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Sergio Andres Usma
Sergio Andres Usma

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Headless Mode on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 64GB with JetPack 7.2

#cli #iot #linux #tutorial

Tags: jetson jetpack-7.2 headless nomachine ubuntu-24.04 embedded-ai edge-ai

Overview

This guide walks through enabling fully headless operation on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit running JetPack 7.2. After completing these steps, the device boots without any display, keyboard, or mouse — accessible entirely via SSH for terminal use and NoMachine for full GUI access.

Why NoMachine only?
JetPack 7.2 ships GNOME 46 on Ubuntu 24.04. GNOME 46 requires DRI3/GPU acceleration to render its compositor (Mutter). NoMachine's virtual display does not expose DRI3, causing gnome-shell to start but render nothing — only a black screen or bare wallpaper. XFCE4 has no compositor dependency, works perfectly in virtual displays, and is the stable choice for remote GUI access on this platform.

Tested Environment

Component Value
Hardware NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit 64GB
JetPack 7.2-b187
L4T r39.2 (Jetson Linux 39.2)
OS Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
Kernel 6.8.12-tegra
CUDA 13.2.1
Python 3.12.3
NoMachine 9.7.3
Remote host Windows 11 (same LAN via Ethernet)

Prerequisites

  • Jetson AGX Orin with JetPack 7.2 flashed and first-boot wizard completed
  • Static IP assigned or known (this guide uses 192.168.1.100 as example)
  • A monitor and keyboard connected for this setup session only — they will not be needed after
  • OpenSSH client installed on the remote host (Windows: built-in; Linux/macOS: native)
  • NoMachine client installed on the remote host: https://nomachine.com/download

Step 1 — System Update

Connect a monitor and open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T).

# Update package lists and upgrade installed packages
# DO NOT run dist-upgrade on Jetson — it breaks JetPack components
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt autoremove -y
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Step 2 — Install Essential Packages 

sudo apt install -y \
  net-tools curl wget htop tmux tree \
  git nano vim \
  build-essential \
  python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev pipx \
  software-properties-common \
  apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg \
  cmake ninja-build libopenblas-dev
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Install jtop, the Jetson-specific system monitor:

# Ubuntu 24.04 requires pipx for global Python tools
pipx install jetson-stats
pipx ensurepath
source ~/.bashrc

sudo systemctl restart jtop 2>/dev/null || true
jtop --version
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Step 3 — Set Hostname 

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname jetson-orin

# Update /etc/hosts to match
sudo nano /etc/hosts
# Find the line with 127.0.1.1 and change it to:
# 127.0.1.1  jetson-orin
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Step 4 — Static IP via NetworkManager

A static IP is required so SSH and NoMachine connections never break after reboots.

Critical: The connection.permissions "" parameter makes the network connection available at boot without requiring a user graphical login. Without this, the Ethernet interface will not come up in headless mode and SSH will be unreachable.

# Find your Ethernet connection name
nmcli connection show
nmcli device status

# Set a variable — replace with your actual connection name
CONN="Wired connection 1"

# Apply static IP configuration
# Replace values to match your network
sudo nmcli connection modify "$CONN" \
  ipv4.method manual \
  ipv4.addresses "192.168.1.100/24" \
  ipv4.gateway "192.168.1.1" \
  ipv4.dns "8.8.8.8,1.1.1.1" \
  ipv4.ignore-auto-dns yes \
  connection.permissions "" \
  connection.autoconnect yes \
  connection.autoconnect-priority 100

# Apply immediately
sudo nmcli connection down "$CONN" && \
  sudo nmcli connection up "$CONN"

# Confirm the IP
hostname -I
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Disable the network boot timeout service to prevent slow headless boots:

sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager-wait-online.service
sudo systemctl mask NetworkManager-wait-online.service
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Step 5 — SSH Server 

sudo apt install openssh-server -y
sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh
sudo systemctl status ssh
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Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config — back it up first:

sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.backup
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
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Ensure these directives are set (uncomment or add as needed):

Port 22
PubkeyAuthentication yes
PasswordAuthentication yes
PermitRootLogin prohibit-password
ClientAliveInterval 60
ClientAliveCountMax 10
TCPKeepAlive yes
X11Forwarding yes
MaxAuthTries 6
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sudo systemctl restart ssh
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SSH Key-Based Authentication

From the remote host (replace 192.168.1.100 with your Jetson IP):

# Generate a key pair (if you don't have one)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "remote-to-jetson" -f ~/.ssh/jetson_orin

# Deploy the public key to the Jetson
# On Linux/macOS:
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/jetson_orin.pub jetson@192.168.1.100

# On Windows PowerShell:
type "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\jetson_orin.pub" | `
  ssh jetson@192.168.1.100 `
  "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && chmod 700 ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"
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Once key login is confirmed, disable password authentication:

sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Set: PasswordAuthentication no
sudo systemctl restart ssh
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SSH Config on Remote Host (Optional but Recommended)

Create or edit ~/.ssh/config on the remote machine:

Host jetson
    HostName 192.168.1.100
    User jetson
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/jetson_orin
    IdentitiesOnly yes
    ServerAliveInterval 60
    ServerAliveCountMax 10
    TCPKeepAlive yes
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Now you can connect with just: ssh jetson

Step 6 — Headless Display Configuration

6.1 Disable Wayland in GDM3

XRDP and NoMachine both require X11. Ubuntu 24.04 defaults to Wayland — disable it:

sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
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Set the file content to:

[daemon]
WaylandEnable=false
AutomaticLoginEnable=true
AutomaticLogin=jetson

[security]

[xdmcp]

[chooser]

[debug]
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6.2 System-Wide X11 Environment Variables 

sudo nano /etc/environment
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Add these lines:

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb
GDK_BACKEND=x11
XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
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6.3 Xorg Dummy Display Driver

Without a physical monitor, the Tegra GPU creates a minimal 640×480 framebuffer. The dummy Xorg driver creates a proper 1920×1080 virtual display that NoMachine can use as a physical desktop target.

sudo apt install xserver-xorg-video-dummy -y

sudo mkdir -p /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/

sudo tee /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/30-tegra-headless.conf << 'EOF'
Section "Device"
    Identifier  "Tegra"
    Driver      "nvidia"
    Option      "AllowEmptyInitialConfiguration" "true"
    Option      "UseDisplayDevice" "none"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier  "Monitor0"
    HorizSync   28.0-80.0
    VertRefresh 48.0-75.0
    Modeline    "1920x1080" 148.50 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen0"
    Device      "Tegra"
    Monitor     "Monitor0"
    DefaultDepth 24
    SubSection "Display"
        Depth    24
        Virtual  1920 1080
    EndSubSection
EndSection
EOF
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6.4 Disable Screensaver and Power Management

These settings prevent the remote session from being interrupted:

# Run these as your user (not root)
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver idle-activation-enabled false
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.session idle-delay 0
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power sleep-inactive-ac-timeout 0
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power sleep-inactive-battery-timeout 0
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power idle-dim false
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.power power-button-action 'nothing'
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Step 7 — Boot Target and Display Manager

NoMachine creates its own virtual X server and launches the desktop session independently. GDM (the GNOME Display Manager) is not needed and would conflict.

# Set boot to multi-user (CLI only, no display manager)
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

# Ensure GDM does not start
sudo systemctl stop gdm 2>/dev/null || true

# Do NOT run: sudo systemctl disable gdm
# On Ubuntu 24.04, gdm is statically enabled via graphical.target
# Switching to multi-user.target is the correct method to prevent it from starting

# Verify
systemctl get-default
# Expected: multi-user.target
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Step 8 — Install XFCE4

XFCE4 is the desktop environment that runs inside the NoMachine virtual display. It does not require GPU compositor support, making it fully compatible with virtual displays.

sudo apt install xfce4 xfce4-goodies xfce4-terminal -y
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Configure it as the session to launch:

cat > ~/.xsession << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
unset XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
exec startxfce4
EOF
chmod +x ~/.xsession
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Step 9 — Install NoMachine Server

Always download the latest ARM64 DEB from the official page:
https://downloads.nomachine.com/download/?id=30&platform=linux&distro=arm

cd ~/Downloads

# Check the current version at the URL above and adjust the filename
wget "https://web9001.nomachine.com/download/9.7/Arm/nomachine_9.7.3_1_arm64.deb"

sudo dpkg -i nomachine_9.7.3_1_arm64.deb
sudo apt --fix-broken install -y

# The installation output will show warnings about CUPS (printer support)
# These are expected and harmless — NoMachine installs correctly

# Verify the server started
sudo /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --status
# Expected: Running server at port: 4000
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Configure NoMachine for XFCE4 

# Find and edit node.cfg
sudo nano /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg
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Search for DefaultDesktopCommand and VirtualDesktopCommand — add or uncomment:

DefaultDesktopCommand /usr/bin/startxfce4
VirtualDesktopCommand /usr/bin/startxfce4
DisplayGeometry 1920x1080
AllowDesktopResize 1
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# Restart NoMachine to apply changes
sudo /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --restart
sudo /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --status
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Enable NoMachine Autostart 

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/nomachine-headless.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=NoMachine Headless Server
After=network.target NetworkManager.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
ExecStart=/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --restart
ExecStop=/usr/NX/bin/nxserver --stop

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable nomachine-headless
sudo systemctl start nomachine-headless
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Step 10 — Firewall

Note: UFW is not installed by default in JetPack 7.2 on Ubuntu 24.04.

sudo apt install ufw -y
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Fix for UFW + Kernel 6.8 (nftables conflict)

Ubuntu 24.04 with kernel 6.8 uses nftables as the backend, but UFW expects iptables-legacy. Without this fix, sudo ufw enable will produce errors like RULE_APPEND failed (No such file or directory).

# Switch to iptables-legacy
sudo update-alternatives --set iptables /usr/sbin/iptables-legacy
sudo update-alternatives --set ip6tables /usr/sbin/ip6tables-legacy

# Verify
sudo iptables --version
# Expected: iptables v1.8.x (legacy)
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Apply Firewall Rules 

sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp    comment "SSH"
sudo ufw allow 4000/tcp  comment "NoMachine NX"

# Add additional ports as needed for your stack:
# sudo ufw allow 3389/tcp  comment "XRDP"
# sudo ufw allow 11434/tcp comment "Ollama"
# sudo ufw allow 8000/tcp  comment "vLLM"
# sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp  comment "Open WebUI"
# sudo ufw allow 8888/tcp  comment "Jupyter"

sudo ufw enable
# Type 'y' when prompted

sudo ufw status numbered
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Alternative: nftables (if UFW issues persist)

If UFW continues to fail even after the iptables-legacy fix, use nftables directly — it is the native firewall on Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt install nftables -y

sudo tee /etc/nftables.conf << 'EOF'
#!/usr/sbin/nft -f
flush ruleset

table inet filter {
    chain input {
        type filter hook input priority 0; policy drop;
        ct state established,related accept
        iif "lo" accept
        ip protocol icmp accept
        ip6 nexthdr icmpv6 accept
        tcp dport 22   accept comment "SSH"
        tcp dport 4000 accept comment "NoMachine"
        # Add more ports here as needed
    }
    chain forward { type filter hook forward priority 0; policy accept; }
    chain output  { type filter hook output  priority 0; policy accept; }
}
EOF

sudo systemctl enable nftables
sudo systemctl start nftables
sudo nft list ruleset
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Step 11 — First Reboot Test 

sudo reboot
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Disconnect the physical monitor and keyboard. After approximately 30 seconds, from the remote host:

# Test 1: Network is up
ping 192.168.1.100

# Test 2: SSH is reachable
ssh jetson

# Test 3: NoMachine port is open
# Linux/macOS:
nc -zv 192.168.1.100 4000

# Windows PowerShell:
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.100 -Port 4000
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If all three pass, the Jetson is running fully headless.

Step 12 — Connect via NoMachine

  1. Open NoMachine on the remote host
  2. Click Add → Protocol: NX → Host: 192.168.1.100 → Port: 4000
  3. Authentication: Password
  4. Click Connect → accept the host fingerprint
  5. Enter your Jetson username and password
  6. When prompted for the session type → select "Create a new virtual desktop"
  7. XFCE4 desktop loads with full mouse, keyboard, and 1920×1080 resolution

Step 13 — CUDA PATH Fix

In JetPack 7.2, the CUDA compiler (nvcc) is installed but not in the default PATH. Add it:

# Install CUDA development tools if not present
sudo apt install nvidia-cuda-dev -y

# Add CUDA to PATH permanently
echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/cuda/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/cuda/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Verify
nvcc --version
# Expected: Cuda compilation tools, release 13.2, ...
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Verification Checklist

Run this block after a clean reboot to confirm the headless setup is complete:

echo "=== Headless Mode Verification ==="

echo -n "Network (static IP): "
hostname -I | grep -q "192.168.1.100" && echo "OK" || echo "FAIL"

echo -n "SSH server: "
systemctl is-active ssh

echo -n "Boot target (no GDM): "
systemctl get-default

echo -n "GDM status: "
systemctl is-active gdm 2>/dev/null || echo "inactive (correct)"

echo -n "NoMachine port 4000: "
sudo ss -tlnp | grep -q ":4000" && echo "listening" || echo "NOT listening"

echo -n "XFCE4 installed: "
which startxfce4 && echo "OK" || echo "NOT FOUND"

echo -n "~/.xsession → XFCE4: "
grep -q "startxfce4" ~/.xsession && echo "OK" || echo "NOT configured"

echo -n "Wayland disabled: "
grep -q "WaylandEnable=false" /etc/gdm3/custom.conf && echo "OK" || echo "NOT disabled"

echo -n "Xorg dummy driver: "
test -f /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/30-tegra-headless.conf && echo "OK" || echo "NOT configured"

echo -n "CUDA PATH: "
nvcc --version 2>/dev/null | grep -o "release [0-9.]*" || echo "NOT in PATH — run: source ~/.bashrc"

echo "=== Done ==="
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Expected output (all lines should show OK or the correct active status):

=== Headless Mode Verification ===
Network (static IP): OK
SSH server: active
Boot target (no GDM): multi-user.target
GDM status: inactive (correct)
NoMachine port 4000: listening
XFCE4 installed: /usr/bin/startxfce4  OK
~/.xsession → XFCE4: OK
Wayland disabled: OK
Xorg dummy driver: OK
CUDA PATH: release 13.2,
=== Done ===
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Troubleshooting

NoMachine connects but shows a black screen

This typically means gnome-shell was launched instead of XFCE4.

# Check ~/.xsession
cat ~/.xsession
# Must contain: exec startxfce4

# Check node.cfg
grep -E "DefaultDesktop|VirtualDesktop" /usr/NX/etc/node.cfg
# Must point to /usr/bin/startxfce4

# Fix and restart
cat > ~/.xsession << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
unset DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
unset XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
exec startxfce4
EOF
chmod +x ~/.xsession
sudo /usr/NX/bin/nxserver --restart
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Then disconnect and reconnect from the NoMachine client, choosing "Create a new virtual desktop".

SSH unreachable after reboot (but ping works)

The SSH port is open but the connection times out. SSH may be down, or UFW may be blocking it.

# Via a physical connection or recovery
sudo systemctl status ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
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Network not up after headless reboot

The Ethernet connection may require a user session to activate. Verify the connection.permissions fix:

nmcli connection show "Wired connection 1" | grep permissions
# Must show: connection.permissions: (empty)

# If not empty, reapply
sudo nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" connection.permissions ""
sudo nmcli connection up "Wired connection 1"
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UFW enable fails with RULE_APPEND errors (kernel 6.8) 

sudo update-alternatives --set iptables /usr/sbin/iptables-legacy
sudo update-alternatives --set ip6tables /usr/sbin/ip6tables-legacy
sudo ufw disable
sudo ufw reset
sudo ufw enable
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nvcc not found after installing nvidia-cuda-dev 

# The PATH change requires sourcing the profile
source ~/.bashrc

# Or specify the full path directly
/usr/local/cuda/bin/nvcc --version

# Verify the binary exists
ls /usr/local/cuda/bin/nvcc
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Summary

Step Action Result
1–3 System update + packages + hostname Base system ready
4 Static IP + connection.permissions="" Network up without login
5 SSH + key auth Secure remote terminal
6 Disable Wayland + dummy Xorg driver X11 display at 1920×1080
7 multi-user.target (no GDM) NoMachine owns the display
8 XFCE4 + ~/.xsession Desktop environment ready
9 NoMachine server + node.cfg Virtual GUI accessible
10 UFW + iptables-legacy fix Firewall active
11 Reboot test without monitor Fully headless
12 NoMachine client → virtual desktop Full GUI via NX
13 CUDA PATH nvcc accessible

After completing all steps, the Jetson AGX Orin operates entirely without a physical display. SSH provides terminal access and NoMachine provides full XFCE4 desktop access — both available immediately after any reboot, without any physical interaction with the device.

Platform: NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin Developer Kit 64GB · JetPack 7.2 (L4T r39.2) · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS · NoMachine 9.7.3

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