Prerequisites and Initial Setup

To begin, ensure you have VMware Workstation installed and a CentOS 7 ISO image available. When creating a new virtual machine, follow the standard wizard prompts. If the installation fails due to an Intel VT-x error, access your computer's BIOS/UEFI setings, locate the Virtualization Technology parameter, and ensure it is enabled.

Network Configuration

By default, VMs use DHCP for IP assignment. To assign a static IP address, modify the network configuration file. Identify your interface name first (e.g., ens33 or eno16777736) and edit the corresponding file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/.

# Edit the interface config file
vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens33

Apply the following parameters to ensure a static configuration:

BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=192.168.1.50
PREFIX=24
GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
DNS1=8.8.8.8
DNS2=8.8.4.4

After saving, apply the changes by restarting the network service:

systemctl restart network

Granting Sudo Privileges

To allow a standard user to execute commands with root permissions, modify the sudoers configuration. Log in as root, then invoke the editor:

visudo

Locate the user privilege specification section and add the following line, replacing username with your account name:

username ALL=(ALL) ALL

Hostname Modification

Updating the hostname is essential for network identification and cluster setups. In CentOS 7, utilize the hostnamectl utility:

hostnamectl set-hostname node-01

For the changes to take effect, perform a system rebooot:

reboot

Mapping IP Addresses to Hostnames

To simplify communication between servers, map your IP addresses to specific hostnames by editing the local hosts file:

vi /etc/hosts

Append the entry for you're server:

192.168.1.50 node-01

SSH Remote Access

To enable remote administration using tools like Xshell or OpenSSH client, verify that the SSH daemon is installed and active:

# Check for installed SSH packages
rpm -qa | grep openssh

# Install missing packages if necessary
yum install openssh-server openssh-clients

# Start and enable the service
systemctl start sshd
systemctl enable sshd

Once the service is running, verify the connection from your host machine using the configured IP address.