Learning Linux is an essential skill for IT professionals, system administrators, DevOps engineers, and anyone pursuing a career in cloud computing or cybersecurity. CentOS (Community Enterprise Operating System), based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), has been one of the most popular choices for learning enterprise Linux environments. This comprehensive guide walks you through downloading CentOS, setting up VMware Workstation, and completing your first Linux installation—perfect for beginners starting their Linux journey.

What is CentOS, and Why Should You Learn It?

CentOS is a free, open-source Linux distribution rebuilt from Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code. It provides enterprise-grade stability and compatibility without the subscription costs associated with RHEL, making it an excellent choice for learning, development, and testing environments.

Understanding the Linux Distribution Landscape

Before diving into installation, it's helpful to understand where CentOS fits in the Linux ecosystem:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial, subscription-based Linux distribution offering professional support, certified updates, and vendor-backed security patches. Organizations running critical production systems typically choose RHEL for its reliability and support infrastructure.

Other popular distributions include:

• Fedora: Red Hat's community-driven innovation platform featuring the latest technologies

• Ubuntu: Debian-based distribution popular for desktops and cloud deployments

• Debian: Renowned for stability and serving as Ubuntu's upstream

• SUSE/openSUSE: Enterprise Linux with strong European presence

Why CentOS/RHEL Skills Matter

Learning CentOS provides direct experience with enterprise Linux environments used by Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and cloud service providers. Skills developed on CentOS translate directly to RHEL, Oracle Linux, Alma Linux, and Rocky Linux—expanding your employability across multiple platforms. Additionally, RHEL-based certifications (RHCSA, RHCE) are among the most respected Linux credentials in the industry.

Linux History: From Unix to Modern Distributions

Understanding Linux's origins helps appreciate its design philosophy and why it dominates server environments today.

The Unix Foundation (1960s-1970s)

Unix was developed at AT&T Bell Labs, introducing revolutionary concepts like multi-user support, multitasking, hierarchical file systems, and portable code written in C. While powerful, Unix was proprietary software with licensing restrictions that limited academic and hobbyist use.

Minix emerged in the 1980s as an educational Unix-like system created by Professor Andrew Tanenbaum for teaching operating system concepts. Its open design for academic purposes inspired many students, including a young Finnish programmer named Linus Torvalds.

The Birth of Linux (1991)

In 1991, Linus Torvalds announced his hobby project—a free operating system kernel inspired by Unix but written from scratch. This kernel, called Linux, was released under the GNU General Public License (GPL), making it freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute.

Understanding the Linux Kernel: The kernel is the core component that manages hardware resources, memory, processes, and provides the interface between applications and physical hardware. However, a kernel alone doesn't make a usable system—you need user utilities, system libraries, package managers, and applications.

Linux Distributions: Putting It All Together

A Linux distribution combines:

• The Linux kernel (hardware management core)

• GNU utilities (command-line tools: ls, grep, bash, etc.)

• Package management system (dnf/yum for RHEL family, apt for Debian family)

• System services (systemd, networking, logging)

• Desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, XFCE) or minimal server configuration

• Application software (web servers, databases, development tools)

Different distributions make different choices about these components, creating ecosystems optimized for specific use cases—enterprise servers (RHEL/CentOS), cutting-edge desktops (Fedora), ease-of-use (Ubuntu), or lightweight systems (Alpine).

Prerequisites: What You Need Before Installing CentOS

Before beginning the installation process, ensure you have the following:

Hardware Requirements

Minimum specifications:

• 2 CPU cores (4 recommended for GUI installation)

• 2 GB RAM (4-8 GB recommended for comfortable GUI usage)

• 20 GB disk space (adjust based on intended usage)

• Stable internet connection for downloading an ISO (8-10 GB file)

Host computer considerations: Your physical machine should have sufficient resources to run both the host operating system and the virtual machine simultaneously. Check your available resources in Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS) before allocating VM resources.

Software Requirements

VMware Workstation Pro (for Windows/Linux hosts) or VMware Fusion (for macOS) provides robust virtualization capabilities. After Broadcom's acquisition of VMware, licensing models have changed—check VMware's website for current licensing options, trials, or free tiers for personal use.

Alternative virtualization platforms include:

• VirtualBox (free, open-source, cross-platform)

• Hyper-V (built into Windows Pro/Enterprise)

• KVM/QEMU (Linux native virtualization)

• Parallels Desktop (macOS, commercial)

This guide focuses on VMware Workstation Pro, but concepts translate to other hypervisors with minor interface differences.

Step 1: How to Download CentOS ISO Image

The first step in your Linux journey is obtaining the installation media—an ISO file containing the complete operating system.

Choosing Your CentOS Version

Navigate to the official CentOS website or search "download CentOS Stream" on Google. You'll encounter several version options:

CentOS Stream 9: Stable rolling-release version, widely adopted and suitable for learning RHEL 9 features and environments.

CentOS Stream 10: Development/beta version offering the latest features, but potentially less stable. Recommended for advanced users wanting cutting-edge capabilities.

Architecture selection: This is critical—choose based on your physical hardware:

• x86_64: For Intel and AMD processors (most desktop and laptop computers)

• aarch64 (ARM64): For Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Macs or ARM-based systems

Downloading the wrong architecture will result in installation failures or boot errors. Modern Intel/AMD laptops and desktops should select x86_64.

Download Options

CentOS offers several ISO variants:

Boot ISO: Minimal image requiring internet connection during installation to download packages—smaller download but slower installation.

DVD ISO: Complete installation media with all packages included—larger download (8-10 GB) but faster installation and works offline.

Minimal ISO: Bare-bones server installation without GUI—smallest footprint for server deployments.

For learning purposes, the DVD ISO is recommended as it provides a complete, self-contained installation experience with GUI desktop environment options.

Step 2: Installing VMware Workstation Pro

Virtual machines allow you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical computer—perfect for learning, testing, and development without affecting your primary system.

Downloading VMware Workstation

Search for "VMware Workstation download" and navigate to VMware's official download page. Select the latest stable version (currently version 17.x) appropriate for your host operating system.

Installation steps:

1. Download the installer (typically 500-700 MB)

2. Run the installer with administrative privileges (right-click → Run as administrator)

3. Follow the installation wizard: Accept license agreement → Choose installation directory → Configure settings

4. Complete installation and launch VMware Workstation Pro

Important tip: Always run VMware Workstation as Administrator (right-click the shortcut → Run as administrator) to ensure proper hardware access and driver functionality.

Step 3: Creating Your Virtual Machine in VMware

With VMware installed and your CentOS ISO downloaded, you're ready to create the virtual environment where Linux will run.

Starting the VM Creation Wizard

Launch VMware Workstation and select "Create a New Virtual Machine" from the home screen. You'll be presented with two configuration options:

Typical (Recommended): Simplified wizard with sensible defaults—perfect for beginners and most installations.

Custom (Advanced): Provides granular control over hardware compatibility, network adapters, and advanced options—useful for specific scenarios but unnecessary for learning environments.

Choose Typical for this installation.

Critical Configuration Choice

When prompted to install the operating system, select "I will install the operating system later" rather than immediately pointing to the ISO file.

Why this matters: VMware's automatic installation feature (Easy Install) bypasses the manual installation process, preventing you from learning the actual installation steps, partitioning, and configuration options. For educational purposes, manual installation provides invaluable hands-on experience.

Operating System Selection

From the dropdown menus:

1. Guest operating system: Linux

2. Version: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 64-bit (or closest CentOS/RHEL option)

This selection optimizes VMware's drivers and settings for RHEL-family distributions.

Step 4: Customizing VM Hardware Settings

Before starting the installation, optimize your virtual machine's hardware allocation based on your host computer's capabilities.

CPU Allocation

Understanding CPU topology: Modern processors contain multiple physical cores, and many support simultaneous multithreading (hyper-threading/SMT), where each physical core can execute two threads simultaneously.

Example: An Intel Core i7 with 6 performance cores (P-cores) supporting 2 threads each provides 12 logical processors. Modern Intel 12th-gen and newer also include efficiency cores (E-cores), further increasing logical processor counts.

Recommended allocation:

• 2 virtual CPUs: Minimum for basic operation

• 4 virtual CPUs: Recommended for GUI installations and comfortable performance

• More than 4: Only if your host has 8+ logical processors and you're running demanding workloads

Rule of thumb: Don't allocate more than 50% of your host's logical processors to VMs to maintain host system responsiveness.

Memory (RAM) Configuration

Minimum requirements:

• 2 GB: Absolute minimum for server installations without a GUI

• 4 GB: Recommended minimum for GUI desktop environments

• 8 GB: Comfortable for development work, multiple applications, and browser usage

Check your host's available memory before allocation. If your host has 16 GB RAM, allocating 4-6 GB to the VM leaves sufficient memory for the host operating system and other applications.

Network Adapter

VMware provides several network modes:

Bridged: VM appears as a separate device on your physical network, receiving its own IP from your router—useful for accessing the VM from other network devices.

NAT (Network Address Translation): VM shares the host's IP address, appearing to the network as host traffic—most common choice, provides internet access with minimal configuration.

Host-only: VM can only communicate with the host machine, isolated from external networks—useful for security testing and isolated environments.

For general learning, NAT mode is recommended.

Attaching the CentOS ISO

In VM settings:

1. Select CD/DVD (SATA) or CD/DVD (IDE)

2. Choose "Use ISO image file"

3. Browse to your downloaded CentOS ISO file

4. Ensure "Connect at power on" is checked

This configures the VM to boot from the ISO image, similar to inserting an installation DVD into a physical computer.

Optional: Removing Unnecessary Devices

For streamlined learning environments, you can remove virtual hardware you won't use:

• Sound card (unless testing audio applications)

• USB controller (unless passing through USB devices)

• Printer (unless testing printing functionality)

Fewer virtual devices reduce resource consumption and simplify the VM configuration.

Step 5: Installing CentOS Using the Anaconda Installer

With your VM configured, you're ready to perform the actual operating system installation.

Booting from the ISO

Power on your virtual machine. The VM will boot from the attached ISO, presenting the CentOS boot menu.

Select the first option: "Install CentOS Stream" (or similar) to launch the graphical Anaconda installer—the official Red Hat/CentOS installation interface.

Language Selection

Choose your preferred language for the installation process and system default. This affects system messages, documentation, and locale settings. Most users select English (United States) or their native language.

Installation Summary Dashboard

Anaconda presents an overview screen with several configuration categories. Items marked with warning icons must be configured before proceeding.

Time Zone Configuration

Click "Time & Date" to set your geographical location and time zone. This ensures correct system time, log timestamps, and scheduler operations.

Example: Select "Asia" region and "Kolkata" city for Indian Standard Time.

Enable "Network Time" if you want the system to synchronize with Internet time servers automatically (recommended for accurate timekeeping).

Software Selection

The "Software Selection" option determines what packages are installed:

Server with GUI: Full desktop environment (GNOME) with server tools—ideal for learning, providing a graphical interface similar to Windows/macOS while maintaining server capabilities.

Workstation: Desktop-focused installation with productivity applications, development tools, and multimedia support.

Minimal Install: Command-line only, no graphical interface—lightweight server configuration for experienced users.

Custom Operating System: Allows granular package selection for specific use cases.

For beginners learning Linux, "Server with GUI" provides the best balance of usability and comprehensive tooling.

Installation Destination

Click "Installation Destination" to configure disk partitioning. For learning environments, select "Automatic" partitioning, which creates sensible default partition layouts including boot, root, and swap partitions.

Advanced users can choose "Custom" partitioning to manually define partition schemes, LVM configuration, or specific filesystem types (ext4, xfs, btrfs).

Network and Hostname

Configure networking and set your system's hostname:

1. Enable the network interface by toggling it on

2. Set hostname: Choose a meaningful name (e.g., "centos-lab", "rhel-dev")

3. Configure IPv4/IPv6: Default DHCP configuration works for most scenarios

Even though the VM appears as a "wired connection," it's using VMware's virtual network adapter—the underlying connectivity (Wi-Fi or Ethernet on your host) is abstracted from the guest.

User Creation and Security

Root Password: Set a strong password for the root (superuser) account. The root account has unlimited system privileges—treat this password with extreme security.

Create User Account: Add a non-root user for daily operations (e.g., username "student" or your name). This follows security best practices—routine work should be performed with limited privileges, elevating to root only when necessary using sudo.

Important security principle: Avoid using the root account for regular desktop activities. Root access bypasses all security restrictions, making mistakes potentially catastrophic (e.g., accidentally deleting system files). Use your standard user account and invoke sudo for administrative tasks.

Beginning the Installation

Review your configuration summary and click "Begin Installation". The installer will:

1. Format partitions according to your disk configuration

2. Install selected packages from the ISO

3. Configure bootloader (GRUB2)

4. Apply system settings

Installation typically takes 10-20 minutes, depending on:

• Selected software packages

• VM allocated resources (CPU and disk I/O)

• Host system performance

First Boot Configuration

After installation completes, reboot the VM (remove or disconnect the ISO to prevent booting back to the installer). On first boot, you'll complete initial setup:

Location Services: Choose whether to enable location detection (generally not needed for VMs).

Online Accounts: Optionally connect cloud accounts (Google, Nextcloud) for calendar/contacts synchronization.

User Setup: Create your user profile if not done during installation.

Log in with your non-root user account to access the GNOME desktop environment.

Step 6: Post-Installation Configuration and First Look

Congratulations! You now have a functioning CentOS installation. Let's explore the environment and optimize settings for comfortable usage.

GNOME Desktop Environment Overview

CentOS with GUI installs GNOME—a modern, user-friendly desktop environment:

Activities (top-left corner): Opens an overview showing running applications, search, and workspace switcher—similar to Windows Start menu or macOS Spotlight.

Top bar: Displays clock, system indicators (network, volume, power), and system menu for quick access to settings and shutdown options.

Dock/Favorites bar: Quick launch area for frequently used applications—customizable by dragging application icons.

Application menu: Click Activities → Show Applications (grid icon) to see all installed programs organized by category.

Essential Applications

Terminal: Your gateway to the command line, where you'll learn Linux commands and system administration. Access via Activities → search "Terminal" or press Ctrl+Alt+T.

Files: GNOME's file manager for browsing directories, copying files, and managing your filesystem—equivalent to Windows Explorer or macOS Finder.

Firefox: Default web browser, fully functional for browsing documentation, downloading software, and web-based learning resources.

Text Editor: Simple text editor for configuration files and notes—gedit or GNOME Text Editor, depending on version.

Software: Graphical package manager for installing applications—supplement to command-line package management with dnf.

Terminal Customization

Open Terminal and make it more comfortable:

1. Click Preferences (hamburger menu → Preferences)

2. Increase font size for better readability (12-14 point recommended)

3. Adjust colors if you prefer light or dark themes

4. Configure keyboard shortcuts for frequently used commands

The terminal is where you'll spend significant time as you advance in Linux—making it comfortable improves productivity dramatically.

Essential System Settings

Access Settings from the top-right menu or Activities search:

Power Management:

• Disable "Blank Screen" or set to a longer duration to prevent the display from turning off while reading documentation

• Set Power Mode to "Balanced" or "Performance" for VM usage

• Disable "Automatic Suspend" to prevent the VM from sleeping during periods of inactivity

Network Configuration: Your VM appears as a wired connection even if your host uses Wi-Fi—this is normal VMware behavior. The connection status reflects the virtual network adapter, not your physical network hardware.

Displays: Adjust resolution if needed (VMware typically auto-detects optimal resolution with VMware Tools installed).

Date & Time: Verify time zone is correct and enable automatic time synchronization.

Understanding VM Hardware: CPU, RAM, and Servers

Before diving deeper into Linux, understanding underlying hardware concepts helps you make informed resource allocation decisions.

CPU Architecture: Cores, Threads, and Topology

Physical cores are independent processing units within a CPU. A quad-core processor has four separate processing engines capable of executing instructions simultaneously.

Threads (Logical Processors) result from technologies like Intel's Hyper-Threading or AMD's Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT). These allow a single physical core to execute two instruction streams concurrently, improving performance for multi-threaded workloads.

Modern CPU design increasingly uses hybrid architectures:

• Performance cores (P-cores): Powerful cores optimized for demanding single-threaded tasks

• Efficiency cores (E-cores): Lower-power cores handling background tasks and parallel workloads

Example: Intel 12th Gen Core i7-12700H contains 6 P-cores (12 threads) + 8 E-cores (8 threads) = 20 logical processors total.

Memory Considerations

RAM allocation directly impacts VM performance. Insufficient memory causes swapping—using disk storage as virtual memory, which is dramatically slower than RAM (1000x+ latency difference).

Guidelines:

• Host with 8 GB RAM: Allocate 2-4 GB to VM maximum

• Host with 16 GB RAM: Comfortably allocate 4-8 GB to VM

• Host with 32 GB+ RAM: Allocate based on workload needs

Always leave adequate RAM for your host OS—starving the host causes system-wide performance degradation affecting both host and VM responsiveness.

Server Hardware vs Desktop Hardware

Desktop/Laptop computers typically feature:

• Single CPU socket (one processor)

• 8-64 GB RAM

• Consumer-grade motherboards

• Emphasis on cost-effectiveness and integrated features

Enterprise servers provide:

• Multiple CPU sockets (2, 4, or more processors working together)

• Hundreds of GB to several TB of RAM

• Redundant components (power supplies, networking)

• Enterprise-grade reliability features (ECC memory, hot-swap drives)

Servers handle production workloads with high availability requirements—web applications serving millions of users, databases processing thousands of transactions per second, and compute-intensive scientific simulations. The CentOS/RHEL skills you're developing apply directly to managing these critical systems.

Linux Command Line Basics: Getting Started

While the GUI provides comfortable navigation, Linux system administration primarily occurs via the command line. Here are essential commands to begin exploring:

File System Navigation

pwd                 # Print working directory (where am I?)

ls                  # List files and directories

ls -la              # List all files with detailed information

cd /path/to/dir     # Change directory

cd ~                # Go to home directory

cd ..               # Go up one directory level

System Information

df -h               # Disk space usage (human-readable)

free -h             # Memory usage

uname -a            # System information

hostnamectl         # View/set system hostname

top                 # Real-time process monitoring (press 'q' to quit)

Package Management (DNF/YUM)

sudo dnf update     # Update all packages

sudo dnf install package_name    # Install software

sudo dnf remove package_name     # Remove software

sudo dnf search keyword          # Search for packages

File Operations

cp source dest      # Copy files

mv source dest      # Move/rename files

rm filename         # Remove files (use carefully!)

mkdir dirname       # Create directory

cat filename        # Display file contents

less filename       # View file with pagination

Start with these basics, gradually expanding your command repertoire as you work through Linux learning resources and practice exercises.

Next Steps in Your Linux Learning Journey

Completing your first CentOS installation is just the beginning. Here's a roadmap for continued learning:

Foundational Skills

Command-line proficiency: Master file system navigation, text manipulation (grep, sed, awk), and shell scripting (bash).

Package management: Understand DNF/YUM repository configuration, dependency resolution, and software installation workflows.

User and permissions: Learn user management, file permissions (chmod, chown), and privilege escalation (sudo configuration).

System services: Work with systemd to start, stop, and configure services; understand service dependencies and boot processes.

Intermediate Topics

Networking: Configure network interfaces, understand routing and DNS, set up firewalls (firewalld), and troubleshoot connectivity issues.

Storage management: Work with LVM (Logical Volume Manager), partition management, filesystem types, and mount points.

Process management: Monitor system resources, manage processes, configure resource limits, and troubleshoot performance issues.

Shell scripting: Automate repetitive tasks, create system maintenance scripts, and build deployment workflows.

Advanced Learning Paths

DevOps and Automation: Learn Ansible for configuration management, Git for version control, and CI/CD pipelines for application deployment.

Containers and Orchestration: Master Docker containerization, Kubernetes orchestration, and cloud-native architectures.

Security: Implement SELinux policies, configure SSH hardening, manage certificates, and perform security auditing.

Cloud Computing: Apply Linux skills to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, managing virtual machines, networking, and services in cloud environments.

Launch Your Linux and DevOps Career with Network Kings

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Why Network Kings for Linux and DevOps Training

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Linux Foundation Training: Master RHEL/CentOS administration, shell scripting, system services, and troubleshooting—building on the installation skills covered in this guide to full system administration competency.

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Popular Courses Building on Linux Fundamentals

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Start Your Journey Today

The CentOS installation you completed today represents your first step into the vast world of Linux and open-source technology. Whether you're aiming for system administration, DevOps engineering, cloud architecture, or cybersecurity, the skills you develop working with Linux-based systems form the foundation of modern IT infrastructure.

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