Just a quick note before the labs begin

The labs in this section are designed for users to set up their own devices so they can complete the learning labs.  The labs in this section are not designed to be homework assignments. We didn’t list means of evidence to show completion of the lab or suggested extensions of the lab as we do in the later parts of the book.

These setup labs have been tested on various devices and by experts and novices alike.  They were tested a lot.  Most of the testers had to start from scratch several times. This is both a good and bad thing.  Good: because the steps are practiced, the links are tried, the screenshots are accurate,  and the processes are tested.  Bad: because many of the testers had wiped and reinstalled so many times that they memorized the processes.  Memorization means that their brain would fill in gaps in the instructions.  A phenomenon I call ‘speeding’. If you encounter a lab where speeding occurred, you should be pretty safe in just accepting the default settings and hitting the ‘Next’ button.

We also used this section to build the student learning lab environment for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Prescott.  After this, Deep Freeze was employed so that if a student screwed things up, they could return to start without having to reinstall, rebuild, or reconfigure GNS3 and the associated VMs.  This worked out well for our lab environment.

Furthermore, the labs are a mixed bag when using Apple devices.  We didn’t have Apple devices to test the labs on, but some students got them working on their devices and some students were unable.  We tested on various instances of Windows and Linux desktops and laptops.

Finally, here is a list of the software versions that were used for these labs:

• GNS3 – ver 2.2.46  (Note: the GNS3 and GNS3 VM versions must be the same)
• GNS3VM – ver 2.2.46
• MikroTik Cloud Hosted Router – ver 7.11.2
• Windows 11 evaluation
• Windows Server 2019 evaluation
• TinyCore – ver 6.6.8
• Ubuntu – ver 24.04
• Ubuntu Server – ver 24.04
• Kali – ver 2024.1 Rolling

Sincerely,
Mathew J. Heath Van Horn, PhD