This project is a hands-on Active Directory home lab built with Windows Server 2025, Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation, and Oracle VirtualBox.
The goal of this lab was to practice common Tier 1 help desk and IT support tasks in a Windows domain environment. The lab includes creating a domain controller, configuring a domain, creating Organizational Units, managing user accounts, resetting passwords, creating security groups, disabling accounts, and joining a Windows client computer to the domain.
- Virtualization: Oracle VirtualBox
- Server OS: Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation
- Client OS: Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation
- Domain: johnlab.local
- Domain Controller: AD-SERVER
- Client Computer: AD-CLIENT
- Server IP Address: 192.168.10.10
- Client IP Address: 192.168.10.20
- Windows Server installation and setup
- Active Directory Domain Services installation
- Domain Controller promotion
- DNS configuration for domain communication
- Organizational Unit creation
- User account creation
- Password reset workflow
- Account disable and enable workflow
- Security group creation
- Adding users to security groups
- Moving users between Organizational Units
- Joining a Windows 11 client to an Active Directory domain
- Verifying domain user login with Command Prompt
- IT documentation and screenshot-based reporting
Installed Windows Server 2025 Standard Evaluation in VirtualBox and verified access to Server Manager.
Renamed the server to AD-SERVER to clearly identify it as the domain controller.
Installed the Active Directory Domain Services role from Server Manager.
Promoted the server to a domain controller and created a new forest using the domain:
johnlab.local
Created the following Organizational Units:
- Employees
- IT
- Sales
- Disabled Users
Created test domain users:
- Jordan Smith
- Maria Garcia
Reset the password for Jordan Smith and required the user to change the password at next logon.
Created a security group named:
IT Support
Added Jordan Smith to the IT Support security group.
Disabled Jordan Smith’s account and moved it into the Disabled Users OU to simulate a common offboarding or account cleanup task.
Configured the Windows 11 client with a static IP address and pointed DNS to the domain controller.
Joined the Windows 11 client computer to the johnlab.local domain.
Logged in successfully as the domain user:
johnlab\mgarcia
Verified the login using Command Prompt:
whoami
hostnameScreenshots are included in the /screenshots folder and document each major step of the lab, including server setup, Active Directory configuration, user management, password reset, group membership, domain join, and domain user verification.
The /screenshots folder includes proof of:
- Windows Server installation
- Server rename to AD-SERVER
- Active Directory Domain Services installation
- Domain controller creation
- Active Directory Users and Computers
- Organizational Units created
- Test users created
- Password reset workflow
- Security group creation
- User added to security group
- Disabled user account workflow
- Windows 11 client static IP and DNS configuration
- Client connectivity test to domain controller
- Windows 11 client joined to the johnlab.local domain
- Domain user login verification using Command Prompt
Through this project, I practiced real-world help desk and Windows administration tasks that are commonly used in IT support environments. I gained hands-on experience with Active Directory, user account management, password resets, security groups, Organizational Units, DNS-based domain communication, and joining a Windows client to a domain.
This lab helped me better understand how companies manage users, computers, permissions, and authentication in a Windows domain environment.