GumChewer – Active Directory Home Lab

Overview

This project documents the design and implementation of a Windows Server 2022 Active Directory lab built in VirtualBox. The lab includes one domain controller and two Windows 11 domain-joined clients. It was created to practice:

• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• DNS configuration
• OU structure and user management
• Group Policy deployment
• NTFS and share permission management
• Troubleshooting domain join and DNS issues

Environment

Host Specs

• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Home (x64)
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (MS-7C02)
• Memory: 2 x 16 GB DDR4 SDRAM
• GPU: AMD Radeon RX5700 XT
• Storage: 2 TB SATA HDD & 1 TB NVMe SSD

Hypervisor

• Oracle VM VirtualBox

Virtual Machine Configuration

Domain Controller

• OS: Windows Server 2022 (Desktop Experience)
• RAM: 8 GB
• CPU: 4 cores
• Disk: 80 GB (VDI, dynamically allocated)
• Network: Internal Network (adlabnet)
• Static IP: 192.168.100.10

Client 01

• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• RAM: 8 GB
• CPU: 4 cores
• Disk: 65 GB
• Network: Internal Network (adlabnet)
• Static IP: 192.168.100.20
• DNS: 192.168.100.10

Client 02

• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• RAM: 8 GB
• CPU: 4 cores
• Disk: 65 GB
• Network: Internal Network (adlabnet)
• Static IP: 192.168.100.21
• DNS: 192.168.100.10

Network Design

All VMs were configured on an isolated Internal Network within VirtualBox to simulate a private enterprise LAN.

IP Scheme:

• Domain Controller: 192.168.100.10
• Client01: 192.168.100.20
• Client02: 192.168.100.21
• Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
• Default Gateway: Not configured (isolated lab)

flowchart LR
    subgraph Host
        VB[VirtualBox Hypervisor]
    end

    subgraph adlabnet 192.168.100.0/24
        DC[WS2022-GumChewer 192.168.100.10 AD DS / DNS]
        C1[WIN11-Client01 192.168.100.20]
        C2[WIN11-Client02 192.168.100.21]
    end

    VB --> DC
    VB --> C1
    VB --> C2

    C1 -->|Kerberos / LDAP / DNS| DC
    C2 -->|Kerberos / LDAP / DNS| DC

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Troubleshooting Highlights

• Windows Server 2022 failed to mount partition during OS install.
• Installed CLI-only Windows Server 2022 OS by mistake (unattended install).
• Needed to bypass internet requirement during Windows 11 install on Clients to create local accounts.
• Locked out of Domain Controller by changing the computer name after promoting to domain controller.
• Could not join domain because created users were stored in the default AD container instead of custom OU.
• Client desktop backgrounds failed to load due to NTFS and share permissions on the DC.
• Group Policy not applying to clients due to improper config in AD and GPM.

Lessons Learned

• Unattended installs should be avoided to ensure proper OS setup.
• Windows 11 internet requirements can be bypassed to create a local account on install.
• Only change the name of the Domain Controller before promoting the machine to Domain Controller.
• The default Active Directory containers cannot be linked to group policies.
• NTFS and share permissions need to both be configured to allow sharing over the domain network.
• Group Policy affecting the desktop background and access to control panel should be applied to the users and not the workstations.

Future Improvements

• Implement DHCP role
• Configure roaming profiles
• Deploy software via GPO
• Implement security groups for role-based access control
• Simulate a helpdesk password reset workflow with delegated permissions