Introduction
This series of blog posts will provide an overview of the creation, management, and utilization of a virtual security home lab environment. The home lab at its completion will involve a firewall, a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), a Honeypot, network segmentation, malware analysis tools, and more. This home lab is designed to be replicated by anyone to gain experience in the field of cybersecurity defense. To satisfy this requisite, I will utilize virtual machines (VMs) to host each of these individual systems across the whole network. The most important consideration then is the use of physical hardware to host this virtual environment. This next section of the blog post provides an overview of my physical hardware, and what reasonable hardware requirements are to replicate this environment.
Hardware Considerations
The hardware needs for a home lab setup can differ significantly based on the size of the setup and the operations conducted within it. A rudimentary home lab dedicated exclusively to malware analysis may demand only modest resources. In contrast, running a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) software would necessitate a more substantial resource allocation. A distinct advantage of utilizing virtual machines is that they don’t all have to be active at once. You can simply run those virtual environments with which you’ll be directly engaging.
Regarding the system on which I’ll be operating this virtual machine-based home lab, here are the specifications of my current computer:
| Hardware | Specifications |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core Processor |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti |
| RAM | G.Skill 32 GB DDR5-6000 |
| Storage | 3 TB (Various NVMe and SSD drives) |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
I specifically designed and assembled this computer with virtualization and intensive tasks as primary considerations. Nonetheless, you can recreate this home lab using fewer resources and still gain substantial knowledge beneficial for your upcoming career.
Here are my minimum general minimum recommendations to have an effective virtual home lab:
| Hardware | Recommended Specifications |
| CPU | A multicore processor that supports hardware virtualization, suitable for running multiple VMs and monitoring tools |
| GPU | A modern discrete graphics card, mainly for visualization tasks and software that may benefit from GPU acceleration |
| RAM | A minimum of 16 GB, with 32 GB being ideal for running multiple monitoring and analysis tools concurrently |
| Storage | At least a 512 GB SSD for the primary drive, and a 1-2 TB HDD or SSD for storing virtual machines and data |
| OS | An operating system that offers robust compatibility with the chosen hardware. |
The platform you select to run your virtual home lab on can be either a laptop or a desktop. In this context, the primary advantage of using a desktop is the potential for a more cost-effective upgrade route for specific parts, like RAM. The next section of the blog will provide an overview of tools that I will utilize to manage the virtual home lab environment.
Tools
I’ll be employing a variety of tools, each with distinct capabilities, to ensure an efficient learning environment in my home lab.
- Hypervisor
- VMWare Workstation Pro
- I will personally rely on this hypervisor to handle my virtual machines, given my prior experience with it. While there are a variety of Type 2 hypervisors out there suitable for this context, Oracle VirtualBox stands out as a prominent option.
- VMWare Workstation Pro
- Design Network Topology
- Draw.io
- I will personally utilize Draw.io for designing the network topology for my home lab environment. This solution offers many different features and makes it easy for anyone to use it due to it being free. While there are numerous diagramming tools available, Draw.io emerges as a great choice due to its intuitive interface and versatile design options.
- Draw.io
- Note Taking
- Microsoft OneNote
- I will personally use this notetaking application to document this learning experience to reference in the future. I highly advocate for notetaking as it aids in reinforcing knowledge, ensuring that insights and discoveries aren’t forgotten, and providing a quick reference point for revisiting complex topics.
- Microsoft OneNote
Conclusion
Having thoroughly described my home lab configuration and the particular tools I’ll be using, the subsequent article in this series will delve into the establishment of the virtual network and the setup of the virtual machines.