MSU Project - Mark LaBarbara

01

Initial Server Setup

Pre-installation Tasks:

1. Download Proxmox VE

Get the latest version of Proxmox Virtual Environment:

Download Proxmox VE ISO

2. Create Bootable USB

Choose your preferred USB creation tool:

Windows Users: Download Rufus

Mac Users: Download balenaEtcher

Linux Users: ...if you're using Linux I am sure you know what to do. dd will work fine

sudo dd if=/path/to/proxmox.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

3. BIOS/UEFI Configuration

Ensure the following settings are enabled in your BIOS/UEFI:

Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) or AMD-V
Intel VT-d or AMD IOMMU (if available)
USB Boot Support
Legacy USB Support (if using older hardware)

02

Proxmox Installation

The installation process consists of three main phases. For detailed instructions, you can refer to our MSU Project Installation Guide or the Official Proxmox Documentation.

Phase 2: Base Installation

Boot from USB and start installer
Configure storage and partitioning
Set up network and system settings
Complete base system installation

Phase 3: Initial Configuration

Access web interface (https://your-server-ip:8006)
Configure storage and networking
Update system packages
Enable required services

MSU Project Notes

Use a static IP address for stable remote access
Enable SSH for Ansible automation
Configure system for Kasm Workspaces compatibility
Follow security hardening guidelines

03

Initial Configuration

Post-Installation Setup:

Repository Configuration

    apt update
    apt upgrade -y
    apt install vim -y

SSH Configuration

Enable SSH access and configure key-based authentication:

    vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
    # Enable these lines:
    PermitRootLogin yes
    PubkeyAuthentication yes

04

Remote Development Setup

Now that we have our Proxmox server up and running, we need to set up our local development environment to manage it. This section covers the installation of essential DevOps tools that will allow us to:

Automate infrastructure deployment using Ansible
Manage infrastructure as code with Terraform
Version control our configurations using Git
Securely access our Proxmox server via SSH

Choose the setup instructions below that match your local operating system. After installation, we'll configure SSH keys for secure remote access and verify that everything is working correctly.

Note: These tools will be installed on your local machine, not the Proxmox server. They allow you to manage your Proxmox infrastructure remotely.

MacOS Setup

Install required tools using Homebrew:

# Install Homebrew if not already installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install required packages
brew install ansible
brew install terraform
brew install python3
brew install git

Linux Setup (Ubuntu/Debian)

Install required packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ansible python3-pip git
sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
wget -O- https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install terraform

Windows Setup

Install required tools using PowerShell:

# Install Chocolatey if not already installed
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

# Install required packages
choco install ansible
choco install terraform
choco install python3
choco install git

Common Configuration Steps

Next Steps

Now that you have installed the required tools for your operating system, the following steps are common across all environments. These steps will set up secure access to your Proxmox server and verify that everything is working correctly.

SSH Key Configuration

Generate and configure SSH keys for remote access:

# Generate SSH key pair
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

# Copy public key to Proxmox server
ssh-copy-id root@your-proxmox-ip

Verify Installation

Verify that all tools are installed correctly:

ansible --version
terraform --version
python3 --version
git --version

# Test SSH connection
ssh root@your-proxmox-ip

05

Infrastructure Deployment

In this section, we'll deploy our development environment using Terraform to provision infrastructure on Proxmox and configure Kasm workspaces with Kali Linux. This automated approach ensures consistency and repeatability in your setup.

Note: Before proceeding, ensure you have completed all previous sections and have Terraform installed on your local machine.

Prerequisites

Basic understanding of YAML and HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language)

Step 1: Terraform Configuration

First, create a new directory for your Terraform files:

    mkdir terraform-kasm-deploy
    cd terraform-kasm-deploy

Create the following configuration files:

provider.tf

terraform {
    required_providers {
        proxmox = {
        source = "telmate/proxmox"
        version = "2.9.14"
        }
    }
    }

    provider "proxmox" {
    pm_api_url = "https://${var.proxmox_host}:8006/api2/json"
    pm_api_token_id = var.pm_api_token_id
    pm_api_token_secret = var.pm_api_token_secret
    pm_tls_insecure = true
    }

variables.tf

variable "proxmox_host" {
    description = "Proxmox host IP or FQDN"
    type = string
    }

    variable "pm_api_token_id" {
    description = "Proxmox API token ID"
    type = string
    }

    variable "pm_api_token_secret" {
    description = "Proxmox API token secret"
    type = string
    sensitive = true
    }

    variable "ssh_key" {
    description = "SSH public key for VM access"
    type = string
    }

main.tf

resource "proxmox_vm_qemu" "kasm_server" {
    count = 1
    name = "kasm-workspace-${count.index + 1}"
    target_node = var.proxmox_node
    clone = var.template_name
    os_type = "cloud-init"
    cores = 4
    sockets = 1
    cpu = "host"
    memory = 8192
    scsihw = "virtio-scsi-pci"
    bootdisk = "scsi0"
    agent = 1

    disk {
        size = "50G"
        type = "scsi"
        storage = "local-lvm"
    }

    network {
        model = "virtio"
        bridge = "vmbr0"
    }

    cloud_init = true
    cicustom = "user=local:snippets/cloud-init-kasm.yml"

    ipconfig0 = "ip=dhcp"
    }

Step 2: Cloud-Init Template

Create a cloud-init template for automated Kasm workspace deployment:

#cloud-config
    users:
    - name: kasm
        sudo: ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
        groups: sudo
        shell: /bin/bash
        ssh_authorized_keys:
        - ${ssh_key}

    package_update: true
    package_upgrade: true

    packages:
    - curl
    - wget
    - git
    - docker.io
    - docker-compose

    runcmd:
    - systemctl start docker
    - systemctl enable docker
    - curl -O https://kasm-static-content.s3.amazonaws.com/kasm_release_1.10.0.238225.tar.gz
    - tar -xf kasm_release_1.10.0.238225.tar.gz
    - bash kasm_release/install.sh

Step 3: Deployment

Execute the Terraform deployment:

   # Initialize Terraform
    terraform init

    # Review the deployment plan
    terraform plan

    # Apply the configuration
    terraform apply

Verification Steps:

Access the Kasm web interface at https://your-vm-ip:443
Complete the initial setup wizard
Verify user authentication
Test Kali Linux workspace launch
Confirm development tools availability

Troubleshooting

Terraform Provider Issues

Verify Proxmox API token permissions
Check network connectivity
Confirm SSL/TLS settings

Cloud-Init Template Problems

Validate YAML syntax
Check cloud-init logs: /var/log/cloud-init.log
Verify template accessibility in Proxmox

Kasm Workspace Access

Check firewall rules
Verify SSL certificate configuration
Review Kasm service logs

MSU Denver Project: Secure Development Environment

Prerequisites

Hardware Requirements

Software Requirements

Network Requirements

Required Knowledge

Installation Process

Initial Server Setup

Pre-installation Tasks:

1. Download Proxmox VE

2. Create Bootable USB

3. BIOS/UEFI Configuration

Proxmox Installation

Phase 2: Base Installation

Phase 3: Initial Configuration

MSU Project Notes

Initial Configuration

Post-Installation Setup:

Repository Configuration

SSH Configuration

Remote Development Setup

MacOS Setup

Linux Setup (Ubuntu/Debian)

Windows Setup

Next Steps

SSH Key Configuration

Verify Installation

Infrastructure Deployment

Prerequisites

Step 1: Terraform Configuration

provider.tf

variables.tf

main.tf

Step 2: Cloud-Init Template

Step 3: Deployment

Verification Steps:

Troubleshooting

Terraform Provider Issues

Cloud-Init Template Problems

Kasm Workspace Access