Some customers ask for a GUI on their Ubuntu Server, usually with Unity installed for a connection via TeamViewer. Although I personally don’t appreciate such methods, these usually mean that the customer has no idea on handling a Linux Server. Well it’s their problem and we should deliver their needs. After installing a fresh Ubuntu Server (preferably with OpenSSH installed) you can use following commands to get desired features and Unity:
sudo apt-get uprade sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends ubuntu-desktop sudo apt-get install unity-lens-applications indicator-applet-appmenu indicator-applet-session indicator-applet-complete indicator-application indicator-session indicator-power indicator-sound
Rebooting after installation would be a good idea. This will install Unity, but it will not install the whole desktop package, which means you won’t get OpenOffice, Firefox etc. It is a good idea to also install Firefox since this type of customer will probably need it.
The packages starting with “indicator” are for the indicators at the very top right of the Unity session. Also the unity-lens-applications allows you to search through the dash, if you don’t install this, you won’t be able to call apps from the dash (which means it is completely useless).