Basic System Administration Course - Module 1

Module 1 Lab: Introduction to System Administration

Objective

By the end of this lab, students will:

• Understand the role of a system administrator.
• Differentiate between server and workstation environments.
• Gain a basic understanding of virtualisation concepts.
• Navigate the EVE-NG interface and create simple nodes and networks.

Prerequisites

• Access to an EVE-NG environment (self-installed or Colourfi pre-configured machine).
• A web browser to access EVE-NG.
• Basic knowledge of IP addressing is helpful but not mandatory.

Lab Setup

1. Log in to your EVE-NG environment.
2. Ensure you have access to at least 2 virtual nodes (one Windows VM, one Linux VM recommended for later modules).
3. Have a basic topology area available to create nodes and links.

Module 1 Learning Objectives

Overview of System Administration Roles

Responsibilities of a sysadmin:

• User and group management
• Server and workstation deployment
• Security and patch management
• Network configuration
• Backup and recovery

Understanding Server vs. Workstation Environments

key differences:

• Servers often run headless or minimal GUI, provide services to multiple users.
• Workstations are user-focused with full GUI and productivity apps.

Feature	Server	Workstation
GUI	Minimal/optional	Full
Purpose	Provide services	User productivity
Number of users	Multiple	Single

Introduction to Virtualisation Concepts

Understand the concept of virtual machines and hypervisors:

• Type 1 hypervisor: runs directly on hardware (e.g., ESXi, Hyper-V)
• Type 2 hypervisor: runs on host OS (e.g., VirtualBox, VMware Workstation)

Module 1 Hands On Lab

Step 1: Exploring the EVE-NG Interface

1. Log in to EVE-NG web interface.
2. Navigate the main menu:

• Lab View – shows topology and nodes
• Node Management – add/remove nodes
• Topology Connections – connect nodes via virtual links

Step 2: Creating Basic Nodes and Networks

Create a new lab:

• Lab name: Module1_Lab

• Node 1: Linux Server 24.04 VM
• Node 2: Windows 11 VM

1. Connect the nodes using a virtual link.
2. Start both nodes.
3. Set static ip addresses on each machine

VM	IP Address	Subnet Mask	Gateway
Windows 11	192.168.10.10	255.255.255.0	192.168.10.1
Ubuntu 24.04	192.168.10.11	255.255.255.0	192.168.10.1

1. Open the console for each node to verify connectivity (you can ping each other later if IP addresses are configured).

Step 3: Setup Ubuntu as web server:

On the ubuntu server install apache2

sudo apt update sudo apt install apache2

On your windows 11 VM open edge and navigate to http://192.168.10.10

Step 4: Documentation

Submit this on ColourFi LMS (subscribers only)

1. Take a screenshot of your lab topology with nodes and links.
2. Label which node is server, which is workstation.
3. What is Apache2
4. Submit a short paragraph describing your first experience with EVE-NG and what you learned about sysadmin roles and virtualization.

Expected Outcomes

• Students can identify server vs. workstation roles.
• Students can navigate the EVE-NG interface.
• Students can create at least two nodes and connect them via a virtual network.
• Students understand basic virtualization concepts.