Tech Journal for Lab 01 ‐ Virtual Firewall and Windows 10 Configuration - Liam-DiFalco/Sys255-FA24 GitHub Wiki

Tech Journal for Lab 01 - Virtual Firewall and Windows 10 Configuration

Introduction

This lab initiated the foundational setup of a small enterprise network within a virtualized environment using VMWare vSphere. The primary objectives were to configure a PfSense firewall to manage and route network traffic between local networks and to establish an internet-connected computer.

Configuration

1. PfSense Firewall (fw01) Configuration

The first task involved setting up the PfSense firewall which serves as the gateway between the isolated student local area network (LAN) and the shared SYS255-WAN. The firewall was configured through the following steps:

Interface Assignment:
    The network interfaces on the fw01 virtual machine were UN-configured with default settings. The task was to reassign these interfaces appropriately with em0 as the WAN and em1 as the LAN. This was done by matching MAC addresses displayed in the vSphere interface with those recognized by PfSense.

IP Address Configuration:
    After assigning the interfaces I added static IP addresses for both. The WAN interface was assigned an IP from the spreadsheet I was given. This IP address represents the external Gateway of the network, providing a gateway for outbound traffic. The LAN interface, however was configured with 10.0.5.2, which is not unique to me.

Firewall Rules and Basic Security Setup:
    Though detailed firewall rules were not the focus of this lab, initial security configurations were made, including disabling unnecessary services and setting up 8.8.8.8 as the DNS server.

2. Windows 10 Workstation (wks01) Configuration

The second part of the lab focused on preparing a Windows 10 virtual machine to operate within the newly configured network environment:

Network Configuration:
    The workstation's network adapter was connected to the LAN segment of the fw01 firewall. This connection was verified by ensuring that the workstation could communicate with the firewall's LAN interface.

System Personalization and Account Setup:
    The workstation was renamed to include my first name. A new local administrator account was also created, providing elevated privileges necessary for future administrative tasks and ensuring security by moving away from the default user account.

Connectivity and Final Validation:
    After configuring the firewall and workstation, the final step was to check the connectivity of the firewall and workstation. This involved testing the ability of the Windows 10 machine to access the champlain college website, confirming that the firewall was correctly routing traffic between the LAN and the WAN. Additionally, security settings were checked to ensure that communication was occurring over HTTPS.

Conclusion

This lab was a first step in building a secure and functional network environment. I configured a PfSense firewall and a Windows 10 workstation to provide a foundation for our future labs where without a base network just wont be possible. The lab shows how important setting up a solid foundation is easy but has many minute details.