SYS‐255 Lab 1 Environment Setup - aljimenez28/champlain GitHub Wiki

Objective

The purpose of this lab was to set up the foundation of a small enterprise network using Proxmox. I configured a pfSense firewall (fw01) to separate the WAN and LAN, and then deployed a Windows workstation (wks01) on the LAN side to test connectivity.

Steps Completed

1. Firewall Setup (fw01)

  • Assigned net0 → WAN and net1 → LAN in Proxmox.

  • Verified correct interface mapping (vtnet0 = WAN, vtnet1 = LAN).

  • Configured static IPs in pfSense console:

    • WAN: 10.0.17.110/24, gateway 10.0.17.2, DNS 10.0.17.2.
    • LAN: 10.0.5.2/24, no gateway.

  • Disabled IPv6 and kept HTTPS enabled for the WebConfigurator.

2. Windows Workstation (wks01)

  • Connected the VM’s NIC to the class LAN bridge in Proxmox.

  • Renamed the host to wks01-alejandra.

  • Created a new local Administrator account for future labs.

  • Configured manual IPv4 settings:

    • IP: 10.0.5.100
    • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    • Default gateway: 10.0.5.2
    • DNS: 10.0.5.2

3. pfSense GUI Configuration

  • Accessed pfSense WebConfigurator at https://10.0.5.2/ (accepted certificate warning).

  • Updated general settings:

    • Hostname: fw01-alejandra
    • Domain: alejandra.local
    • Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8

  • Modified WAN settings to allow private networks.

  • Reset root password.

Reflection

This lab helped me get hands-on experience with pfSense in Proxmox. I learned how to map interfaces using MAC addresses, set up static addressing, and confirm connectivity from both firewall and workstation perspectives. The process clarified how a firewall routes between WAN and LAN and how workstations rely on correct gateway and DNS settings to access the internet.