The Ubuntu server CD is great for virtualization: it’s fast, and it also allows for personalization.
The server CD is really an Ubuntu minimal installation, with the added ability to set up mail servers, as well as a LAMP server. Several other features are offered.
I decided to use Ubuntu 7.04 as the host system, since VMware Server is included in the repositories. VMware Server allows you to create VMware images.
I installed the Ubuntu Server CD (version 7.10, Gutsy Gibbon) on two virtual machine images, one designated for KDE, the other, Xfce.
Before I could install any GUI (the Ubuntu Server has no GUI), I had to install a piece of crucial software. The package is called “x-window-system-core,” (X.org) and must be installed in order for any GUI on a Linux/Unix system to run. Once the package was installed, I set the resolution for 800×600, so it would fit on my screen.
After that was installed, I could then install the GUIs. This is where the process changed for both of the GUI installations.
(I should note that I tried installing GNOME on a third VMware image, but it did not work the way that I intended.)
First, I’ll start with installing Xfce. I must first make myself root. I did this by typing sudo -i and entered my password. Next, I typed apt-get install xfce4 which installed Xfce 4.4.1 on the virtual machine image. I then rebooted afterwards, and after logging in, I typed startx which will start X.org, running Xfce 4. There is no graphical login, unless I use either the “gdm” or “kdm” packages, which are login applications for GNOME and KDE, respectively.
After modifying the panel (moved to the bottom center, with added default icons), this is what my virtual machine looks like:
I installed the “gnome-office” package, which gave me a whole collection of apps, ranging from Inkscape to Firefox to Abiword. The default Xfce install does not provide any applications except for file management apps.
Next, I decided to install KDE on the other virtual machine:
To install KDE, I simply type (as root) apt-get install kde. After it finished installing, I installed the “kdm” package, which gave my KDE 3.5.8 installation a nice login screen. I also added Koffice and Kdevelop to my installation, which gave me a full-all-out system! There is also a “kde-core” package, which is smaller and does not have as many apps.
KDE starts with a setup screen, and then greets you with the default desktop, with countless tools and utilities. Once Koffice (or OpenOffice, if you prefer) is installed, you then have a full system. Educational, programming (although not KDev) and all sorts of internet and office apps are installed by default. Here’s a screenshot:
The graphics are fast and the system is quick and snappy — I am surprised, as it is running in a 128MB RAM virtual machine. I will write more on this later.