Gigabyte BRIX : Installing CentOS 7

I was tired of using Ubuntu for different reasons, and I wanted to give a try on CentOS 7.

  • client side steps were performed on a Macbook air running OSX Yosemite 10.10
  • server side steps are done on a Gigabyte BRIX model GB-XM12-3227 rev 1.0

1. Preparing the ISO

Download the ISO from the CentOS official download website. The image is 666 MB.

Convert the ISO to URDW by typing the following in your MacOS terminal

2. Preparing the USB drive

Insert your USB drive, and backup any existent files.
Get the disk name by typing

Partition de disk using the correct disk name

Copy the CentOS image to the USB drive

Eject the disk, and we’re good to go

3. Installing on BRIX

Plug a USB keyboard on the BRIX, plug the USB key, and then press F12 like your life depends on it.

You should be prompted with the boot options. Choose the appropriate one, and from there you shouldn’t face any issues.

I did had to play a little bit with the mouse because the keyboards shortcuts were driving me crazy when I was deleting and creating partitions.

sources :

  • http://blog.tinned-software.net/create-bootable-usb-stick-from-iso-in-mac-os-x/

CentOS 7 : Wi-Fi Hotspot

My Wi-Fi card (RTL8188CE) doesn’t have the reputation one could envy. Since I use ethernet for internet access, find below the steps to create a Wi-Fi hotspot that will allow you to share your internet connection over Wi-Fi on CentOS (I’ve also successfully tested this with Ubuntu 15).

What we want ?

Create a Wi-Fi hotspot that shares the internet connection from the ethernet cable. That’s it.

What will we need ?

I stumbled accros create_ap a few weeks ago. It’s simple, easy to use and it WORKS magi-perfectly. It has a lot of little hacks that addresses some of known issues with some adapters and wifi modes.


1. Install required packages and create_ap

2. Get your network cards information and test

Since CentOS 7 uses a different naming convention for the network cards, find the label of your card by typing

Once you get them, test create_ap :

3. Make create_ap start on boot

Copy the provided .service file to the systemd folder

Modify the create_ap.service file to include your adapters labels and add other desired options.

Mine looks like this :

Enable the create_ap daemon on boot and start it

I might be wrong but after installing, you can delete the create_ap folder

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