Build Your Own Active Directory Homelab

Use This Guide Responsibly

This guide is for educational use in a personal homelab. Use only systems you own or are authorized to administer, and keep the exercises inside the dedicated VMs rather than work or production systems. You are responsible for the changes you make. The guide is provided “as is” without warranties; see the project’s MIT License.

AI-Assisted Development

AI tools were used to assist with research, drafting, editing, and reviewing portions of this guide. AI-assisted material can be incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated. Verify important information against the linked official documentation and use your own judgment before making changes.

What You Will Build

By the end of this guide you will have a small but realistic corporate network running entirely inside your computer:

• A Windows Server 2025 virtual machine acting as a domain controller, running Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), DNS, and DHCP
• One or two Windows 11 client machines joined to your domain, just like workstations in a real office
• Users, groups, shared folders, and Group Policy settings that you create and manage yourself

Who This Is For

This guide is designed for learners with basic Windows and networking knowledge. You should be comfortable installing software and navigating Windows, and understand the basic purpose of IP addresses, subnets, default gateways, DNS, and DHCP. No prior experience with Windows Server, Active Directory, or VirtualBox is required.

What It Costs

You do not need to purchase software to complete the lab:

• The VirtualBox base package is free and open-source virtualization software
• Windows Server 2025 is available as a 180-day evaluation from Microsoft
• Windows 11 Enterprise is available as a 90-day evaluation from Microsoft

The Windows downloads are time-limited evaluation licenses, not permanently free Windows licenses. The evaluation-license appendix explains how to check their expiration dates and whether an installed evaluation has a rearm available.

The only requirement is a reasonably capable computer. Module 1 covers exactly what you need.

Source and Reuse

The source files for this guide are available on GitHub under the MIT License. You are welcome to fork the repository and adapt or expand it for your own use. The project is maintained as time permits, so support requests, issues, and pull requests may not receive a response.