat > /etc/polkit-1/localauthority.conf.d/45-allow-colord.pkla <<EOF
[Allow Colord all Users]
Identity=unix-user:*
Action=org.freedesktop.color-manager.create-device;org.freedesktop.color-manager.create-profile;org.freedesktop.color-manager.delete-device;org.freedesktop.color-manager.delete-profile;org.freedesktop.color-manager.modify-device;org.freedesktop.color-manager.modify-profile
ResultAny=no
ResultInactive=no
ResultActive=yes
EOF

# reconfigure the service
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start xrdp

#
# End XRDP
###############################################################################

echo "Install is complete."
echo "Reboot your machine to begin using XRDP."

After running the above script, run the following command:

❯ sudo update-alternatives --config x-session-manager

and select xfce4-session from the menu.

Shut the VM down, and enable Enhanced Session Mode on the host side. To do this, open PowerShell as an Administrator and run the following command:

❯ Set-VM -VMName <your_vm_name> -EnhancedSessionTransportType HvSocket

Now, boot the VM, and when you connect to your VM from the Hyper-V manager, you’ll be able to use Enhanced Session Mode!