SSH in CentOS 7: install - start & stop - enable & disable SSH server

OpenSSH Server Installation and Configuration

OpenSSH Server is available under default yum repositories. Use the following command to install or update the latest OpenSSH server:

#yum install -y openssh openssh-server openssh-clients openssl-libs && systemctl start sshd

Enable SSH Root Login

To enable login as root, modify the main SSH configuration file "sshd_config" with a text editor of your choice. In this example, we'll use vim:

Note: To edit with vim, use "INSERT" key to go into edit mode, and "ESC" key to exit edit mode. After editing, you have two options to save and quit:

1. Press "ESC" key, and type :wq (yes, the colon is included) and hit/press "ENTER"
2. Press "ESC" key, and type :x and hit/press "ENTER"

To edit the file:

#vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find the following line in the file:

#PermitRootLogin without-password

Remove ‘#’ at the beginning of the line, and change ‘without-password’ to ‘yes’ as shown below:

#PermitRootLogin without-password
PermitRootLogin yes

After saving the file with "ESC" :wq or "ESC" :x, restart the sshd service:

#systemctl restart sshd.service

Quick Guide Commands:

Check sshd status:

#systemctl status sshd.service

Install sshd:

#yum install -y openssh openssh-server openssh-clients openssl-libs

Start sshd:

#systemctl start sshd.service

Stop sshd (Do not run if connected via SSH):

#systemctl stop sshd.service

Restart sshd:

#systemctl restart sshd.service

Reload sshd (after config changes):

#systemctl reload sshd.service

If you find this complex or feel insecure, contact our system admins to Enable or Disable root login through SSH on your CentOS server by opening a ticket or using Live Chat.