How to set up a home IT lab on virtual machines?

Question

virtual box

I want to set up a home stand for teaching system administration on virtual machines.
It is necessary to raise one server virtual machine (Windows Server 2016) with Active Directory and routing roles on a physical machine and, for example, two virtual machines on Windows 10 Professional. Accordingly, all three virtual machines must be on their own subnet, and the Internet to workstations must go through a virtual server. How can this be done and is it even possible? I know that there is something like this in Virtual Box, but I can’t find a sensible instruction for my task. Please tell me, throw links to ready-made solutions (not necessarily with Virtual Box). In the future, I would not want to be limited only to the domain and checking its work. Is it possible, for example, to set up a firewall on a virtual server and somehow make penetration testing of the resulting network from the outside (accordingly, there must be two virtual network adapters on the server). Thank you!

Answer 1

Install windows 2019 - 2016 on the main machine, this is important.
Elevate the Hyper-V role Enable the
"Data Deduplication" feature
Select a separate V disk for virtual machines
In the disk properties, check the box to allow data deduplication for this disk
Open the Hyper-V management snap-
in In the settings, specify the default paths for virtual machines and virtual disks to the V disk
Create 2 Hyper-V virtual switch and use it all the time (NAT mode), the first one binds as it wants and miracles happen.
As a result, everything works, and does not gobble up space for a bunch of duplicate files.

Answer 2

You “buy” Windows 10 Pro for the host (why do you need a server at home?), activate the Hyper-V role, raise the entire Windows zoo, from Windows XP to Windows Server 2019, pump updates to the current level in a couple of days, then do sysprep and these disks make them basic, from them you create differencing disks from the desired OS in seconds. Model any situation you want.
PS
If you have Mikrotik (any other router that can be configured) - then you can make one virtual switch on the host and configure VLANs, this is convenient, you will not need to have a bunch of virtual adapters, as many subnets in your labs as you like, switching which takes seconds , which can be controlled on a hardware router.

Answer 3

If there is a computer that can be allocated entirely for this business (and managed from another computer) - do not listen to anyone and install vmware (although if this is a laboratory - you can install hyper-v later - just to know how it looks and how it differs) . Everything is there - you can add virtual switches and virtual networks and a virtual router and install Windows and non-Windows too (this is the first hyper-v limitation I know - it's good only with Windows).
Only a dedicated computer is needed - vmware occupies it entirely. One host is free. There is a web muzzle.
Here are just such volumetric instructions can not be found. Get started and ask specific questions.

Answer 4

The advice above is certainly good, but if there is a minimum of knowledge - raise the virtualbox
Next NAT on the virtual server. the second network - an isolated network
of clients (Windows on Wirth machines) - cling to this isolated network.
The result - the server - manages the entire network, they also go to the Internet through it

Answer 5

I used to do everything through VMWare. I set up a conditional router on a network on Linux in a virtual machine, dabbled with iptables and other things there, then delivered virtual machines that received Internet and network settings from a Linux router.

Answer 6

As already mentioned, there are several ways. I have been using the same thing for many years - I install Vmware Workstation on my Windows and inside it I create those virtual machines that you need.
Previously, I worked with all hypervisors, including also Xen, but still Vmware is the most flexible for me in terms of many OS rolls and works without problems. In addition, this product is constantly updated and supports many virtual features.
The downside is that the product is paid and a professional line costs just horse money.
The second minus in my approach is that a laptop or system unit should have at least 16 GB of RAM and SSD drives in your case for comfortable work in your example, because part of the resources goes to the host Windows itself and the other part to virtual machines.
But if you want to seriously engage in system administration with a large infrastructure, then in any case you need to have a powerful computer to conduct such labs. Appetite comes with eating - first AD, then a router, then a couple of Linuxes with all sorts of databases, etc. )))