Step‑by‑Step Guide to Install and Configure openEuler on VMware Workstation

With CentOS 8 reaching end‑of‑life on 31 December 2021 and CentOS 7 supported only until 30 June 2024, many users are looking for a modern, community‑driven replacement. openEuler, released by Huawei and hosted by the OpenAtom Foundation, offers a stable Linux‑based OS for servers, cloud, edge and embedded scenarios.

Downloading the openEuler ISO

The official openEuler community provides ISO images for all supported releases. The latest LTS version (e.g., openEuler 22.03) can be downloaded from: https://www.openeuler.org/zh/ After obtaining the ISO, you can proceed with the installation in a virtual environment.

Installing openEuler on VMware Workstation

Create a new virtual machine and choose the "Typical (recommended)" wizard.

When prompted for the installation media, browse to the downloaded openEuler ISO file.

Select the guest operating system as Linux and the version as Other Linux 5.x and later kernel (64‑bit).

Specify a virtual machine name and storage location, then continue.

Allocate disk space (e.g., 20 GB) and choose "Store virtual disk as a single file".

Customize hardware settings such as memory if needed, then finish the wizard.

Power on the VM; the openEuler installer will start.

Proceed through the language selection and click Continue.

Choose Custom Partitioning under "Installation Destination".

Create the following partitions:

/home – 2 GB

/boot – 500 MB

swap – 1 GB

/ – allocate the remaining space

Confirm the partition layout and click Done.

Set the root password (meeting the strength requirements) and proceed.

Click Begin Installation and wait for the process to complete.

After installation, the system will reboot; log in with the root credentials.

Throughout the installation, the article includes screenshots illustrating each step; these images are essential for visual guidance.

Configuring Network Parameters

To enable internet access inside the VM, configure NAT networking on the host and set a static IP inside the guest.

Ensure the host machine can access the internet (e.g., ping www.baidu.com).

In VMware, open Virtual Network Editor and verify that VMnet8 (NAT) is correctly configured.

Edit the guest’s network‑interface file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens33 with the following content:

TYPE=Ethernet
PROXY_METHOD=none
BROWSER_ONLY=no
BOOTPROTO=static
DEFROUTE=yes
IPV4_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6_AUTOCONF=yes
IPV6_DEFROUTE=yes
IPV6_FAILURE_FATAL=no
IPV6_ADDR_GEN_MODE=stable-privacy
NAME=ens33
UUID=50bf94c3-280a-4737-bd8f-204492788061
DEVICE=ens33
ONBOOT=yes
HWADDR=00:0C:29:FA:E7:A6
IPADDR=192.168.20.111
GATEWAY=192.168.20.2
DNS1=114.114.114.114
DNS2=8.8.8.8

Restart the network manager (if the service exists) or simply reboot the VM: systemctl restart NetworkManager If NetworkManager is unavailable, a full reboot will apply the settings.

Install basic networking tools: yum install -y net-tools Install and enable the OpenSSH server for remote access:

yum install -y openssh-server
systemctl enable sshd
systemctl start sshd

If using an older CRT (SecureCRT) client, adjust /etc/ssh/sshd_config to support legacy algorithms:

HostKeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa,ssh-dss
KexAlgorithms=+diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1,diffie-hellman-group1-sha1

Then restart the SSH daemon:

systemctl restart sshd

Post‑Installation Experience

After logging in, the openEuler desktop and command‑line environment feel very similar to CentOS. Basic commands such as cat /etc/os-release confirm the OS version, and the network restart command differs slightly but works reliably.

Conclusion

openEuler provides a seamless migration path for CentOS users, offering comparable stability while supporting a wide range of hardware architectures. Mastering its installation and network configuration equips IT professionals with valuable skills for the growing ecosystem of Chinese‑origin operating systems.