Installing Debian & CentOS VMs

Beginner Linux
VirtualBoxVMwareISOinstaller

Objective

Hands-on practice with installing debian & centos vms in a Linux environment.

Tools & Technologies

  • VirtualBox
  • VMware
  • ISO
  • installer

Key Commands

vboxmanage createvm --name 'Debian12'
systemctl set-default multi-user.target
nmcli con mod eth0 ipv4.method manual

Lab Steps

01
Download ISO

Download official ISO images for Debian 12 and CentOS Stream 9.

02
VM Creation

Create VMs in VirtualBox/VMware with appropriate CPU, RAM, and disk settings.

03
Installation

Walk through the guided installer for both distributions, selecting minimal install.

04
Post-Install Config

Update packages, configure networking, and install guest additions.

Challenges Encountered

  • CentOS minimal install has no wget/curl — must install manually
  • Debian netinst requires internet for package selection

Key Takeaways

  • Minimal installs reduce attack surface and disk usage
  • SELinux is enabled by default on CentOS — understand it before disabling