Getting started¶

After installing, these are the initial tweaks for a HERD server. Everything here can be done from the terminal (SSH/console) or from Cockpit.

Access¶

SSH (by key): ssh user@<ip> — remember SSH is key-only (see Install via ISO › Remote access).
Console: physical/IPMI, with the admin user or root.
Cockpit: https://<ip>:9090 (user + password).

Elevate privileges (sudo)¶

The administrator user (wheel group) uses sudo:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Update the system¶

First things first — bring the system up to date:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo systemctl reboot   # if a new kernel was installed

Hostname¶

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname herd-01.example.com

Network¶

The network comes up via DHCP. For a static IP, use NetworkManager (nmcli):

# list connections and the interface
nmcli connection show
nmcli device status

# set a static IP (adjust connection name and values)
sudo nmcli connection modify "System eth0" \
  ipv4.method manual \
  ipv4.addresses 192.168.0.10/24 \
  ipv4.gateway 192.168.0.1 \
  ipv4.dns "1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8"

sudo nmcli connection up "System eth0"

Via Cockpit

You can do the same under Networking in Cockpit, with a graphical interface.

Timezone and time¶

timedatectl                              # current state
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Sao_Paulo

Time synchronization (chronyd) is already active.

Locale / language¶

The system ships pt_BR.UTF-8 and en_US.UTF-8. To change the default:

localectl                                # current state
sudo localectl set-locale LANG=en_US.UTF-8

Users and SSH keys¶

Create another administrator:

sudo useradd -m -G wheel mary
sudo passwd mary
# add their public key:
sudo install -d -m 700 /home/mary/.ssh
echo "ssh-ed25519 AAAA... mary@pc" | sudo tee -a /home/mary/.ssh/authorized_keys
sudo chown -R mary:mary /home/mary/.ssh
sudo chmod 600 /home/mary/.ssh/authorized_keys

You can also manage accounts under Accounts in Cockpit.

Open ports for your applications¶

firewalld only allows SSH and Cockpit by default. For a web service, for example:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

See more in Administration › Firewall.

Next steps¶

Web console (Cockpit)
Security and compliance — run herd-compliance-scan.
Administration — services, storage, logs, updates.

Content produced with AI assistance, under continuous review. Found an error? Open an issue.