The Security Engineer
Building a Cybersecurity Lab: Part 1

Building a Cybersecurity Lab: Part 1

Lab Environment Setup

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Oluwatimilehin Alabi
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4 min read

Table of contents

Building a cybersecurity lab provides a controlled environment to test and enhance your skills in protecting systems against cyber threats. This guide will walk you through the initial steps of setting up a cybersecurity lab, including downloading necessary software, installing VMware Workstation, and creating virtual machines.

We’ll start by downloading the necessary ISO files, installing VMware Workstation, and setting up virtual machines. Let’s dive in!

Lab Environment Setup

Installing VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation Pro is a powerful virtualization software that allows us to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. Following Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, the Pro version is now free for personal use, making it an excellent choice for setting up our cybersecurity lab.

Installation Steps:

1. Download VMware Workstation Pro 17 from Broadcom’s official website.

2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

3. Restart your machine after installation for optimal performance.

Downloading ISO Files

We need two ISO files for our virtual machines:

• Windows Server 2019 ISO – Download from Microsoft’s official evaluation center.

• Windows 10 Evaluation ISO – Also available from Microsoft's official evaluation center.

  • Use the dropdown in the menu to view other available versions.

Store these files in an easily accessible location, as we will use them in the next step.

Creating Virtual Machines

We can now create our virtual machines with VMware installed and the ISO files ready.

Steps:

  1. Open VMware Workstation and click “Create a New Virtual Machine.”

  2. Select “Typical” installation.

  1. Load the downloaded ISO file.

  2. Configure the virtual machine settings:

    CPU & Memory: At least 2 cores and 4GB RAM for Windows 10, 4GB RAM for the server.

    I am using a laptop with 16GB of RAM; tweak this based on your available RAM. A minimum of 8GB is recommended.

  3. Storage: 60GB for the server and 40GB for the client.

  4. Network Adapter: Set to “Vmnet0” for isolated lab testing.

    Windows Server 2019 Setup

    1. Select Windows Server 2019 Standard (Desktop Experience) to enable GUI.

    2. Skip the Product Key section.

    3. Set an administrator password when prompted.

    4. Uncheck power on the machine.

    5. Click “Finish”.

    6. Edit machine settings and remove “Autoinstall floppy disk”.

    7. Power on the machine and install manually.

      • Ensure to select Desktop experience when installing to have GUI.

    8. After installation you would be prompted to set admin password, set password.

    9. Install VMware Tools after installation for smooth integration.

Windows 10 Pro Setup

  1. Select Windows 10 Pro during installation.

  2. Skip the Product Key section.

  3. Let VMware handle the setup process.

Enabling Ping in Windows Firewall

By default, ICMP (Ping) requests are blocked on Windows OS. To enable them:

  1. Open Windows Defender Firewall (wf.msc).

    • (Press Windows Key + R, type wf.msc, and hit Enter.)

  2. Go to Inbound Rules → Find File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request – ICMPv4-In).

  3. Right-click → Enable Rule.

  4. Repeat on second VM

Testing Connectivity

  1. On the Windows 10 client, open Command Prompt and run:

     ipconfig

  2. Note the as properlysigned IP address.

  3. Ping the Windows Server:

     ping 192.168.100.142

  4. If the Windows Server responds, the connection is successful.

  5. Repeat this step on the Windows Server to ensure it can communicate with the Windows 10 VM.

Opening Ports in Windows Firewall

  1. Open Windows Defender Firewall (wf.msc).

    • (Press Windows Key + R, type wf.msc, and hit Enter.)

  2. Click Inbound Rules → New Rule.

  3. Select Port → Next.

  4. Choose TCP, enter the following ports, and click Next:

    • 389 (LDAP - Active Directory)

    • 22 (SSH)

    • 443 (HTTPS)

    • 3389 (RDP - Remote Desktop)

  5. Allow the connection and apply the rule.

  6. Repeat the same steps for Outbound Rules.

7. Ensure these rules are applied to both machines.

With our virtual machines set up, we've laid the groundwork for our cybersecurity lab. This environment will allow you to safely explore and test various cybersecurity tools and techniques. In the next part, we'll move on to Network Configuration and setting up Active Directory, further enhancing your lab's capabilities. Stay tuned! 🚀

If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out in the comments.

windows serverWindowsWindows 10Microsoft#cybersecurityHomelabvirtual machineComputer SciencevirtualizationvmwareFirewallsinformation security