Linux kernel development is perhaps the world's largest collaborative project to date. With CentOS 8 Essentials, you’ll be given easily accessible information to install, use, and administer the CentOS 8 distribution. The book begins with a concise history of the Linux operating system and CentOS. You’ll then learn how to install CentOS 8 using the dual boot configuration so that it can coexist with Windows on the same drive. After installing CentOS, you’ll learn GNOME 3 — the desktop environment included with CentOS 8 that helps you navigate through the distribution. As you progress, you’ll explore the Cockpit web interface that enables you to perform tasks via a web browser instead of using the command-line. You’ll then take a brief tour of the Bash shell environment and learn ways to administer a system that doesn’t have a desktop or a Cockpit interface. While learning advanced concepts, you’ll see how to manage swap space efficiently and control the performance of CentOS 8. By the end of the book, you’ll have all the essential information you need to comfortably start using the CentOS 8 distribution.