Version 1.9. This version is no longer supported. For information about how to upgrade to version 1.10, seeUpgrading Anthos on bare metalin the 1.10 documentation. For more information about supported and unsupported versions, see theVersion historypage in the latest documentation.
You must configure the base operating system of your node machines to use Google Distributed Cloud. This page contains the steps you need to take to complete the needed configuration. For more information about troubleshooting Google Distributed Cloud requirements, see thetroubleshooting guides.
Before you begin
Ensure you are using a supported version of your operating system. Anthos on bare metal supports the following versions for CentOS:
CentOS 8.1
CentOS 8.2
CentOS 8.3
CentOS 8.4
Ensure you have root access to the machines you are configuring.Validate Package manager with the following steps:
Check for updates:
sudodnfcheck-update
Ensure the output has no errors and the last metadata expiration check, for example:
Firewalld can be configured for use with Google Distributed Cloud or disabled. For
information on configuring firewalld, seeConfiguring firewalld portson the Network requirements page.
Compare your output with the following example to ensure the Client and Server versions are 19.03+ :
Client: Docker Engine - Community
Version: 19.03.13
...
Server: Docker Engine - Community
Engine:
Version: 19.03.13
Set up time synchronization
To ensure proper time synchronization, install an NTP service on your machines using any of the available services:chrony,systemd-timesyncd, ntp, or ntpdate. Runtimedatectlto verify the system clock is synchronized. The output oftimedatectlshould contain the following status:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide provides steps to configure the base operating system of node machines for Google Distributed Cloud.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSupported CentOS versions include 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4, and root access is required for configuration.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFirewalld can be configured or disabled, and the instructions provided detail how to disable it.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDocker 19.03+ must be installed and set up for non-root user access on the workstation running \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e to start a temporary bootstrap cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAn NTP service, such as chrony, systemd-timesyncd, ntp, or ntpdate, must be installed to ensure time synchronization, and the status can be verified using \u003ccode\u003etimedatectl\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Configure CentOS\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nYou must configure the base operating system of your node machines to use Google Distributed Cloud. This page contains the steps you need to take to complete the needed configuration. \n\nFor more information about troubleshooting Google Distributed Cloud requirements, see the [troubleshooting guides](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.9/troubleshooting/known-issues).\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\nEnsure you are using a supported version of your operating system. Anthos on bare metal supports the following versions for CentOS:\n\n- CentOS 8.1\n- CentOS 8.2\n- CentOS 8.3\n- CentOS 8.4\n\nEnsure you have root access to the machines you are configuring. \n\nValidate Package manager with the following steps:\n\n1. Check for updates:\n\n sudo dnf check-update\n\n2. Ensure the output has no errors and the last metadata expiration check, for example:\n\n # Last metadata expiration check: ...\n ...\n google-cloud-sdk.x86_64 ...\n\nConfigure or disable firewalld\n------------------------------\n\nFirewalld can be configured for use with Google Distributed Cloud or disabled. For\ninformation on configuring firewalld, see\n[Configuring firewalld ports](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.9/concepts/network-reqs#configuring_firewalld_ports)\non the Network requirements page.\n\nThe following instructions disable firewalld.\n\n1. Disable firewalld:\n\n sudo systemctl stop firewalld\n sudo systemctl disable firewalld\n\n2. Check the status of firewalld to ensure it is disabled:\n\n sudo systemctl status firewalld | grep \"Active\"\n # Output\n # Active: inactive (dead)\n\nConfigure Docker 19.03+ on your workstation\n-------------------------------------------\n\n| **Note:** The workstation running `bmctl` needs non-root user access to Docker to start the temporary bootstrap (kind) cluster during installation. To enable non-root user access to Docker, go to [Manage Docker as a non-root user](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/linux-postinstall/#manage-docker-as-a-non-root-user).\n\nFollow these steps to manually install Docker:\n\n1. Remove any previous Docker version:\n\n sudo dnf remove docker \\\n docker-client \\\n docker-client-latest \\\n docker-common \\\n docker-latest \\\n docker-latest-logrotate \\\n docker-logrotate \\\n docker-engine\n\n2. Remove podman-manpages\n\n sudo dnf remove podman-manpages\n\n3. Install Docker 19.03+:\n\n sudo dnf install -y yum-utils\n sudo yum-config-manager \\\n --add-repo \\\n https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo\n sudo dnf install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io\n sudo systemctl start docker\n\n4. Verify you are now running version 19.03+:\n\n sudo docker version\n\n5. Compare your output with the following example to ensure the Client and Server versions are 19.03+ :\n\n Client: Docker Engine - Community\n Version: 19.03.13\n ...\n Server: Docker Engine - Community\n Engine:\n Version: 19.03.13\n\nSet up time synchronization\n---------------------------\n\nTo ensure proper time synchronization, install an NTP service on your machines using any of the available services: [chrony](https://chrony.tuxfamily.org/), [systemd-timesyncd](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/systemd-timesyncd), ntp, or ntpdate. Run `timedatectl` to verify the system clock is synchronized. The output of `timedatectl`should contain the following status: \n\n System clock synchronized: yes"]]