Setup CentOS 7 VM on VMware Workstation Player

By | July 13, 2018
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Bismillahi-r-Rahmani-r-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful)

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you)

This is the ad hoc tutorial on how to setup CentOS 7 virtual machine on VMware Player. We will create CentOS 7 VM, go through basic configurations and connect to it using SSH client.

Below content is complementary to the video tutorial above.

  1. Download and install the latest VMware Workstation Player release from the official website. At the moment of recording: https://www.vmware.com/ -> Downloads -> Free Product Downloads -> Workstation Player.
  2. Download and save the ISO image of the latest CentOS release from the official website. At the moment of recording: https://www.centos.org/download/ -> Minimal ISO.
  3. Open the installed VMWare Player and choose “Create a New Virtual Machine“:
    1. Choose “I will install the operating system later”
    2. Choose “Linux” -> “CentOS 7 64-bit”
    3. Choose the name and location for your Virtual Machine (VM)
    4. Define the size and storage option (“Split” method is recommended)
    5. Choose “Customize Hardware”
      1. Adjust memory and processors based on your needs. You can change these settings later.
      2. Add 2 network adapters: “Bridged” (for the global internet access) and “Host Only” (shared network with host only)
    6. In “CD/DVD” Section, in Connection Panel choose “Use ISO image file” and select the downloaded ISO from the Step 2
    7. Finally, Start the newly created VM and go through installation process
  4. Download mRemoteNG remote connection manager:
    1. Execute step 5.a.
    2. Create a new connection.
    3. Specify the IP address, username and password.
    4. Choose protocol SSH 2.
  5. After the setup finished we reboot the VM.
    a. First, activate the 2nd interface and make it to automatically connect using nmtui:

    nmtui

    b. Next, run the following basic commands:

    yum update -y && yum upgrade -y
    yum -y install net-tools.x86_64
    mv /etc/localtime /etc/localtime.bak && ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Baku /etc/localtime
    yum install -y ntp
    systemctl start ntpd && systemctl enable ntpd && /usr/sbin/ntpdate pool.ntp.org

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