Homelab_Foundation

About

Hands-on networking and cybersecurity foundation labs. Built alongside CompTIA studies to develop practical skills in network analysis, traffic inspection, wireless security, and network defense. This repository covers foundational skills — the building blocks before advanced attack/defense scenarios.

Advanced scenarios continue in homelab_AEGIS (in progress)

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Network Architecture

                        [ Internet ]
                             |
                    [ Fritz!Box Router ]
                    192.168.178.1 · GW
                    /           \
                   /             \
         [ MacBook Pro ]    [ TP-Link RE190 ]
         192.168.178.111        Repeater
         Management              /    \
                                /      \
                        [ iMac 12,1 ]  [ Fire Stick ]
                        Lab Server      Identified
                        32GB · Ubuntu   in Lab 1

         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
         [ ThinkPad X250 ]       [ Ubuntu Laptop ]
         Kali Linux               Linux Practice
         Pentesting

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Lab Environment

Machine	Specs	OS	Role
MacBook Pro	16GB RAM · 500GB SSD	macOS	Management station — scanning, documentation, analysis
iMac 12,1	32GB RAM · 500GB HDD	Ubuntu	Lab server — network services, security tools
Kali Laptop	ThinkPad X250	Kali Linux 6.18	Pentesting & red team exercises
MacBook Pro	—	VM Ubuntu	Additional workstation
Fritz!Box	—	—	Network gateway, DHCP, DNS
TP-Link RE190	—	—	Wi-Fi repeater — discovered via MAC analysis in Lab 0
TP-Link Archer T2U Plus	RTL8821AU	—	External WiFi adapter — monitor mode & packet injection

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Labs

#	Lab	Tools	Key Skills	Status
0	Network Discovery	ifconfig, arp, nmap, ping	Network topology mapping, port scanning, MAC analysis, security assessment	✅
1	Wireshark Traffic Analysis	Wireshark, curl, ping, nslookup	Protocol analysis (ICMP/DNS/HTTP/ARP/TLS), TCP lifecycle, JA3 fingerprinting, passive device ID	✅
2	WiFi Security	aircrack-ng suite, hcxdumptool, hashcat, macchanger	WPA2 handshake capture, PMKID attack, deauth, MAC spoofing, offline cracking	✅
3	Firewall & Segmentation	ufw, iptables, nmap, hydra	Host firewall, zone segmentation, brute force detection, log analysis	✅

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Cross-Lab Discoveries

• Lab 0 → Lab 1: Unknown device (192.168.178.97) identified as Amazon Fire Stick through Wireshark passive traffic analysis (UPnP + Spotify Connect traffic)
• Lab 0 → Lab 1: Repeater MAC behavior confirmed across both active scanning (nmap) and passive capture (Wireshark ARP analysis)
• Lab 1 → Lab 2: Wireshark deauth frame analysis (wlan.fc.type_subtype == 0x000c) directly applicable to WiFi attack detection
• Lab 2 → Lab 3: Brute force detection patterns (rotating SPT, fixed DPT) first observed in Wireshark, confirmed via ufw logs

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Privacy & Ethics

• All IP addresses are RFC 1918 private addresses — not routable from the internet
• Hostnames anonymized to protect device owners
• MAC addresses partially redacted where not essential
• No credentials or sensitive data included in documentation
• Capture files stored locally, not uploaded to repository
• All WiFi lab activities performed on own network only — BSSID filter applied at all times to prevent capturing third-party networks

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Roadmap

homelab_foundation     ✅ complete
├── Lab 0  Network Discovery      ✅
├── Lab 1  Wireshark Analysis     ✅
├── Lab 2  WiFi Security          ✅
└── Lab 3  Firewall & Seg.        ✅

Advanced labs continue in Project Aegis

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Started from zero. 3 exams in 5 months. Still learning, still building — every lab teaches something new.