To follow and recreate the examples in this book, you will need six to seven systems. One can be your penetration testing system--a box with Kali Linux installed--whereas others can be the systems under test. Alternatively, you can work on a single system and set up a virtual environment with host-only or bridged networks.
Apart from systems or virtualization, you will need the latest ISO of Kali Linux, which already packs Metasploit by default and contains all the other tools that are required for recreating the examples in this book.
You will also need to install Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Windows XP, Windows 7 Home Basic, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R1, Metasploitable 2, Metasploitable 3, and Windows 10 either on virtual machines or live systems, as all these operating systems will serve as the test beds for Metasploit.
Additionally, links to all other required tools and vulnerable software are provided in the chapters.