Important! Bring your own system configured according to these instructions!
A properly configured system is required to fully participate in this course. If you do not carefully read and follow these instructions, you will likely leave the class unsatisfied because you will not be able to participate in hands-on exercises that are essential to this course. Therefore, we strongly urge you to arrive with a system meeting all the requirements specified for the course.
Mandatory: Students must bring their own GCP account to complete the exercises. Please ensure that you have done the following before class starts:
Google Cloud Platform
- Create a Google account.
- Sign up for a GCP free trial.
BRING YOUR OWN LAPTOP CONFIGURED USING THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS:
A properly configured system is required for each student participating in this course. Before starting the course, carefully read and follow these instructions exactly:
- Download and install VMware Workstation or VMware Fusion on your system prior to the start of the class.
- If you own a licensed copy of VMware, make sure it is at least VMware Workstation Pro 15+, VMware Fusion 11+.
- If you do not own a licensed copy of VMware, download a free 30-day trial copy from VMware. VMware will send you a time-limited serial number if you register for the trial on its website.
Mandatory Host Hardware Requirements
- CPU: 64-bit 2.5+ GHz multi-core processor or higher
- BIOS/UEFI: VT-x, AMD-V, or the equivalent must be enabled in the BIOS/UEFI
- Hard Disk: Solid-State Drive (SSD) is MANDATORY with 50GB of free disk space minimum
- Memory: 16GB of RAM or higher is mandatory for this class (IMPORTANT! 16GB of RAM is MANDATORY)
- Working USB 2.0 or higher port
- Wireless Ethernet 802.11 B/G/N/AC
- Local Administrator Access within your host operating system
Mandatory Host Operating System Requirements
You must use a 64-bit laptop with one of the following operating systems that have been verified to be compatible with course VMware image:
- Windows (8 or 10)
- Mac OS X (Catalina, Mojave) Note: Apple systems using the M1 processor cannot perform the necessary virtualization at this time and cannot be used for this course.
Mandatory Software Requirements
Prior to class, ensure that the following software is installed on the host operating system:
- VMware Workstation Pro 15+, VMware Fusion 11+
- Zip File Utility (7Zip or the built-in operating system zip utility)
In summary, before beginning the course you should:
- Have a laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD), 16GB of RAM, and a 64-bit operating system
- Install VMware (Workstation or Fusion)
- Windows Only: Verify that the BIOS settings have the Intel VT virtualization extensions enabled
- Register a NEW GCP free-tier account prior to the start of class at https://console.cloud.google.com/freetrial
If you have additional questions about the laptop specifications, please contact laptop_prep@sans.org.