Introduction

Preparing for a DevSecOps certification often raises questions about whether you should use the provided Cloud Labs or set up your own local environment.

The Cloud Labs are the recommended and fully supported environment for the course. They already contain the required tools, configurations, and vulnerable applications, allowing you to focus on learning DevSecOps tactics and techniques rather than spending time configuring infrastructure.

If you would like to experiment with the tools on your own machine, you are welcome to do so. However, local environments are not officially supported because every system is different, and troubleshooting local setup issues is outside the scope of course support.

1. Using the Cloud Labs

Why use the Cloud Labs?

The Cloud Labs are pre-configured with everything you need to complete the course exercises, including:

• Ubuntu operating system

• Required DevSecOps tools

• Pre-configured environments

• Vulnerable applications and images used throughout the course

Because everything is already configured, you can concentrate on learning the tactics, techniques, and workflows rather than installing and troubleshooting software.

For the best learning experience, we recommend completing all course exercises in the provided Cloud Labs.

2. Trying the Tools on Your Own Machine

Can I practice locally?

Yes. You're welcome to install and experiment with the same tools on your own computer if you would like additional hands-on practice.

While this can be a great way to deepen your understanding, your local environment is your own responsibility to configure and maintain.

Our recommendation

If you want to build a local practice environment, we recommend keeping it as simple as possible:

1. Install a virtualization platform such as VirtualBox.

2. Create an Ubuntu virtual machine.

3. Install the same tools used throughout the course.

4. Practice using those tools in your own test environment.

This approach provides a reasonably similar experience while giving you the flexibility to explore the tools outside of the Cloud Labs.

3. Why Local Setups Are Not Officially Supported

Although many learners successfully build local environments, we do not officially support local installations.

This is not because we don't want to support them. Rather, there are simply too many variables that are beyond our control, including:

• Different operating systems

• Different Linux distributions

• Hardware differences

• Virtualization platforms

• Networking configurations

• Package versions

• Existing software conflicts

Because every local environment is unique, it is not practical for our support team to troubleshoot every possible configuration.

If you encounter issues with your own setup, we recommend referring to the documentation for the operating system, virtualization platform, or tools you are using.

4. Cloud Lab Bug-Fix Notification Process

From time to time, we identify and resolve bugs in the Cloud Lab environment that may have affected your exercises — such as broken tool configurations, outdated images, or connectivity issues. If an issue takes time to fix, our team may send follow-up messages through the chat widget and email to keep you informed of progress.

How you are notified

When a Cloud Lab issue you reported has been resolved, you will be informed through one of the following channels:

1. Chat support widget — Follow up in the same chat conversation where you reported the issue. Our team will post an update there once the fix is applied.

2. Email — An email is sent to the address associated with your enrollment when a fix has been deployed. The email explains what was resolved and any steps you may need to take (e.g., resetting your lab machine).

What you should do

• Follow up in the chat support widget where you originally reported the issue to check for updates.

• Check your email (including spam/junk) for notifications after reporting a Cloud Lab issue.

• Reset your lab machine if the notification instructs you to do so. This ensures you are running on the updated lab image with the fix applied.

• Do not attempt to work around Cloud Lab bugs by setting up a local environment — this introduces variables we cannot support and may lead to additional issues.

Important

If a Cloud Lab issue is affecting your progress, always report it through the chat support widget. Our team will investigate, resolve the issue, and notify you via the chat or email once the fix is applied. Setting up a local environment as a workaround is not recommended, as it is not a supported path and may not replicate the Cloud Lab behavior required for the course.

5. Using the hysnsec Images

The hysnsec Docker images are our custom images built specifically for this course. They include the tools, configurations, and vulnerable applications used throughout the training, helping provide a consistent learning experience.

The Cloud Labs already use these images where appropriate, so there is no need to download or configure them when working through the course exercises.

If you choose to practice locally, you may use:

• Our custom hysnsec Docker images (recommended for the closest match to the course environment).

• Your own Docker images or virtual machines containing equivalent tools and vulnerable applications.

Using our custom images can help minimize differences between your local environment and the Cloud Labs, but they are not mandatory unless a course exercise specifically requires them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Cloud Labs are the recommended and supported environment for the course because they already contain everything needed for the exercises. This allows you to spend your time learning DevSecOps tactics and techniques instead of configuring infrastructure.

If you'd like additional hands-on practice, you're welcome to install the tools locally. We recommend using a virtual machine such as VirtualBox running Ubuntu and installing the same tools used throughout the course.

While we're happy for learners to explore local environments, we cannot provide support for local installation issues due to the wide variety of operating systems, hardware, networking configurations, and software versions that are beyond our control.

If you encounter a Cloud Lab issue, always contact our support team. We will investigate, resolve the issue, and notify you through our established notification process — no local workarounds needed.