Typically on Centos servers that we setup will do a minimum base installation of the OS and leave it running on CLI (Command-Line-Interface). However, some customers prefer to use servers in GUI (Graphical User Interface) mode. To that end, here's how we quickly enable the GNOME desktop login on a base installation server.
1. Using yum, we will need to install X Windows System as the based for GUI and rich input device capability:
# yum groupinstall -y 'X Window System'
2. Only then we can install GNOME desktop environment on top of it:
# yum groupinstall -y 'Desktop'
3. Then we install GUI fonts to ensure GUI login is legible:
# yum groupinstall -y fonts
4. Because the server is running in CLI mode, we need to change a start-up value to tell CentOS to boot up in the GUI mode. Open /etc/inittab via a text editor and change following line:
id:3:initdefault:
To:
id:5:initdefault:
Then reboot:
# init 6
Note: You can switch from GUI to CLI mode manually by using the following method:
GUI to CLI: Ctrl + Alt + F6
CLI to GUI: Ctrl + Alt + F1
If you want to start the desktop from CLI console (not SSH session), use following command:
# startx
And there you have it. a new GUI login and desktop!
