VMWare

Overview

In this section, we’ll cover creating a virtual machine (VM) for Security Onion 16.04 in VMWare Workstation Pro 12 (although this should be similar for most VMWare installations).

If you don’t have VMWare Workstation, you could also use VMWare Player, found here:

http://www.vmware.com/products/player/playerpro-evaluation.html

Creating VM

Follow the steps below to install our Security Onion ISO image in VMware:

  1. From VMWare, select File >> New Virtual Machine.
  2. Select Typical installation >> Click Next.
  3. Installer disc image file >> SO ISO file path >> Click Next.
  4. Choose Linux, Ubuntu 64-Bit and click Next.
  5. Specify virtual machine name and click Next.
  6. Specify disk size (min 40GB), store as single file, click Next.
  7. Customize hardware:
  8. Memory – 8GB or more
  9. Processors – 4 CPU cores or more
  10. Network Adapter (NAT or Bridged – if you want to be able to access your Security Onion machine from other devices in the network, then choose Bridged, otherwise choose NAT to leave it behind the host) – in this tutorial, this will be the management interface.
  11. Add >> Network Adapter (Bridged) - this will be the sniffing (monitor) interface.
  12. Click Close.
  13. Click Finish.
  14. Power on the virtual machine.

Sniffing

  • With the sniffing interface in “bridged” mode, you will be able to see all traffic to/from the host machine’s physical NIC. If you would like to see ALL the traffic on your network, you will need a method of forwarding that traffic to the interface to which the virtual adapter is bridged. This can be achieved by switch port mirroring (SPAN), or through the use of a tap.