OPS635-prelab

OPS635 Pre-Lab: Host installation and virtual network setup

Overview

In this lab you will configure the host with basic services and a virtual network that you will build on for the rest of the course.

Pre-Requisites

None.
This will start with a brand-new installation of CentOS on your drive. You may not re-use an installation from previous semesters.

Materials

• One Solid State Drive (SSD), minimum capacity 240GB, in a USB3 Enclosure.
• One installation medium. Either a DVD or USB flash drive configured as an installation disc.

Investigation 1: Host Installation

Install CentOS directly on your drive following the guidelines below:

• Networking should be on.
• Set the hostname of the machine to be host.<domainname>.ops. Check blackboard for your assigned domain name.
• Set the timezone to Americas/Toronto
• Select Server with GUI as the installation type.
• The partition setup will be similar to what you had in previous OPS courses.
  • Delete any old partitions on the drive.
    
  • Provide a separate mount point for '/var/lib/libvirt/images with at least 100GB.
• Set a good root password. No, not ‘P@ssw0rd’.
• Create a non-privileged user account using your MySeneca ID.
  • If your MySeneca ID is long enough that typing it would be irritating to do on a regular basis you may use an alternate name, but you must clear it with me first.

On First Boot

Make sure your machine meets the following conditions:

• Your NIC is set to automatically turn on when the machine does.
• SELinux is set to enforcing.
• The machine must be fully updated.
• Use firewalld as your firewall.
• Install libvirt and virt-manager. Set the virtualization service to start automatically when the machine boots.
• Reboot your machine

Investigation 2: Basic Service Installation

• Configure the postfix service on your host to send and receive email for your domain.
• Install bind and configure your host as the master DNS server for your domain.
  • It must provide forward and reverse lookups of the machines in your domain.
    
  • As the course goes on, you will add entries to your zone for the machines you create.
    
  • Create an MX record to direct all mail sent to users @<yourdomain>.ops to your host.
    
  • It must allow machines in your virtual network to access the outside world (e.g. to get updates).
    
• Ensure both services (postfix and named) start automatically when the machine boots, and allow the traffic for both through your firewall.

Investigation 3: Virtual Network & Machine Installation

• Remove the default virtual network.
• Create a new virtual network called opsnet.
  • Address: 192.168.[x].0/24, where x is the network number on blackboard. E.g. if your network number is 29, your opsnet network will be 192.168.29.0/24.
• Disable DHCP, and allow forwarding to any physical device using NAT.
• Install a new vm using the same CentOS release as the host machine.
  • You may wish to provide the VM access to more than 1 CPU and 1 GiB of RAM so it installs and updates faster.
• During the installation process:
  • Set the hostname to blank.<yourdomain>.ops, using the same domain name as the host machine.
  • Provide your machine with a static address of your choice, using the host’s address for the primary DNS server and the gateway.
  • Set the timezone to Americas/Toronto.
  • Use a minimal installation (no GUI).
  • Set your root password, and create a non-privileged user account using your MySeneca ID.
• If your MySeneca ID is long enough that typing it would be irritating to do on a regular basis you may use an alternate name, but you must clear it with me first.
• Once the machine is installed, ensure it is fully updated.
• Shut down your VM, make sure the resource settings are reduced back to 1 CPU and 1 GiB of RAM.
• When you need a new VM, clone this one.

Submission

It is not necessary to submit this lab. If you wish to confirm that it has been completed correctly, you may ask me to review it in class.