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To carry out certain actions, you may need to become root. These include:

• Installing packages
• Selecting a password for a user or root user (This is necessary for KVM access)
• Carrying out certain administrative tasks

Prerequisites

• You must be logged in as the default user (admin or the distribution name for the most recent images)

Information

We are assuming in this guide that the default user is called admin.

Enter a password

• Enter a password for the admin user (For security reasons, the password will not be shown as you type it):

~$ sudo passwd
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated 
successfully

Further examples

• Update repositories (Debian/Ubuntu)

~$ sudo apt-get update

• Update the system (CentOS/Fedora)

~$ sudo yum update

• Edit a configuration file:

~$ sudo vi /etc/hosts.allow

Become root

~$ sudo su -
~#

• Enter a root password (after becoming root):

~# passwd
Enter new UNIX password: 
Retype new UNIX password: 
passwd: password updated successfully

• Enter a password for the admin user

~# passwd admin
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully