How to Install Redis on CentOS 7: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Redis is an open-source, in-memory data store that can be used as a caching mechanism and a NoSQL database. It is known for its speed and flexibility, making it a popular choice for a variety of applications. If you’re running CentOS 7 and want to harness the power of Redis, this step-by-step tutorial will guide you through the installation process.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the installation, ensure you have the following:

1. A CentOS 7 server with root or sudo access.
2. An SSH client for connecting to your server.
3. A basic understanding of Linux commands.

Step 1: Update the System

It’s crucial to begin by updating your system’s package repository and packages to ensure you’re working with the latest versions and security patches. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo yum -y update

This command will update your system.

Step 2: Install the EPEL Repository

Redis can be installed from the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository, which contains additional software packages not included in the default CentOS repositories. To install EPEL, use the following command:

sudo yum -y install epel-release

Step 3: Install Redis

Now that you have the EPEL repository installed, you can proceed to install Redis. Run the following command:

sudo yum -y install redis

This command will download and install Redis and its dependencies.

Step 4: Start and Enable Redis

To ensure Redis starts automatically at boot and is currently running, you’ll need to enable and start the Redis service. Run the following commands:

sudo systemctl start redis
sudo systemctl enable redis

You can also check the status of the Redis service using:

sudo systemctl status redis

If Redis is running without any issues, you should see an “active (running)” status in the output.

Step 5: Configure Redis (Optional)

By default, Redis is configured to only accept connections from localhost. If you want to access Redis from other servers or change other configuration settings, you can edit the Redis configuration file. The configuration file is located at /etc/redis.conf.

Use your favorite text editor, like Nano or Vim, to edit the configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/redis.conf

Make the necessary changes, save the file, and then restart the Redis service for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart redis

Step 6: Testing Redis

To test if Redis is working properly, you can use the redis-cli tool to connect to the Redis server:

redis-cli

You should see a Redis prompt. You can now start running Redis commands and interacting with the server. For example, you can set a key-value pair:

set mykey "Hello, Redis!"

To retrieve the value, use:

get mykey

If everything is functioning correctly, you will see “Hello, Redis!” as the output.

Conclusion

You’ve successfully installed Redis on your CentOS 7 server, and you’re now ready to harness the power of this high-performance data store. Redis can be used for various purposes, such as caching, real-time analytics, and more. Be sure to secure your Redis server and configure it according to your specific requirements to make the most of this powerful tool. Happy Redis-ing!