Version 1.8. This version is no longer supported. For information about how to upgrade to version 1.9, see Upgrading Anthos on bare metal in the 1.9 documentation. For more information about supported and unsupported versions, see the Version history page 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 the troubleshooting 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:
# Last metadata expiration check: ...
...
google-cloud-sdk.x86_64 ...
Configuring or disabling firewalld
Firewalld can be configured for use with Google Distributed Cloud or disabled. For
information on configuring firewalld, see
Configuring firewalld ports
on 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
Setting 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. Run timedatectl to verify the system clock is synchronized. The output of timedatectlshould 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 page guides users through configuring the base operating system of node machines for Google Distributed Cloud, including CentOS support and root access requirements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers must ensure their package manager is functional by checking for updates and verifying there are no errors in the metadata expiration check.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFirewalld must be either configured for use with Google Distributed Cloud or disabled completely, with instructions provided on how to disable it.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDocker 19.03 or later is required and can be installed manually, with the tool \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e automatically handling the installation or upgrading if needed, however for users that choose to do it manually, steps are included.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTime synchronization is crucial, and users need to install an NTP service and verify that the system clock is synchronized using the \u003ccode\u003etimedatectl\u003c/code\u003e command.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Configuring 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/1.8/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\nConfiguring or disabling 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/1.8/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\nConfiguring Docker 19.03+ on your workstation\n---------------------------------------------\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud helps you install Docker on your bare metal machines in the\nfollowing scenarios:\n\n- If your bare metal machines don't have Docker installed, `bmctl` installs 19.03.13 or later.\n- If your bare metal machines have Docker 19.03.5 or earlier installed, `bmctl` upgrades Docker to version 19.03.13 or later.\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. 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\n3. Verify you are now running version 19.03+:\n\n sudo docker version\n\n4. 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\nSetting 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"]]