// Technical Writing

Write-ups & Documentation

Field notes from building and operating the homelab. Every system documented from the first design decision to final deployment.

PowerShell Module

CSVActiveDirectory

A PowerShell module that simulates Active Directory using CSV files as the backend -- real AD cmdlets, password validation, and backups, with no domain controller required.

~9 min readPowerShell . Active Directory . CSV

Compliance Automation

ESXiManScan

An Ansible + PowerCLI tool that runs DISA STIG compliance scans against VMware ESXi hosts and outputs ready-to-submit STIG Viewer (.ckl) checklists.

~10 min readAnsible . PowerCLI . STIG

Security Tooling

Trivy Security Center

A self-hosted vulnerability management platform that ingests Trivy and CycloneDX scans, with RBAC, audit logging, waivers, and one-command RPM deployment.

~12 min readDjango . Trivy . CycloneDX

Network Security

DHCP/DNS Configuration in PfSense

Standing up DHCP scopes and split-horizon DNS resolvers on pfSense across segmented VLANs, with DNS filtering and per-VLAN lease policies.

~10 min readpfSense . DHCP . DNS

Virtualization

VM Provisioning With Proxmox

Build one VM the right way, get it fully updated and stable, generalize it, and convert it to a Proxmox template -- then clone ready-to-go machines in seconds.

~13 min readProxmox . templates . KVM

SIEM / Detection

Network Monitoring With SecurityOnion

Deploying Security Onion for full-stack network security monitoring - Zeek, Suricata, and the Elastic stack ingesting traffic from pfSense span ports.

~12 min readSecurity Onion . Zeek . Suricata

Identity & Access

Active Directory Domain Configuration

Building a Windows Server 2022 domain from scratch - domain controllers, DNS, OUs, GPO hardening, and tiered administrative accounts.

~13 min readActive Directory . GPO . Windows Server

Mail Infrastructure

Setting Up Your Own Mail Server with MailCow

Running a self-hosted mail stack with Mailcow - Postfix, Dovecot, SOGo, and Rspamd, with DKIM/DMARC and TLS in an isolated VLAN.

~12 min readMailcow . Postfix . DMARC

ITSM / HR

Manage Human Resources With OrangeHRM

Deploying OrangeHRM to simulate an enterprise HR system - employee lifecycle, onboarding workflows, and the trigger point for AD account provisioning.

~8 min readOrangeHRM . HRIS . Onboarding

ITSM / Ticketing

Enterprise Ticketing System With Faveo Helpdesk

Standing up Faveo Helpdesk for an ITSM workflow - ticket queues, SLAs, and SOP-driven service requests tied to the user provisioning lifecycle.

~9 min readFaveo . ITSM . SOPs

DevOps / SCM

Set Up Your Own Gitlab Instance

Self-hosting GitLab with a container registry and CI/CD runners - the backbone for AD inventory automation and STIG toolchain pipelines.

~11 min readGitLab . CI/CD . Runners