Prerequisites

Estimated reading: 5 minutes 324 views

Before installing the TextureMind Desktop (TMD) server on a Linux system, ensure that the target machine meets the minimum software and hardware requirements described in this section. These prerequisites apply to both physical machines and virtual machines.

TextureMind Desktop supports console sessions only. Virtual or headless virtual sessions are not supported.

Supported Linux Distributions and Architectures

TMD supports a wide range of modern Linux distributions, provided that the system meets the required GNU C Library (glibc) version.

Supported Architectures

Architecture	Minimum glibc Version
x86_64	glibc 2.17 or later
arm64 (aarch64)	glibc 2.28 or later

Note
ARM64 support is limited to Linux systems only. Windows ARM is not supported.

Supported Distributions

Any Linux distribution that meets the glibc requirements above is supported, including (but not limited to):

Ubuntu 13.04 and later
Debian 8 and later
RHEL / Rocky Linux / AlmaLinux 7 and later
CentOS 7 and later
Slackware 14.1 and later
Fedora 19 and later
Amazon Linux 2 and later
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 and later
Arch Linux (rolling)

Desktop Environment Requirements

TextureMind Desktop requires a running X11 desktop environment.

Wayland Is Not Supported

Wayland-based desktop sessions are not supported by TMD and must be disabled.

On systems where Wayland is enabled by default (such as GNOME-based distributions), configure the display manager to force X11.

For example, on systems using GDM, edit:

sudo nano /etc/gdm/custom.conf

Ensure the following setting is present:

WaylandEnable=false

Then restart the display manager or reboot the system:

sudo systemctl reboot

X Server Configuration

A properly configured X Server is required for TMD to function.

Physical Machines

On physical machines with a monitor attached, the X Server is typically configured automatically by the operating system. No additional configuration is required beyond installing the appropriate GPU drivers (if applicable).

Headless or Virtual Machines

On virtual machines or headless systems (without a physical display), an X Server must still be available. In these scenarios, you must configure a dummy X display.

Using Xorg with a Dummy Driver

Install the Xorg server and the dummy video driver:

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y xorg xserver-xorg-video-dummy

# RHEL / Rocky / AlmaLinux / Amazon Linux
sudo yum install -y xorg-x11-server-Xorg xorg-x11-drv-dummy

Create or update the Xorg configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

Example configuration:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "DummyDevice"
    Driver "dummy"
    VideoRam 256000
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier "DummyMonitor"
    HorizSync 28.0-80.0
    VertRefresh 48.0-75.0
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "DummyScreen"
    Device "DummyDevice"
    Monitor "DummyMonitor"
    DefaultDepth 24
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth 24
        Modes "1920x1080"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Restart the system or the display manager after applying the configuration.

GPU Drivers (Optional but Recommended)

While a GPU is not required to run TextureMind Desktop, installing appropriate GPU drivers significantly improves rendering and encoding performance for graphical workloads.

NVIDIA GPUs

Install the official NVIDIA drivers provided by your distribution or directly from NVIDIA.

Example (Ubuntu):

sudo apt install -y nvidia-driver-535
sudo reboot

AMD GPUs

Install the AMDGPU drivers provided by your distribution.

Example (Ubuntu):

sudo apt install -y xserver-xorg-video-amdgpu
sudo reboot

Audio Support on Linux

TextureMind Desktop relies on the Linux system audio stack to provide sound output inside remote desktop sessions. Audio support is optional and depends on the availability of a functional audio subsystem on the host.

On some headless systems, virtual machines, or cloud instances, no physical audio device is present by default. In these cases, audio output may be unavailable unless a virtual audio device is configured.

Supported Audio Systems

TMD supports the following Linux audio stacks:

PipeWire (recommended, modern default)
PulseAudio
ALSA (indirectly, via PulseAudio or PipeWire)

Most modern Linux distributions ship with PipeWire or PulseAudio preinstalled.

Verifying Audio Availability

To verify that an audio server is running, use one of the following commands:

PipeWire or PulseAudio

pactl info

If the audio server is running, this command returns information about the current audio system.

List available audio sinks

pactl list short sinks

If no sinks are listed, the system does not currently have an audio output device.

Configuring a Virtual Audio Device

If no physical audio device is available, you can create a virtual (null) audio sink. This allows applications and remote desktop sessions to produce audio output even on headless systems.

Creating a Virtual Sink (PulseAudio or PipeWire)

Run the following command:

pactl load-module module-null-sink sink_name=VirtualSink

This creates a virtual audio output device named VirtualSink.

To confirm that the sink was created:

pactl list short sinks

Setting the Virtual Sink as Default

To make the virtual sink the default output device:

pactl set-default-sink VirtualSink

Applications launched after this change will use the virtual audio device automatically.

Persisting the Virtual Audio Device (Optional)

The virtual sink created with pactl is not persistent across reboots by default.

PulseAudio (legacy)

Add the following line to:

~/.config/pulse/default.pa

load-module module-null-sink sink_name=VirtualSink

PipeWire

PipeWire typically restores audio configuration automatically. For persistent virtual sinks, consult your distribution’s PipeWire configuration documentation.

Surround Sound and Advanced Audio Layouts

Advanced audio layouts (such as 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound) depend on:

The selected audio sink configuration
The desktop environment
Application-level audio settings

While virtual sinks can be configured to expose multiple channels, support varies by distribution and audio stack. TextureMind Desktop does not enforce or modify audio channel layouts; it relies entirely on the host system configuration.

Summary of Linux Prerequisites

Before installing the TextureMind Desktop server on Linux, ensure that:

The system meets the glibc requirements for its architecture
A supported X11 desktop environment is installed
Wayland is disabled
An X Server is properly configured (including dummy display for headless systems)
Appropriate GPU drivers are installed if a GPU is present
Optional audio devices are configured if audio output is required