Initial Setup

Applies to CentOS Stream 9 & 10 / AlmaLinux 9.x & 10.x / Rocky Linux 9.x & 10.x

After the system installation is complete, follow these steps to finish the initial configuration and bring the system to a secure, usable state.

What You Will Accomplish

Set the timezone and hostname
Update the system to the latest version
Install commonly used essential tools
Configure basic security settings

Prerequisites

Completed system installation
Logged into the system (locally or via SSH)
Have sudo privileges

Set the Timezone

Check the current timezone
Terminal window
```
$ timedatectl
```

Set the timezone

$ sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Shanghai

Enable NTP time synchronization
Terminal window
```
$ sudo timedatectl set-ntp yes
```
Verify
Terminal window
```
$ timedatectl
```
Confirm that Time zone shows Asia/Shanghai and NTP service is active.

Set the Hostname

$ sudo hostnamectl set-hostname my-server

$ hostnamectl

Update the System

$ sudo dnf update -y

$ sudo reboot

Install Essential Tools

$ sudo dnf install -y \
    vim-enhanced \
    wget \
    curl \
    tar \
    bash-completion \
    net-tools \
    bind-utils \
    lsof \
    tmux
# htop is not in BaseOS/AppStream; it comes from EPEL: dnf install -y epel-release first
sudo dnf install -y htop

Disable Unnecessary Services

Review running services and disable any that are not needed:

$ systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running

Common services that can be disabled (depending on your actual needs):

$ sudo systemctl disable --now bluetooth

Next Steps

SSH Remote Access — Configure remote access
DNF Package Management — Learn software package management