Active-Directory-User-Management-Lab

Overview

Built a Windows Server 2022 Active Directory home lab using VirtualBox to simulate a corporate IT environment. Configured Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), DNS, Organizational Units (OUs), users, security groups, shared folders, and access permissions. Joined a Windows 11 workstation to the domain and verified user access to network resources.

Skills Demonstrated

• Active Directory Administration
• Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• File Sahre Management
• Access permission Management
• User Provisioning
• Windows Server Administration
• User and Group Management
• DNS Configuration
• Domain Management
• Organizational Unit Management
• Shared Folder Management
• NTFS Permissions
• Access Control
• Troubleshooting
• Help Desk Fundamentals
• Windows Networking

Lab Environment

Domain Controller

Item	Value
Hostname	DC01
OS	Windows Server 2022
Domain	corp.local
IP Address	192.168.56.10

Client Workstation

Item	Value
Hostname	LAB-WIN11
OS	Windows 11
Domain	corp.local
IP Address	192.168.56.20

Virtualization Platform

• Oracle VirtualBox
• Internal Network Adapter

Technologies Used

• Windows Server 2022
• Windows 11
• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• DNS
• Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC)
• NTFS Permissions
• Shared Folders
• Oracle VirtualBox
• Command Prompt
• PowerShell

Objectives

• Build a Windows Server Active Directory environment
• Configure DNS services
• Create and manage users
• Create and manage security groups
• Organize users with OUs
• Join client computers to the domain
• Configure shared folders
• Apply NTFS permissions
• Verify user access through group membership

Tasks Completed

1. Installed and Configured Active Directory

• Installed AD DS role
• Promoted server to Domain Controller
• Created domain: corp.local

2. Configured DNS

Configured DNS services automatically during AD DS installation. Verified DNS resolution using: nslookup corp.local

3. Created 3 departmental Organizational Units (OUs)

Created department-based OUs:

• HR
• IT
• Sales

4. Created Users accross multiple departments

Created test users including:

• Amelia Oliver
• Jarod Lee
• Sophia Lucas
• Olivia Noah
• Ali Adam

5. Created Security Groups

Created: IT_Admins Assigned IT Admins to the group.

6. Moved Users into OUs

Organized users into departmental OUs.

7. Joined Windows 11 Workstation to Domain

Joined LAB-WIN11 to: corp.local Verified successful authentication.

8. Verified Network Connectivity

Verified communication between LAB-WIN11 and DC01. Commands used:

• ipconfig /all
• ping 192.168.56.10
• nslookup corp.local

9. Created Shared Folder

Created: C:\Shares\HR Shared as: HR-Share

10. Configured Share Permissions

Granted access to: HR_Users Permissions:

• Read
• Change

11. Configured NTFS Permissions

Granted HR_Users:

• Modify
• Read
• Write
• Read & Execute

12. Verified Access from Client Workstation

Logged into LAB-WIN11 as: corp\olivia.noah Accessed: \DC01\HR-Share Created: TestFile.txt Successfully verified:

• Authentication
• Group Membership
• Share Permissions
• NTFS Permissions

13. Verified Domain Authentication

Project Outcome

Successfully built and managed a Windows Active Directory environment, joined a workstation to the domain, configured access controls, and verified secure access to shared resources using Active Directory security groups and NTFS permissions.