SecurityLessons Reserve founders spot

Lesson-to-lab structure

SESA-300-720 Labs

32 planned lessons collapse into 26 planned labs (0 built so far) across 26 scenarios, numbered per module in the order you meet them: each lab follows the last lesson it exercises.

26labs planned
26scenarios
0multi-scenario
26single-scenario

How a lab is put together

Scenario 1 establishes the foundation. Every later scenario depends on Scenario 1 and, wherever possible, on nothing else — hub-and-spoke rather than a chain. A failure in Scenario 3 does not strand Scenario 4, you can start at any scenario from one known state, and each lab needs one start-config rather than one per scenario.

Each module opens with a setup lab that brings its appliances up from the start-config — numbered like every other lab, first in its module. Labs are numbered per module, the way lessons are: M4 · Lab 2 is the second lab of Module 4. Every lab sits right after the last lesson it exercises, so you do a lesson or a few, then the lab.

Labs are grouped by module and exam objective; a grouping is refined lesson by lesson as each lab guide publishes, and the numbering never changes once a lab is live.

  1. M1 · Lab 1 Power On the ESA & Mail Server sesa-administration Objective setup · Set up
    1. S1 M1 · Lab 1: Power On the ESA & Mail Server lab-setup
  2. M1 · Lab 2 SMTP & the ESA Email Pipeline: Packet Walk sesa-administration Objective 4.3 · Understand
    1. S1 SMTP & the ESA Email Pipeline: Packet Walk protocol
  3. M1 · Lab 3 Configure Listeners, HAT/RAT & Inbound/Outbound Mail Policies sesa-administration Objective 1.1 · Configure
    1. S1 Configure Listeners, HAT/RAT & Inbound/Outbound Mail Policies configuration
  4. M1 · Lab 4 Configure Email Security with Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense sesa-administration Objective 1.5 · Configure
    1. S1 Configure Email Security with Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense configuration
  5. M2 · Lab 1 Configure Email Protection: Spam, Antimalware, DLP, Block Lists & Encryption sesa-threat-defense Objective 2.1 · Control
    1. S1 Configure Email Protection: Spam, Antimalware, DLP, Block Lists & Encryption configuration
  6. M2 · Lab 2 Graymail Management & Bounce Verification sesa-threat-defense Objective 2.2 · Describe
    1. S1 Graymail Management & Bounce Verification configuration
  7. M2 · Lab 3 Malicious URL Protection: Web Reputation & Outbreak URL Rewriting sesa-threat-defense Objective 2.4 · Implement
    1. S1 Malicious URL Protection: Web Reputation & Outbreak URL Rewriting configuration
  8. M2 · Lab 4 Configure Antivirus Scanning with the Sophos and McAfee Engines sesa-threat-defense Objective 3.5 · Configure
    1. S1 Configure Antivirus Scanning with the Sophos and McAfee Engines configuration
  9. M2 · Lab 5 Outbreak Filters: Adaptive Scanning, Scoring & Dynamic Quarantine sesa-threat-defense Objective 3.6 · Configure
    1. S1 Outbreak Filters: Adaptive Scanning, Scoring & Dynamic Quarantine configuration
  10. M3 · Lab 1 Text Resources: Content Dictionaries, Disclaimers & Templates sesa-content-message-filters Objective 3.2 · Create
    1. S1 Text Resources: Content Dictionaries, Disclaimers & Templates configuration
  11. M3 · Lab 2 Message Filters: Syntax, Rules & Processing Order sesa-content-message-filters Objective 3.3 · Configure
    1. S1 Message Filters: Syntax, Rules & Processing Order configuration
  12. M3 · Lab 3 Scan Behavior: Attachment, Encoding & Malformed-Message Handling sesa-content-message-filters Objective 3.4 · Configure
    1. S1 Scan Behavior: Attachment, Encoding & Malformed-Message Handling configuration
  13. M3 · Lab 4 Configure Data Loss Prevention: Policies, Classifiers & Remediation sesa-content-message-filters Objective 3.7 · Configure
    1. S1 Configure Data Loss Prevention: Policies, Classifiers & Remediation configuration
  14. M3 · Lab 5 Filter Precedence — When Content, Message & Outbreak Filters Disagree sesa-content-message-filters Objective 3.1 · Describe
    1. S1 Filter Precedence — When Content, Message & Outbreak Filters Disagree troubleshooting
  15. M4 · Lab 1 LDAP Queries: Accept, Routing & Directory Harvest Attack Prevention sesa-ldap-quarantines Objective 4.1 · Configure
    1. S1 LDAP Queries: Accept, Routing & Directory Harvest Attack Prevention configuration
  16. M4 · Lab 2 Configure Quarantines: Spam, Policy, Virus & Outbreak sesa-ldap-quarantines Objective 4.2 · Understand
    1. S1 Configure Quarantines: Spam, Policy, Virus & Outbreak configuration
  17. M4 · Lab 3 Quarantine Operations: Search, Release & Local vs. External Spam Quarantine sesa-ldap-quarantines Objective 6.3 · Manage
    1. S1 Quarantine Operations: Search, Release & Local vs. External Spam Quarantine troubleshooting
  18. M4 · Lab 4 Control Delivery with Safelists and Blocklists sesa-ldap-quarantines Objective 6.2 · Use
    1. S1 Control Delivery with Safelists and Blocklists configuration
  19. M4 · Lab 5 Virtual Gateways: Isolating Sender Reputation Across IP Interfaces sesa-ldap-quarantines Objective 6.4 · Configure
    1. S1 Virtual Gateways: Isolating Sender Reputation Across IP Interfaces configuration
  20. M5 · Lab 1 The SSL/TLS Handshake: Packet Walk sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 4.3 · Understand
    1. S1 The SSL/TLS Handshake: Packet Walk protocol
  21. M5 · Lab 2 SPF & SIDF: Publishing and Evaluating Sender Authorization sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.2 · Configure
    1. S1 SPF & SIDF: Publishing and Evaluating Sender Authorization configuration
  22. M5 · Lab 3 DKIM Signing: Selectors, Key Rotation & DNS Publication sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.1 · Configure
    1. S1 DKIM Signing: Selectors, Key Rotation & DNS Publication configuration
  23. M5 · Lab 4 DMARC: Alignment, Policy Enforcement & Aggregate Reporting sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.3 · Configure
    1. S1 DMARC: Alignment, Policy Enforcement & Aggregate Reporting configuration
  24. M5 · Lab 5 Forged Email Detection: Display-Name Spoofing Beyond DMARC sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.4 · Configure
    1. S1 Forged Email Detection: Display-Name Spoofing Beyond DMARC configuration
  25. M5 · Lab 6 Configure Email Encryption: Envelope Encryption Profiles & Content-Filter Triggers sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.5 · Configure
    1. S1 Configure Email Encryption: Envelope Encryption Profiles & Content-Filter Triggers configuration
  26. M5 · Lab 7 End-to-End Email Authentication & Encryption sesa-authentication-encryption Objective 5.1 · Configure
    1. S1 End-to-End Email Authentication & Encryption troubleshooting