I'm currently in the process of building out a home lab and doing the research to have it function properly. I purchased a Synology NAS server and a TP link-managed switch to begin configuring port options alongside configuring a secure server.

That said, I also have two old PC Shells that I plan on building out and creating TrueNAS servers to run online virtual machines and learn about AWS containers and Docker Containers. This is one of the projects I look most forward to because I know how much I can learn from it.

All exterior internet is fed through a personal router I bought that I connected to my ISP's router. I also have configured port mirroring on my switch to monitor all data 24/7 on a repurposed laptop that I use as a monitoring device. Any anomalies or alerts I can see in real-time and fix immediately.

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I've completed finishing up my home lab. It is successfully equipped with a type 1 hypervisor along with AD servers and IDS systems. On my network, I also have an easily accessible NAS server and backup server I use as my "cloud". All of these important network devices are safely tucked behind a Pfsense firewall which is a custom-built micro-PC with a dual NIC interface.

There was a lot that was certainly learned during this process. I specifically struggled with network segmenting and VLAN setup but after weeks of persistence, I managed to get over the hurdles and understand how networks communicate and work. I also gained knowledge on wiring and how different ports on a switch view each other. Being able to do this on a home level will surely help me replicate this in a major corporate environment.