CentOS / RHEL Linux: Remove Display Manager GDM

On many cases a Linux box is used only to serve a network service ( FTP , Mail , Appache etc…..) , so there is no need to consume unnecessary system resources . The graphical environment is the first candidate , that must be disabled , on a Linux network box . This quick how-to presents 3 ways to disable / remove the graphical environment on a Redhad based Linux distribution .

GDM is the GNOME Display Manager, a graphical login program for Redhat, RHEL, Fedora and CentOS Linux based systems. The X Window System by default uses the XDM display manager which needs editing files. GDM allows to customize login using GUI based tools. It also supports customization with themes.

1. Delete GDM and X Window : yum groupremove “X Window System ” and reboot the system
2. Disable GDM and X Windows Login For All Sessions : Edit     /etc/inittab  with your favorite editor  :  replace  id:5:initdefault: with  id:3:initdefault: and reboot or “init 3“
3. Temporarily Disable GDM and X Windows Login For Current Sessions : use “ init 3” . To get back to GUI login session again, enter: “init 5” .

I hope this quick how-to helped some new Linux users .