Architecture • Networking • Access Control

Segmented Security Lab Architecture

Proxmox • OPNsense • Tailscale • AD • RHEL • Splunk • Sysmon • Zeek

A multi-layered virtual environment engineered to simulate corporate infrastructure for Blue Team operations, threat detection, and security engineering.

Architecture & Components

Core components

—Proxmox VE (Type-1 Hypervisor)
—OPNsense (Firewall/Routing)
—Windows Server AD
—Splunk Enterprise
—Zeek NSM

Project Visuals

Diagram of segmented Proxmox security lab architecture — Logical topology of the lab showing segmented infrastructure for management, internal, and attacker networks.

Proxmox dashboard showing host and VM resource usage — Proxmox dashboard used to manage virtual machines and monitor core host health during lab operations.

Challenges & Engineering Decisions

RHEL 10 Architecture Compatibility

Problem

The RHEL VM repeatedly failed during installation and triggered kernel panics.

Root Cause

RHEL 10 enforces x86-64-v3 instructions. The default Proxmox CPU model (kvm64) did not support them.

Solution

Changed the Proxmox VM CPU type to 'Host' to pass through physical CPU instructions.

Outcome

—Successful OS installation
—Kernel stability restored
—Improved VM performance

Reflection

Resolving these challenges strengthened my practical experience in virtualization, network segmentation, and secure remote access.