Minimal CentOS 6.4 Install: Configuring DHCP for IPv4

Historical Post: This article was originally written in 2015. The technology discussed may be outdated or deprecated. Keeping it here for historical reference and to show I’ve been blogging since 2015!

Overview

This tutorial explains how to configure DHCP to obtain an IPv4 address on a freshly installed CentOS 6.4 system for network connectivity.

Initial Setup

First, gain root access:

sudo -su

Verify networking is enabled by checking the network configuration file:

cat /etc/sysconfig/network | grep -i network

The output should display NETWORKING=YES. If not, edit the file to enable it.

Configure eth0 Interface

Edit the ethernet configuration file:

vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

The default file typically contains:

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DEVICE="eth0"
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HWADDR="08:00:27:07:9e:57"
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NM_CONTROLLED="YES"
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ONBOOT="NO"

Add DHCP configuration and modify existing settings:

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DEVICE="eth0"
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HWADDR="08:00:27:07:9e:57"
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NM_CONTROLLED="NO"
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ONBOOT="YES"
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BOOTPROTO="dhcp"

Restart Network Service

Apply the configuration changes:

service network restart

Expected output confirms successful restart with the eth0 interface coming online.

Verify IPv4 Assignment

Check the assigned IP address:

ifconfig

The output displays the newly obtained DHCP IP address (example: 192.168.0.110) with associated network information including broadcast address and subnet mask.

Summary

The configuration is complete once the system obtains an IPv4 address via DHCP and successfully restarts network services.