diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/deprecate-vnc-server-header-529f07d592aefb62.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/deprecate-vnc-server-header-529f07d592aefb62.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d7e144da0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/deprecate-vnc-server-header-529f07d592aefb62.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+deprecations:
+  - |
+    The config option ``CONF.compute.vnc_server_header`` is deprecated because
+    it has become obsolete with the usage of different response header fields
+    to accomplish the same goal in accordance with RFC7231 Section 6.2.2.
+
+fixes:
+  - |
+    Adequately validates WebSocket upgrade in test_novnc and removes unneeded
+    configuration complexity. Closes bug #1838777 and #1840788.
+
diff --git a/tempest/api/compute/servers/test_novnc.py b/tempest/api/compute/servers/test_novnc.py
index 50ffb2159a..7cf6d83d2b 100644
--- a/tempest/api/compute/servers/test_novnc.py
+++ b/tempest/api/compute/servers/test_novnc.py
@@ -156,22 +156,24 @@ class NoVNCConsoleTestJSON(base.BaseV2ComputeTest):
                                                        data[20:24])[0] + 24))
 
     def _validate_websocket_upgrade(self):
+        """Verify that the websocket upgrade was successful.
+
+        Parses response and ensures that required response
+        fields are present and accurate.
+        (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7231#section-6.2.2)
+        """
+
         self.assertTrue(
             self._websocket.response.startswith(b'HTTP/1.1 101 Switching '
-                                                b'Protocols\r\n'),
-            'Did not get the expected 101 on the {} call: {}'.format(
-                CONF.compute_feature_enabled.vnc_server_header,
+                                                b'Protocols'),
+            'Incorrect HTTP return status code: {}'.format(
                 six.text_type(self._websocket.response)
             )
         )
-        # Since every other server type returns Headers with different case
-        # (for example 'nginx'), lowercase must be applied to eliminate issues.
-        _desired_header = "server: {0}".format(
-            CONF.compute_feature_enabled.vnc_server_header
-        ).lower()
+        _required_header = 'upgrade: websocket'
         _response = six.text_type(self._websocket.response).lower()
         self.assertIn(
-            _desired_header,
+            _required_header,
             _response,
             'Did not get the expected WebSocket HTTP Response.'
         )
diff --git a/tempest/config.py b/tempest/config.py
index c50ebbe59a..5f91a6d2e2 100644
--- a/tempest/config.py
+++ b/tempest/config.py
@@ -483,7 +483,12 @@ ComputeFeaturesGroup = [
     cfg.StrOpt('vnc_server_header',
                default='WebSockify',
                help='Expected VNC server name (WebSockify, nginx, etc) '
-                    'in response header.'),
+                    'in response header.',
+               deprecated_for_removal=True,
+               deprecated_reason='This option will be ignored because the '
+                                 'usage of different response header fields '
+                                 'to accomplish the same goal (in accordance '
+                                 'with RFC7231 S6.2.2) makes it obsolete.'),
     cfg.BoolOpt('spice_console',
                 default=False,
                 help='Enable Spice console. This configuration value should '