Keeping it simple
At times it is possible to set up a simple lab that meets your testing requirements. Many times, especially in a learning environment, keeping it simple reduces the learning curve and enables quick absorption of the pertinent material rather than being inundated with trivial facts or configuration settings that do not relate. Throughout this book each section attempted to use the minimum system setup required to review the task at hand. This option should not be taken lightly when building out your labs.
No-nonsense test example
Many of the examples of new exploits and vulnerabilities can be tested with a simple configuration such as:
This network is about as simple as it gets (besides simply testing from the target machine itself which could definitely be useful for many situations).
We have a BackTrack machine connected on the same LAN segment as the vulnerable target machine. There is no inline firewall or anything else to get in the way of validating that exploit code...
