Environment Setup and OS Verification

Deploy CentOS 7 within VMware Workstation 16.x. Following the installation, confirm the operating system version by querying the release identity file:

cat /etc/os-release

The output should reflect the CentOS 7 kernel version.

Remote Access and Virtual Network Configuration

Utilize an SSH client (such as MobaXterm) to establish a remote terminal session. Configure the connection by specifying the target virtual machine's IP address alongside the root credentials.

Within VMware, navigate to the virtual network editor targeting the VMnet8 NAT adapter. Ensure the configured gateway aligns with the host machine's network parameters to allow proper routing.

Privilege Elevation and Connectivity Checks

Switch to the superuser context to execute administrative commands. Validate the assigned IP and gateway settings, then perform an ICMP echo test to an external domain to verify internet access.

Deactivating the Firewall Service

To prevent network filtering interference during the configuration phase, terminate and permanently disable the firewalld daemon:

# Check current firewall state
firewall-cmd --state

# Stop and prevent the service from launching on boot
systemctl disable --now firewalld.service

Assigning a Persistent Static IP Address

Transition the primary network interface away from dynamic DHCP allocation. Access the network configuration directory at /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ and modify the interface descriptor file (commonly ifcfg-ens33, though the suffix may differ).

Apply the following parameter adjustments. If the virtual machine was cloned, regenerate the interface UUID using the uuidgen command:

BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
IPADDR=192.168.89.143
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
GATEWAY=192.168.89.2
DNS1=192.168.89.2

Set BOOTPROTO to none to enforce static behavior. Confirm ONBOOT is enabled to ensure the interface activates during startup. Assign the IP address matching your specific network adapter output from ip a. The gateway and DNS resolver should point to the VMnet8 NAT gateway address (typically the .2 address of the subnet). The NETMASK equivalent of a 24-bit prefix is explicitly defined as 255.255.255.0.