Glossary

Terms used throughout the range42 project.

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CODENAME

A short name that identifies a Proxmox infrastructure (a physical server or cluster). Used in directory names, SSH config, key names.

Examples: hv-lab-01, lab-proxmox-01, proxmox-home

One CODENAME = one Proxmox server. You can have multiple CODENAMEs if you manage multiple Proxmox servers.

SCENARIO

A lab environment deployed on a CODENAME infrastructure. Each scenario defines which VMs to create, how to configure them, and what services to run.

Examples: demo_lab, ctf_game_01, misp_lab

One CODENAME can host multiple scenarios. Each combination CODENAME-SCENARIO is an independent workspace with its own credentials, config, and secrets.

CODENAME-SCENARIO

The fundamental unit of range42. Everything is organized by this pair:

~/range42.config/hv-lab-01-demo_lab/          — workspace
~/.ssh/range42/hv-lab-01-demo_lab/            — SSH keys
~/.ssh/config_range42-hv-lab-01-demo_lab      — SSH config

Workspace

A directory at ~/range42.config/CODENAME-SCENARIO/ on the deployer-cli. Contains everything specific to one deployment:

~/range42.config/CODENAME-SCENARIO/
├── inventory/          — Ansible inventory for this lab
├── ssh_keys/           — backup of all SSH keys
├── secrets/            — encrypted vault + vault password
├── bin/                — utility scripts
├── sourced_range42.sh  — environment variables
└── scenario            — symlink to the scenario playbooks

Deployer-CLI

The machine where you run Ansible playbooks and manage the lab. Can be your laptop, a dedicated VM, or any Linux machine with SSH access to the Proxmox server.

The deployer-cli holds:

• ~/range42/ — git repos (shared across all workspaces)
• ~/range42.config/ — workspaces (one per CODENAME-SCENARIO)
• ~/.ssh/range42/ — SSH keys (one set per CODENAME-SCENARIO)

Jump host

The lab VMs run on a private network (e.g. 192.168.42.x). They are not directly reachable from outside. To reach them, SSH bounces through a "jump host" — usually the Proxmox server itself:

[your machine] --SSH--> [Proxmox / jump_user] --SSH--> [VM: 192.168.42.x]

This happens automatically via ProxyJump in the SSH config. You just type ssh r42.admin-wazuh and SSH handles the bounce.

Vault

An Ansible vault file (default_vault.yml) that stores all secrets for a CODENAME-SCENARIO: API tokens, passwords, SSH public keys, Tailscale keys.

The file is encrypted with ansible-vault. The password to decrypt it is in vault_pass.txt in the same directory (intentional by design — the deployer-cli is a trusted machine).

Context

The currently active workspace on the deployer-cli. Only one context is active at a time. Switching context changes:

• which SSH config is active (which VMs you can reach)
• which environment variables are loaded (which inventory, which paths)
• which vault password file is used
• the zsh prompt shows the active context in green

Switch with: range42-context use <codename> <scenario>

range42-context

A zsh function available on the deployer-cli. Central tool for managing workspaces.

Workspace:

Command	What it does
range42-context list	list all available workspaces
range42-context current	show the active workspace
range42-context use <codename> <scenario>	switch to a workspace
range42-context status	health check (vault, SSH keys, inventory, symlinks)
range42-context init	launch the setup wizard from anywhere

Navigation:

Command	What it does
range42-context cd config	go to workspace config directory
range42-context cd scenario	go to scenario playbooks directory
range42-context cd secrets	go to vault/secrets directory

Operations:

Command	What it does
range42-context deploy	run full scenario setup (templates + VMs)
range42-context deploy-vms	deploy VMs only (skip template download, faster)
range42-context delete	delete all scenario VMs + templates
range42-context delete-vms	delete VMs only (keep templates for fast redeploy)
range42-context reset	delete + recreate all VMs
range42-context ssh-reload	reload SSH keys for the active workspace

Info:

Command	What it does
range42-context show-vault	show ansible vault contents (decrypted on the fly)
range42-context show-config	show workspace orientation (paths + SSH hosts)
range42-context show-inventory	show the Ansible inventory tree
range42-context ssh <pattern>	quick SSH to a VM by partial name (e.g. ssh wazuh)
range42-context help	show all commands

Catalog testing:

Fast-iteration mode for deploying a single catalog element on a disposable VM (the catalog_try scenario) without rebuilding a full lab. See range42-catalog for the available elements.

Command	What it does
range42-context catalog-try <path>	deploy + smoke-check a single catalog element on the catalog_try VM (e.g. catalog-try docker/_ctf/hello)
range42-context catalog-try-list	list catalog elements deployable via catalog-try (excludes docker/admin/* by default)
range42-context catalog-try-list-admin	list only the admin catalog elements (docker/admin/*)

range42-workspace

A zsh function for exporting/importing workspaces between machines.

Command	What it does
range42-workspace export	create a portable archive of the active workspace
range42-workspace import <file>	import a workspace from an archive

range42-init.py

Interactive setup wizard (Python/Textual TUI). Creates an inventory with your Proxmox settings and optionally runs the full deployment automatically. Requires: pip install --user textual (not apt install python3-textual, version too old)

First time: python3 range42-init.py After first deployment: range42-context init (shortcut, available once tools are deployed)

Run with: python3 range42-init.py or range42-context init

Host groups

VMs in a scenario are organized in groups:

Group	Purpose	Example hosts
admin	Infrastructure services (monitoring, API, registry)	r42.admin-wazuh, r42.admin-web-api-kong
student	Workstations for learners	r42.student-box-01
vuln	Vulnerable targets for attack/defense exercises	r42.vuln-box-00 to r42.vuln-box-04

Inventory

Two types of inventory in range42:

1. Bootstrapping inventory (inventories/<your-infra>/hosts.yml) — defines the Proxmox server and deployer-cli. Used by playbooks 01-03 and the wizard.

2. Scenario inventory (~/range42.config/CODENAME-SCENARIO/inventory/inventory_default.yml) — defines the lab VMs (admin, student, vuln groups). Used by the scenario playbooks on the deployer-cli.