Install CentOS

CentOS is a Gnu/Linux distribution and derived from RHEL a Red hat distro which is for the enterprise. RHEL is an enterprise based while CentOS is totally a community-based distribution. Its focus is to provide a free enterprise and community-supported computing platform to the users. So how to install CentOS Linux. This tutorial will explain the installation of CentOS.

CentOS website explains this project as “The CentOS Project is a community-driven free software effort focused on delivering a robust open-source ecosystem. For users, we offer a consistent manageable platform that suits a wide variety of deployments. For open source communities, we offer a solid, predictable base to build upon, along with extensive resources to build, test, release, and maintain their code”. CentOS is officially under Red Hat which sponsors the CentOS project. CentOS is mainly used in web servers and cloud servers.

​How To Install CentOS?

CentOS 7 is based on RHEL 7 and it is only available in 64-bit architecture and it is supported until 2024 with full updates till 2020 and then maintenance updates to 2024.

The Iso file of CentOS 7 can be downloaded from here.CentOS 7 is based on RHEL 7 and it is only available in only 64-bit architecture and it is supported until 2024 with full updates till 2020 and then maintenance updates to 2024.​The Iso file of CentOS 7 can be downloaded from here.

There are 3 types of iso files –

1. Minimal
2. Everything
3. DVD

Minimal includes a few basic packages and no desktop environment. DVD includes major packages updates and desktop environments. Everything includes all of the packages and it has the biggest size in all. Live images are also available for Gnome and KDE desktop environment.

In this installation, we will use the DVD file which is around 4gb and you can burn it on USB with the help of Etcher or any other tool. I am using VMware in this installation.

CentOS Installation

​After booting up your system, you will see this and then press enter –

Next, we will select Option 1 to install the installer. Option 2 checks the error before starting the installer –

After that, you will be presented the Anaconda installer which is used in Red Hat based disros such as Fedora, Qubes, Scientific Linux.

Most of the time we will use default options unless you know what you are doing. These options can be changed later after installation. In language will select English (US) and also the Keyboard.

You can select the time zone according to your choice. Security policy can be selected of your choice which is included in new ISO files.

The reason they are included by RedHat is explained here. (Configuring and applying scap policies during installation). If you don’t know about it, can select the first one.

Then you will have to specify installation which can be local media such as DVD or USB and can be network installation. Here we are using USB. After that, we have to select a software selection to decide what we want to install. We can install a basic server with no GUI and also can select with Gnome 3 or KDE installations.

Many other options such as Virtualization Host, File and Printer Server, and Server with GUI can be selected if you want specific installation.

​Here we are using Gnome Desktop as many people don’t know Command Line Interface and are comfortable with GUI.

Next Step is partitioning.

​If you are installing it as a Single main OS then you can go with default Automatically configure partitioning but if you are going to dual boot it then you need to specify a partition. Also, choose a swap partition. Always make back up before making dual boots.
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After that, we will go with default options and then we have to set root password and we can add users.

You can create users or can leave it default but working in root environment can be dangerous as it gives you full control but with freedom comes responsibility. You can create users or can leave it default but working in root environment can be dangerous as it gives you full control but with freedom comes responsibility.

​After installing the operating system, you can reboot and can login to the newly installed distro.

It looks pretty much the same as Fedora or any other Gnome desktop distro.

Conclusion

The installation process in CentOS 7 is much easier than CentOS 6 which takes nearly 40 minutes to be installed whereas this takes only 15 to 20 minutes. Also, there is a significant change in experience from Gnome 2 to Gnome 3.

CentOS 7 is more advanced than its previous version and it has great driver support and an updated kernel. CentOS 7 is one of the best choices in the server world as it is free and has great community support. You can learn and master this distro as it is easy because of great support from Red Hat. CentOS is one of fewer distros which is a popular choice for hosting a website.