This post is not meant to describe the ultimate lab configuration. Instead the focus is on a lab environment that can be stood up quickly and easily as a learning tool. The best way to learn about computer networking and security is to have a home lab. The great thing is that a home lab no longer requires several physical computers as it did in the past. Virtualization enables anyone to take a computer with a decent processor and enough RAM to create a lab environment without being overly complex. Furthermore, it’s possible to build a Windows environment at minimal cost for testing.

Free Virtual Labs For Installing Windows 12
Free Virtual Labs For Installing Windows 10

Hosting The Lab

The Cloud:

Oct 18, 2017 Every time a new Windows Server launched, a free online virtual lab for practice will come as well. Microsoft provides Windows server 2016 free online virtual labs for testing Windows server 2016 new features. These free virtual labs are pretty enough to test Windows server features before purchasing. Trusted Windows (PC) download Sunburst Virtual Labs Electricity 3.1. Virus-free and 100% clean download. Get Sunburst Virtual Labs Electricity alternative downloads.

Dec 24, 2020 Virtual labs let you try out Windows 10 setup, deployment, and management scenarios using a cloud-based private virtual machine environment. Each lab features a series of instructions, and access to one or more virtual machines, with no additional software or setup required—enabling you to jump right in and get started with common tasks.
Install Linux on the Virtual Machine. Now that you’ve found the Quick Create shortcut, a window should pop up which allows you to choose which operating system you wish to download. Although one of the options is a Windows 10 OS, it’s not a free license for Windows.
Jun 09, 2021 This page provides a (growing) list of free virtual labs and simulations. See the ' Finding OER ' tab for freely available textbooks and other course materials. If you find or create a resource to share, please email Emily Bongiovanni (emilybongiovanni@mines.edu) to have it added to the page.

Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and others provide capability to install and configure VMs in the cloud which is helpful when traveling since the lab is available and accessible from anywhere (perhaps saving power at home).

The Server:

I have friends that buy older servers from various internet sources (ebay, etc) at a tremendous discount and run those with (potentially) massive hard drive arrays. The big drawback is the power consumption (and associated power bill). The associated components are usually more expensive, though they do last longer.

The Workstation:

This is my preference – build/buy a hefty workstation-class system with a Core i7 processor. I highly recommend using an SSD as the primary OS drive. Also highly recommended is using a separate SSD for the Virtual Machine files. SSDs are exponentially faster than traditional hard drives and the difference is obvious when running a lab on them. For example, my lab computer has 2 SSDs: a C: drive and a D: drive. I can build a new VM in ~7 minutes. Installing a new Windows Server from an ISO file on the C: drive (SSD) takes ~12 minutes. Also, the server VMs boot almost instantly! It’s extremely fast! 🙂

The key is to outfit the lab computer with as much RAM as possible. My recommendation is 16GB at a minimum, 32GB preferred, with more than that even better!
What matters in the system:

Processor: Does the work for the virtualization host as well as all VMs. Core i7 (or better) preferred.
Hard Drive: SSD all the way! Recommend at least 128GB for system drive and at least 256GB for the drive holding the VM files (preferably more!). I also use a traditional hard drive 1-3TBs in size for VM backups. I really like the Samsung EVO SSDs since they are fast and reliable. A 500GB Samsung EVO SSD runs around $300 online (possibly cheaper by the time you read this).
Memory: This is the one you want to put your money into. Personally, I would rather spend a little bit more upfront and have the ability to put 64GB (or more) into a system, then go cheap and have the computer max out at 16GB. The more memory you have, the more VMs you can run which means you can run more involved (& interesting!) scenarios.

I also attach external traditional hard drives (1.5TB and larger) for lab VM backups, though I tend to keep the operating system ISO files and OS template VM files (Sysprep’d operating system VMs) on a SSD for maximum install speed.

Virtualization

There are several virtualization platforms available on the market. Given that my career has involved the Microsoft platform and ecosystem, Hyper-V is the obvious choice for me. VMWare is the 100lb gorilla in this space, so if you are not Windows focused, this may be the best route for you. Note that both Hyper-V and VMWare have a free* virtualization offering: Hyper-V Server and VMWare vSphere Hypervisor (formerly VMWare ESXi). There are others like VirtualBox that install on top of an existing OS.

* “Free” is relative and you should double-check what the license actually means. I Am Not A Lawyer (IANAL) and this information is free, so no guarantees are given. 🙂

Active Directory Lab Environment Options

Obviously there are many more options than the few I describe here, but I want to call these out to help those trying to figure out what’s best for them.

I use Windows 7 on the client (workstation) if I am not testing something Windows 8 or Windows 10 specific. I tend to run two Domain Controllers (DCs), one running Windows 2008 R2 and the other Windows 2012 R2 to test specific OS issues. Beta software is segmented in its own environment to isolate beta issues.

Basic Active Directory Lab Environment Setup:

This is your basic configuration which supports most test scenarios. Most of the security scenarios I test require only a single DC and on client (workstation).

VM 1: Windows 2012 R2 – Domain Controller (single DC for 1 domain forest)
VM 2: Windows 7/8/10 – Windows workstation joined to Active Directory (I usually go with Windows 7 since it’s common in enterprises)

Standard Active Directory Lab Environment Setup:

This is my standard lab configuration which supports an expanded test scenarios. By having one DC running Windows Server 2008 R2 and another DC running Windows Server 2012 R2, it enables testing of two different DC operating systems. I just shut down the one I’m not testing (briefly) and then stand it up again when done.

VM 1: Windows 2008 R2 – Domain Controller (DC #1 for 1 domain forest)
VM 2: Windows 2012 R2 – Domain Controller (DC #2 for 1 domain forest)
VM 3: Windows 7/8/10 – Windows workstation joined to Active Directory (I usually go with Windows 7 since it’s common in enterprises)

Expanded Active Directory Lab Environment Setup:

This is my expanded lab configuration which supports an several, more advanced test scenarios. I run three DCs supporting a two domain AD forest as well as two different server operating systems and two different client operating systems.

VM 1: Windows 2008 R2 – Domain Controller (DC #1 for root/parent domain forest)
VM 2: Windows 2012 R2 – Domain Controller (DC #2 for root/parent domain forest)
VM 3: Windows 2012 R2 – Domain Controller (DC #1 for child domain forest)
VM 4: Windows 7 – Windows workstation joined to Active Directory root/parent domain
VM 5: Windows 7/10 – Windows workstation joined to Active Directory root/parent domain (or child domain depending on testing scenario)
VM 6: Windows Server 2008 R2 – “Application” Server joined to root/parent domain.
VM 7: Windows Server 2012 R2 – “Application” Server joined to root/parent domain.

Realistically, you can get fancier than this by adding a Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC), configuring DCs in different subnets associated with different sites, adding more OS variety, installing common enterprise applications such as SCCM, SCOM, Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, etc.

Lab VM Operating Systems

Microsoft used to have “TechNet Plus” which provided all operating systems and most Microsoft applications for $350 the first year and $250 for renewals. This was a great deal which Microsoft removed as an option a few years back. Microsoft discontinued TechNet Plus in favor of a cloud approach which is Microsoft’s TechNet Evaluation Cent

Free Virtual Labs For Installing Windows