Enterprise-Style Home IT Lab Creation
Budget: €250 – €400 EUR
Enterprise Network & Security Architect (Mentor-Based)
Virtual Enterprise Home Lab Design & Guided Implementation
Project Overview
I am an IT student in Germany building a fully virtual enterprise-style home lab for hands-on learning.
This lab will simulate a small-to-mid enterprise network using virtualization technologies. The objective is not just implementation, but deep architectural understanding and guided learning.
I am looking for an experienced Network & Security Engineer who can:
• Design the full enterprise-style architecture
• Guide me step-by-step through implementation
• Explain design decisions and security reasoning
• Review my configurations
• Provide structured documentation templates
• Conduct live knowledge-transfer sessions
Main Learning Objectives
• Enterprise firewall architecture (OPNsense preferred)
• VLAN segmentation & inter-VLAN routing
• Active Directory infrastructure
• Secure firewall rule design
• VPN remote access
• IDS/IPS implementation
• Enterprise logging & monitoring
• Attack simulation & log analysis
• Security hardening principles
• File Server management and backup strategies
Infrastructure Approach (Virtual-First)
• Proxmox (preferred) or VMware ESXi
• OPNsense as virtual firewall
• Windows Server (AD, DNS, DHCP)
• Windows Client VM
• Linux/Kali test machine
• Optional logging server (Wazuh / Graylog)
• File Server VM with backup solution (local snapshots and/or network backup)
Proposed Network Segmentation (Open to Improvement)
• VLAN 10 – Management
• VLAN 20 – Servers
• VLAN 30 – Clients
• VLAN 40 – Guest
• VLAN 50 – Security Lab
Architect may propose improvements or simplifications based on best practices.
Security Requirements
• Secure WAN/LAN design
• Clean firewall rule structure
• NAT policies
• IDS/IPS configuration
• Secure VPN implementation
• Active Directory hardening basics
• Log centralization
• Monitoring dashboard
• Secure File Server access and backup policies
Security must follow enterprise best practices while remaining realistic for a home lab.
Expected Deliverables
• Network topology diagram
• IP addressing plan
• VLAN documentation
• Firewall rule documentation
• VPN documentation
• Short security architecture explanation
• File Server configuration and backup documentation
• 2–4 live mentoring sessions
• Configuration review sessions
Important: I will implement most components myself under guidance.
Required Skills
• Enterprise firewall configuration (OPNsense preferred)
• Proxmox virtualization
• VLAN & routing architecture
• Windows Server Active Directory
• File Server and backup management
• Network security best practices
• Ability to teach and explain clearly
Virtual Enterprise Home Lab Design & Guided Implementation
Project Overview
I am an IT student in Germany building a fully virtual enterprise-style home lab for hands-on learning.
This lab will simulate a small-to-mid enterprise network using virtualization technologies. The objective is not just implementation, but deep architectural understanding and guided learning.
I am looking for an experienced Network & Security Engineer who can:
• Design the full enterprise-style architecture
• Guide me step-by-step through implementation
• Explain design decisions and security reasoning
• Review my configurations
• Provide structured documentation templates
• Conduct live knowledge-transfer sessions
Main Learning Objectives
• Enterprise firewall architecture (OPNsense preferred)
• VLAN segmentation & inter-VLAN routing
• Active Directory infrastructure
• Secure firewall rule design
• VPN remote access
• IDS/IPS implementation
• Enterprise logging & monitoring
• Attack simulation & log analysis
• Security hardening principles
• File Server management and backup strategies
Infrastructure Approach (Virtual-First)
• Proxmox (preferred) or VMware ESXi
• OPNsense as virtual firewall
• Windows Server (AD, DNS, DHCP)
• Windows Client VM
• Linux/Kali test machine
• Optional logging server (Wazuh / Graylog)
• File Server VM with backup solution (local snapshots and/or network backup)
Proposed Network Segmentation (Open to Improvement)
• VLAN 10 – Management
• VLAN 20 – Servers
• VLAN 30 – Clients
• VLAN 40 – Guest
• VLAN 50 – Security Lab
Architect may propose improvements or simplifications based on best practices.
Security Requirements
• Secure WAN/LAN design
• Clean firewall rule structure
• NAT policies
• IDS/IPS configuration
• Secure VPN implementation
• Active Directory hardening basics
• Log centralization
• Monitoring dashboard
• Secure File Server access and backup policies
Security must follow enterprise best practices while remaining realistic for a home lab.
Expected Deliverables
• Network topology diagram
• IP addressing plan
• VLAN documentation
• Firewall rule documentation
• VPN documentation
• Short security architecture explanation
• File Server configuration and backup documentation
• 2–4 live mentoring sessions
• Configuration review sessions
Important: I will implement most components myself under guidance.
Required Skills
• Enterprise firewall configuration (OPNsense preferred)
• Proxmox virtualization
• VLAN & routing architecture
• Windows Server Active Directory
• File Server and backup management
• Network security best practices
• Ability to teach and explain clearly