Project Case Study

Active Directory Home Lab

A virtual Windows domain environment built to practice Active Directory, DNS, domain joins, user and group management, and Group Policy basics.

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Overview

Why I built this lab

This project documents a small Active Directory lab built with VirtualBox, Windows Server 2022, and a Windows 11 client. The goal was to practice core Windows domain concepts including Active Directory Domain Services, DNS, domain joins, user and group management, and Group Policy basics.

Because many of the access and endpoint issues I support at work involve Active Directory in some way, I wanted to build a lab environment where I could better understand how the underlying pieces fit together. This gives me a safe place to test, document, and troubleshoot concepts that connect directly to enterprise IT support.

Project Goal

What this lab is meant to practice

The goal of this lab was to build a small Windows domain environment from the ground up using virtual machines. I wanted to better understand how a domain controller, DNS, and a Windows client work together in a basic enterprise-style setup.

Core goals

  • Create and manage a virtual lab environment using VirtualBox
  • Build a small Windows domain environment
  • Practice Windows Server 2022 domain controller setup
  • Understand how DNS supports Active Directory
  • Join a Windows 11 client to the domain
  • Practice basic user, group, and policy management
  • Document the process like an internal IT knowledge base

Environment

Lab setup

Host Machine

Lenovo ThinkCentre

Physical desktop used to run the virtual lab environment.

Virtualization

VirtualBox

Used to create and manage the server and client virtual machines.

Server VM

Windows Server 2022

Configured as the domain controller for the lab environment.

Client VM

Windows 11

Used as the domain-joined workstation for testing.

Core Server Roles

AD DS and DNS

Active Directory Domain Services and DNS provide the foundation for the Windows domain.

Management Areas

Users, Groups, OUs, and Policy

The lab focuses on basic domain administration and Group Policy concepts.

Lab Architecture

How the environment is organized

Windows 10 Host
└── VirtualBox
    ├── Windows Server 2022
    │   ├── Active Directory Domain Services
    │   └── DNS
    └── Windows 11 Client
        └── Domain-joined workstation

Screenshots / Evidence

Lab configuration proof

Server Manager dashboard showing AD DS and DNS roles

Server Manager — AD DS and DNS Roles

Server Manager dashboard showing AD DS and DNS roles installed on the Windows Server 2022 domain controller.

Active Directory Users and Computers showing lab users

Active Directory Users and Computers — Lab Users OU

Active Directory Users and Computers showing the homelab.local domain structure, organizational units, and test user accounts.

DNS Manager showing the homelab.local forward lookup zone

DNS Manager — Forward Lookup Zone

DNS Manager showing the homelab.local forward lookup zone and domain-related DNS records.

Group Policy Management Console showing custom GPOs

Group Policy Management — Custom GPOs

Group Policy Management Console showing custom GPOs created for lab testing, including distribution, icon, logging, password, and wallpaper policies.

PowerShell output showing Get-ADUser query

PowerShell — Get-ADUser Query

PowerShell output using Get-ADUser to list Active Directory user accounts and enabled status.

Configuration

What I configured

  • Installed VirtualBox on the host machine
  • Created a Windows Server 2022 virtual machine
  • Created a Windows 11 virtual machine
  • Installed Active Directory Domain Services
  • Promoted the server to a domain controller
  • Configured DNS for the domain
  • Created organizational units
  • Created test users
  • Created security groups
  • Joined the Windows 11 client to the domain
  • Logged into the Windows 11 client with a domain user
  • Created or tested a Group Policy Object
  • Troubleshot DNS, domain join, or login issues

Skills Demonstrated

Technical areas practiced

Virtual machine setup and management

Windows Server 2022 administration

Active Directory Domain Services setup

DNS configuration and troubleshooting

Windows domain join process

User, group, and OU management

Basic Group Policy testing

Technical documentation

Next Improvements

How I plan to keep building on this lab

  • Add more screenshots as the lab grows
  • Document specific Group Policy examples
  • Add a second Windows client for additional testing
  • Practice shared folder and mapped drive configuration
  • Add PowerShell examples for user and group management
  • Create a more polished visual network diagram
  • Continue documenting troubleshooting scenarios