Slow Ubuntu Remote Desktop using xrdp

Question

I have created an azure virtual machine with the following specifications:

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
F16s_v2 Standard (16 vCPU and 32 GiB RAM)
SSD unit

Since I need to connect via Remote Desktop, I followed this guide to install xfce and xrdp. Once finished, I connected to the server with Microsoft Remote Desktop but I noticed an excessive slowness in interactivity. I don't think the problem is my internet connection because:

By connecting to other Azure Windows VM I don't have the same problem;
I asked to a colleague to do a test from his home and he experienced the same problem;

What could be the problem?

score 14 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 08 '22 at 09:14

14

I installed Ubuntu server XRDP. Went through Windows and terribly slowed down. I solved this problem. In the /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini file, change crypt_level=high to crypt_level=None

edited Feb 08 '22 at 09:14

Community

1

answered Oct 20 '20 at 06:31

Kairat K

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Thank you so much! Massive difference from this. The other suggestions aren't as effective if you are already dealing with a high-end CPU. – Jire May 21 '21 at 20:55
1

After disabling animations and following this suggestion, remote desktop is once again responsive. How many times do you need to encrypt your traffic anyway? I remote desktop over an SSH tunnel. – Brian Richardson May 24 '21 at 22:57
This sounds like a really good idea, I wasn't aware the stream is being encrypted by default – AveryFreeman Jun 27 '22 at 21:28
3

Is this not a big security issue? – cantsay Sep 08 '22 at 21:42
1

It didn't help me. – Satish Sep 11 '22 at 21:57

Tito Brasolin · Answer 2 · 2020-05-15T06:57:32.210

8

I disabled the compositor, as suggested here: https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xrdp/issues/501#issuecomment-262905321

Hello, I have experiment same problem with xfce and ubuntu 16.04. I have disable compositor in xfce windows settings. Now it's work fine.

It made a huge difference, now everything works fine.

edited May 15 '20 at 06:57

answered May 14 '20 at 07:41

Tito Brasolin

91
5

Welcome to Super User! Please quote the essential parts of the answer from the reference link(s), as the answer can become invalid if the linked page(s) change. – DavidPostill May 14 '20 at 20:03
4

Update (sept 2020) the _Compositor_ tab is located in _Window Manager Tweaks_ settings. – titusjan Sep 21 '20 at 16:16

AveryFreeman · Accepted Answer · 2022-06-27T21:40:28.607

I'm using xrdp w/ KDE and these compositor settings appear to have helped quite a bit:

scale method: crisp
rendering backend: OpenGL 2.0
Tearing prevention: Only when cheap
Keep window thumbnail: never
Allow options to block composting: yes

Edit: To update for clarity, these values are in KDE's settings manager under Desktop Effects -> Compositor. They are not client-specific. The example is modifying the server's desktop environment settings to "dumb them down" a little bit.

Since XRDP is delivering the server's desktop via RDP protocol to your client, if XRDP has less data to send it follows that the remote desktop should be more responsive.

There was a question about clients - As far as clients I was using at the time, I'm sure it was KRDC and windows RDP client. I can't recall modifying any default settings on the clients, other than in KRDC making the window full-screen and client native resolution (so I could make it a separate virtual desktop).

Also, there is another response about reducing / eliminating default encryption from the RDP stream should be very helpful in making the entire process less CPU-intensive from end to end, if that's something your environment will allow.

Hope this helps.

what user interface is this? Are these settings in your client? Which client do you use? — Zuabi, Jun 10 '22 at 20:56

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered May 11 '22 at 05:43

2

If you are using the recent versions, you need to enable the RFX codec. Use the link below for more information. https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xrdp/discussions/2136

answered May 11 '22 at 05:43

Simon Angatia

121
1

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community May 11 '22 at 07:17
this answer worked for me, launch: Microsoft Remote Desktop, Show Options, Experience tab, LAN (10 MBps). note: by default is detect automatically and I assume it sets a lower speed – eugen Aug 08 '22 at 12:49

MarcosD · Answer 5 · 2023-05-15T01:09:10.973

0

After doing a lot of research, I got good performance with these settings:

xfce4
xorgxrdp-glamor

In /etc/xrdp/sesman.ini and /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini:

Policy=UBDI
max_bpp=16
xserverbpp=16
use_compression = yes
crypt_level=none
KillDisconnected=true
DisconnectedTimeLimit=0
tcp_send_buffer_bytes=4194304

Tweak for TCP (2x request buffer size):

sudo sysctl -w net.core.wmem_max=8388608

see https://github.com/neutrinolabs/xrdp/issues/1483

Disable compositor:

xfconf-query -c xfwm4 -p /general/use_compositing -t bool -s false

edited May 15 '23 at 01:09

answered May 13 '23 at 01:03

MarcosD

1
1

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While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - [From Review](/review/late-answers/1188899) – Destroy666 May 13 '23 at 01:36

score 0 · Answer 6 · edited May 22 '23 at 12:01

0

I am RDP connecting Ubuntu 18 from a Mac. A great job of acceleration did the Display Option in MS RDP using 16-bit Color instead of 32 bit.

edited May 22 '23 at 12:01

Markus Meyer

1,370
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answered May 22 '23 at 11:55

Peter

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Slow Ubuntu Remote Desktop using xrdp

6 Answers6