Setup & Prerequisites

Complete these steps before the first day (Mon Jul 20). Estimated time: 30–45 min. If you hit a blocker, use the cloud VM — everything in this workshop runs there too.

A laptop on one branch and a remote server rack on the other, both converging with arrows onto a single identical container-stack shape.
Two equivalent paths to the same lab stack
RAM check — do this first

The local Docker labs run comfortably on 16 GB RAM. If your machine has only 8 GB, skip the local Docker setup and use the cloud VM instead (see §4 below). You will still participate in every lab; the cloud VM is a fully equivalent path.

There are also GUI versions of the labs that run in a desktop app with no Docker at all.

How to check: macOS: Apple menu → About This Mac → Memory. Windows: Task Manager → Performance → Memory. Linux: free -h or cat /proc/meminfo | grep MemTotal.

1 Docker Desktop

All workshop labs are packaged as Docker Compose stacks. You need Docker Desktop (or Docker Engine on Linux) installed and running before Day 1.

A dashed boundary box containing four smaller boxes connected by arrows in a chain, with one connector passing through the boundary out to a browser-window shape.
What one lab stack looks like when it comes up
  1. Download Docker Desktop from docker.com/products/docker-desktop(macOS, Windows, or Linux).
  2. Install and launch it. Accept the license agreement.
  3. Open a terminal and verify:
    docker version          # should show Client + Server blocks
docker compose version  # should show v2.x
  4. Run a quick smoke test:
    docker run --rm hello-world
    You should see "Hello from Docker!". If you get a daemon error, make sure Docker Desktop is running (tray icon / menu bar).
Windows usersEnable WSL 2 integration in Docker Desktop settings (Resources → WSL Integration). Run all workshop commands inside a WSL 2 terminal, not PowerShell.
Linux users (no Docker Desktop)Install Docker Engine + the Compose plugin via your distro's package manager or docs.docker.com/engine/install. Add yourself to the docker group and re-login.

2 SSH Client

You will SSH into the cloud lab VM each day. Verify your SSH client works before the workshop.

ssh -V   # OpenSSH_9.x or similar

3 Git (optional but recommended)

Lab bundles are available as tarballs (no git required), but having git lets you clone the repo and stay in sync with any day-of corrections.

git --version   # git version 2.x

If not installed: git-scm.com/downloads.

4 Cloud VM Access Verification

Cloud lab VMs are available as a fallback if your local Docker setup isn't working or if you have ≤ 8 GB RAM. Local Docker is the primary path; the VM is a fully equivalent alternative. Your instructor hands out VM credentials — an IP address and a password — individually at the start of the session.

Once you have your credentials:

  1. Open a terminal and connect:
    ssh workshop@<your-vm-ip>
    Accept the host key fingerprint on first connect, then enter the password from your row. The message shown at login lists the exact command for every Day-1 lab.
  2. Inside the VM, confirm Docker is running:
    docker version
docker compose version
  3. Check available disk space (labs need ~20 GB free):
    df -h /
  4. Exit the VM:
    exit
Can't connect to the VM?Tell the instructor in the session with your IP and the exact error. In the meantime you can keep working through the labs locally with Docker — the two paths run the same stacks.

5 Access Code (for the exam)

On Day 5 you'll take a graded SecAI+ blueprint exam on this site. An access code (SECAI-XXXX) is your exam identity — no account or password required. Codes are distributed at the start of the workshop alongside your VM credentials. Keep it somewhere safe; you get one retake.

Pre-workshop Checklist