Python / Linux / VMware 1: Installing CentOS

I'm trying to expand my knowledge of Linux and Python. I'm taking a "start from scratch" approach, building some virtual environments at home, and documenting every step along the way. This is the first of five posts capturing those steps; the end-state is PyCharm IDE, Python 3.6, CentOS 7.3, VMware Workstation Pro 12 running on Windows 10.

This is Part 1: Installing VMware and CentOS
Part 2: Expanding CentOS's Minimal Install
Part 3: Installing Python 3.6
Part 4: Linking PyCharm to Github via SSH
Part 5: Running through Git-It again, this time with PyCharm

Create the Virtual Machine

As part of creating your Virtual Machine, it's useful to already have an image of the operating system you want to install - so go to https://www.centos.org/download/ and click on Minimal ISO, then choose one of those files to download the latest version of CentOS. Odds are good that you're going to want the 64-bit version.

In VMware, click on Create a New Virtual Machine to start the wizard. You'll be prompted to choose your configuration type; stick with Typical and click on Next.

Learning Python and Linux on VMware in Windows

I've been a reasonably technical guy for a long time, but I've lost touch over time with my technical roots as I've focused more on management and leadership. When I think about that too much, it makes me a little sad, because I always have a lot of fun figuring out technical puzzles or otherwise solving problems.

Sometimes this will bubble up into side projects. I've always been a fan of Excel (don't laugh) for data analysis and visualization, I've hunted down some elusive problems in data centers using my own Splunk server, I've learned a little bit of Groovy so I could do some automation in Jira, and so forth. These are almost always emergent, though, so I learn just enough to accomplish my specific goal, and then stop.

My background is in Windows (my first MCSE, for example, focused on NT 4.0 and Exchange 5.5) and storage (everything from tuning two-drive RAID-1 arrays to the bigger multi-rack stuff - DAS, SAN, NAS, JBODs, tape robots, etc). My Linux knowledge, though, has always been of the "learn what I need to know" variety. I'm sort of like an tourist that's memorized a good German phrasebook - I could be situationally proficient, but couldn't necessarily write an article for Welt.