Bespoke Linux Operating System Template

While DaDesktop offers support for many widely-used Linux distributions, you might sometimes need a particular distro that isn't in our catalog. DaDesktop is pleased to accommodate this for the majority of mainstream Linux distributions. Simply let us know the download URL of the ISO file and the server where you'd like to host the custom OS template.

Important:

Disk Partitioning Guidelines
1. Customized templates require only one disk partition or two partitions: one EFI/Boot partition and the other system and data partition.
2. LVM partitions are not supported, please avoid using LVM.
3. An incorrect partition layout will cause failures in automatic disk resizing and other features.

Linux Template

Once the ISO file has been downloaded onto the server, it will be visible within your account under Admin Menu → OS IMAGES → ISO FILES.

You can then build the template via Admin Menu → OS IMAGES → CUSTOM OS TEMPLATES

It is essential to follow these instructions meticulously and complete every step, otherwise DaDesktop may not function correctly.

Install the operating system.
Configure the default username as "student" and the password as "student".
Set the "student" account for automatic login.
Set the background to DaDesktop's wallpaper or your own branded version
Certain distributions now default to Wayland for the display server. While Wayland functions within DaDesktop, we currently recommend switching back to X11.

To deactivate Wayland:

edit /etc/gdm/custom.conf, for example:
```
# Uncomment the line below to force the login screen to use Xorg
        WaylandEnable=false
        
```
log out and log back in
Install spice-vdagent using your package manager; this is generally the most reliable method. Note: it might already be present depending on your chosen distribution.
- Following a successful installation, reboot the system, and you should observe the two active processes: spice-vdagent and spice-vdagentd
Install qemu-guest-agent, again using your package manager as the preferred method.
Install X11VNC. Note: for some distributions, you may need to enable additional repositories, like the 'epel' repo for Red Hat-based systems such as Oracle Linux or Rocky Linux.

Configure X11VNC

Confirm that X11VNC is installed.
Run sudo -i to open a root shell.

Execute the following command to enable X11VNC to start automatically upon reboot:

cat > /etc/xdg/autostart/x11vnc.desktop <<EOF
                [Desktop Entry]
                Type=Application
                Exec=/usr/bin/x11vnc -N -no6 -rfbportv6 -1 -allow 10.0.3.1 -nopw -shared -alwaysshared -forever -repeat -nowireframe -noscr -nocursorshape -skip_lockkeys -cursor_drag -grab_buster -deferupdate 10 -speeds 6000,5000,20 -afteraccept announce-vnc-users.sh -gone announce-vnc-users.sh
                Hidden=false
                X-MATE-Autostart-enabled=true
                X-MATE-AutoRestart=true
                Name[en_US]=X11VNC
                Name=X11VNC
                Comment[en_US]=Share desktop over VNC
                Comment=Share desktop over VNC
                EOF

Create a desktop notification script by executing the following commands:

cat > /usr/local/bin/announce-vnc-users.sh <<EOF
        notify-send -a x11vnc "VNC users connected: $RFB_CLIENT_COUNT"
        EOF
        chmod +x /usr/local/bin/announce-vnc-users.sh

Restart the system.
Verify the firewall configuration: ensure TCP port 5900 is open. For example:

ss -pntl
Disable the sudo password requirement (recommended).
Confirm everything is set up correctly.

When you connect, if the URL changes to include a token query string, the setup is successful—this indicates X11VNC is operational. The text box located at the bottom-left corner of the screen, which facilitates copy/paste between your local desktop and the virtual desktop, should now function properly.

Please Note

To enable additional optional features like

DDWebdav for synchronizing the Trainer's content folders across all participant machines,
or DDUpload for easy file uploads into a DaDesktop machine;

Please reach out to DaDesktop Technical Support.