Building Docker & Kubernetes Network & Security Lab for Free

Explore a Docker and Kubernetes lab overview focused on network and security concepts, offered for free.

Explore the Docker and Kubernetes network and security resources, using Ubuntu servers and Kali client, with at least 30 GB RAM for Nexus 9000v and Big IP Virtual Edition images.

Explore a flat 192.168.0/24 network topology used for docker-based cybersecurity labs, including python programming setups, attacker using Kali Linux, and normal user clients, with containers downloaded from docker hub.

Build a management network topology by linking a management switch to the router, assigning a default gateway for all lab hosts, and managing Linux servers, F5, and Cisco devices.

Download Linux images, upload them to the lab, and build Ubuntu and Kali Linux hosts; configure a management network with DHCP for SSH access.

Set up a Docker and Kubernetes lab by downloading and transferring Ubuntu and Kali Linux images, then organize them in the Eve Energy environment for lab nodes.

Deploy and configure network devices using Eve Energy, including Cisco F5, Arista, and Cisco Nexus 9000, to build a topology with Ubuntu and Kali servers.

Build an Arista switch for the docker and kubernetes network lab by downloading Arista software, converting vmdk to qcow2, and deploying in eve-ng.

Download the Nexus 9000 image, upload it to the lab, create a new Nexus 9000 node, and boot it connected to the management network.

Download and configure the F5 BIG-IP virtual edition (14.1.4.3) for a KVM-based lab, including upload, unzip, rename, and permission setup to power a ready network security lab.

Perform the initial switch configuration by canceling zero-touch provisioning, logging in as admin, setting hostname data, creating admin credentials, configuring the boot image, and saving the running configuration.

Configure Arista and Cisco Nexus 9000 switches for Docker and Kubernetes networking by setting up SVI and management interfaces, enabling IP routing, configuring routes and DNS, and then test connectivity.

Install docker on the prepared Linux hosts and configure the topology with a master and three workers, assigning dedicated hostnames to ensure the infrastructure is fully functional.

Set up user access by adding a user to the Docker group and verify, then configure and apply hostnames across the master and three worker nodes, validating changes after reconnect.

Test access to a containerized web app by pulling the image from Docker Hub, running the container, and verifying access from Kali Linux and client via Firefox on port 880.

Change the Docker cgroup driver by updating the configuration and restarting the system. Verify the Docker service is active and running with systemctl status docker.

Learn to deploy Kubernetes signing keys, configure repositories, and install essential Kubernetes tools across master and worker nodes, ensuring cluster readiness and disabling swapping.

Initialize the Kubernetes control plane on the master, configure the pod network CIDR and API server address, then join worker nodes and verify cluster status.

Deploy a flannel CNI to set up Kubernetes networking, verify pod and node readiness, and enable metrics to monitor cluster resource utilization.

Test a Kubernetes cluster by deploying four pods with a yaml manifest and verifying their distribution across worker nodes and ip addresses. Clean up by deleting the pods.

Configure and verify Kubernetes nodes communicate over the data network 192.168.10.0/24 by updating per-node IPs in the admin configuration and restarting services, then confirm with kubectl get nodes.