1. VDI Cyber Range Technical Requirements
Ian Benwell
March 2010
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2. Critical Success Factors
The following Critical Success Factors (CSFs) apply to the technical infrastructure designed for the Cyber Range environment:
Fully functional environment that shows the benefits of our approach. It should provide the level of security as an operational production environment.
Self-contained so it can be moved between locations and duplicated as required. There should be no dependencies on outside resource such as network authentication, backups, etc.
High performance keeping in mind that this is not a fully operational enterprise environment. Scale should be limited wherever possible given the limited capabilities and size of the environment (8 virtual desktops).
Reset-on-demand to limit downtime between test cycle. Any static data should only reside outside the environment.
Application Development
2/26/2018

3. Technical Requirements
Summary
Component
Solution Recommended
Access Infrastructure
VMware View 4.0 Connection Broker, administrator remote access to all machines via Microsoft RDP and local access via KVM
Authentication
Standalone Microsoft Active Directory 2008 implementation
Backup and Restore
External USB hard drives to restore complete system from server images, and additional storage for data exports
Hardware specifications
2X HP ProLiant ML350 G6 E GHz Quad Core SFF 32GB Memory, 4TB disk (4X1TB disks to support RAID 1+0)
Network
Juniper SSG5 or SRX100 that combines router, firewall and IDS capabilities to limit configuration requirements and reduce server overhead
Remote client device
Wyse X90 thin client laptops configured to access virtual desktop infrastructure, with USB access enabled. Dell laptop to manage VMware virtual machines (console and management tools).
Security
Implement FDCC v1.1 guidelines and apply standard virtual desktop tuning configurations used on previous projects
Server OS configuration
Microsoft Windows 2008 x64 Server, or use partner provided virtual machine
Solution Delivery Platform
VMware vSphere to virtualize all desktops and servers
Storage
RAID1+0, supported by HP for optimal balance of performance and availability capabilities
Virtual Desktop configuration
Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and Vista SP2 32-bit workstation images
Application Development
2/26/2018

4. Technical Requirements
Access Infrastructure: VMware View 4.0 Connection Broker, administrator remote access to all machines via Microsoft RDP and local access via KVM
Considerations
Access to free licenses from VMware (View) and Citrix (XenDesktop) using our existing alliance agreements
Initial Recommendations
VMware View 4.0 Connection Broker since its included with vSphere and so we can use link clones to quickly re-provision virtual desktops between test runs.
Rationale
No need for advantages associated with XenDesktop such as ICA protocol for performance over WANs, HDX for multimedia or universal printing capabilities
Application Development
2/26/2018

5. Technical Requirements
Authentication: Standalone Microsoft Active Directory 2008 infrastructure
Considerations
Microsoft Active Directory required to manage XP and Vista deployed desktops
Initial Recommendations
Deploy a standalone Microsoft Active Directory 2008 infrastructure
Evaluate Group Policies that may be required for the View and vSphere environment (i.e. VMware best practices)
Rationale
Integrate AD Group Policies into virtual desktop infrastructure to manage desktop environment
Accenture Defense Team has experience deploying Microsoft Active Directory environments
Application Development
2/26/2018

6. Technical Requirements
Backup and Restore: External USB hard drives to restore complete system from server images, and additional storage for data exports
Considerations
Standalone environment with no data center backup services available
Limited needed for backup since environment will be reset to baseline frequently between test runs
Need to export data occasionally for further analysis
Initial Recommendations
Start with 6TB of USB 2.0 external drive space. Format drives as either ext2 or 3 since vSphere does not support NTFS over USB
Create Symantec Ghost images of servers for quick restores (4TB)
Maintain an additional 2TB of storage space for data exports
Rationale
Standalone portable environment limits backup options to USB hard-drives
Application Development
2/26/2018

7. Technical Requirements
Hardware specifications: 2X HP ProLiant ML350 G6 E GHz Quad Core SFF 32GB Memory, 4TB disk (incl. 4X1TB disks per server to support RAID 1+0).
Considerations
HP M-Class towers support Intel VT virtualization in a Tower form factor
Initial Recommendation
Procure 2X HP ProLiant ML350 servers to support the environment
Also include KVM and monitor for direct access to the servers
Utilize CPU and memory over-subscription feature in vSphere
Host1: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Host2: Data mining, analytics, admin
Rationale
Server tower form-factor makes it easier to mover servers
Application Development
2/26/2018

8. Technical Requirements
Network: Juniper SSG5 or SRX100 that combines router, firewall and IDS capabilities to limit configuration requirements and reduce server overhead
Considerations
Must support uploads to ArcSight repository (directly, or via UTM interface)
Scale to support logging required during demonstrations
Initial Recommendations
Juniper SSG 5 or SRX100 to simplify configuration and offload network resources from server infrastructure (e.g. when virtualizing network components)
Enable DNS proxy on Juniper device to cache DNS requests (still needs DNS configured on Active Directory)
Rationale
Offload processing to dedicated hardware
Reset between tests can be done quickly from console
Application Development
2/26/2018

9. Technical Requirements
Remote Client Device: Wyse X90 thin client laptops configured to access virtual desktop infrastructure, with USB access enabled. Dell laptop to manage VMware virtual machines (console and management tools).
Considerations
Need low-maintenance device that provide direct access to virtual desktops
Use laptop form factor for thin client devices to reduce physical footprint during demonstrations
Initial Recommendations
Procure Wyse X90 thin client laptops, configured to access the Cyber Range virtual desktop infrastructure for demonstrations
Produce Dell laptop to host VMware management tools
Rationale
Use thin client laptops for low maintenance that are easy to configure with less moving parts than a standard PC or laptop
Application Development
2/26/2018

10. Technical Requirements
Security: Implement FDCC v1.1 guidelines and apply standard virtual desktop tuning configurations used on previous projects (in addition to overall security configuration being enabled by McAfee, Triumf, ArcSight and SAS)
Considerations
Demonstration users will be granted full access to virtual desktops
Need to match environment to a typical Dept of Defense agency setup
Initial Recommendations
Implement FDCC v1.1 guidelines for standard Windows XP and Vista desktops
Enable access to USB drives for testing during demonstrations so users can run tools to test the security of the environment
Rationale:
Need to ensure virtual desktops meet FDCC requirements
Application Development
2/26/2018

11. Technical Requirements
Server Software configuration: Microsoft Windows 2008 x64 Server, or use vendor provided virtual machine
Considerations:
Access to free licenses from Microsoft technologies using our existing alliance agreements
Authentication will be managed using Active Directory services
Initial Recommendations:
Deploy Microsoft Windows 2008 x64 Server when as the default choice when a virtual machine is not provided by a vendor
Rationale:
Accenture Defense team has experience deploying Microsoft Windows servers
Application Development
2/26/2018

12. Technical Requirements
Software Delivery Platform: VMware vSphere to virtualize all desktops and servers
Considerations:
Need to virtualize all software components to maintain agility in the environment so we can run multiple iterations of use cases over short periods of time during demonstrations.
Access to free licenses from VMware (vSphere), Citrix (XenServer) and Microsoft (Hyper-V) virtualization technologies using our existing alliance agreements
Initial Recommendations:
Deploy VMware vSphere to support virtualization infrastructure for the Cyber TechLab. All OS components will be virtualized.
Rationale:
Accenture Defense team has experience with VMware virtualization technologies including ESX and View
We can start building virtual machines now using existing VMware TechLab hosted by Accenture Defense Team
Application Development
2/26/2018

13. Technical Requirements
Storage: RAID1+0, supported by HP, for optimal balance of performance and availability capabilities
Considerations:
Access to free licenses from Microsoft technologies using our existing alliance agreements
Authentication will be managed using Active Directory services
Initial Recommendations:
RAID1+0, supported by HP that will require 4 separate disks (disk 2 will mirror 1 and 3 will mirror 4 and then ½ and ¾ will contain a stripe set.
Rationale:
San Antonio team has experience deploying Microsoft Windows servers
Application Development
2/26/2018

14. Technical Requirements
Virtual Desktop configuration: Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and Vista SP2 32-bit workstation images
Considerations:
FDCC Major Version 1.1 (as with all previous versions) applies only to Windows XP SP2 and Vista desktop and laptop computers.
Infrastructure will be deployed using vSphere and View technologies
Initial Recommendations:
Deploy XP SP2 and Vista SP2 to match current FDCC standards.
Use 32-bit to ensure maximum compatibility with software drivers and typical workstations builds deployed Department of Defense and other potential clients.
Rationale:
Support key business requirements of environment to test FDCC compliance. Environment can support additional desktop configurations as required.
Application Development
2/26/2018