🔧 Server Hardware Upgrades
Enhancing the core hardware of my home server is critical for improving performance, scalability, and reliability.
Memory (RAM)
Previous: 8 GB DDR4
✅ Upgraded to: 32 GB DDR4 @ 2666 MHz (dual-channel)
🎉 Upgrade Complete!
The memory upgrade has been successfully completed! Virtualization performance has dramatically improved, allowing multiple VMs to run simultaneously with excellent responsiveness. The dual-channel configuration provides optimal memory bandwidth for enhanced system performance.
Storage
Current: Single 500GB SATA HDD
Planned: NVMe SSD (1TB) for OS/apps + secondary SSD/HDD for storage/backups
Benefits: NVMe drives provide ultra-fast speeds, significantly reducing boot and load times. Separating system and storage drives improves data management and backup strategies.
Processor (CPU)
Current: Intel Core i5-9500 (6 cores, no Hyper-Threading)
Planned: Intel Core i7/i9 or AMD Ryzen 7/9 (8+ cores with Hyper-Threading)
Benefits: A multi-core, multi-threaded processor allows for better handling of parallel workloads and a higher density of virtual machines, improving both speed and responsiveness.
Networking
Current: 1GbE onboard NIC
Planned: 10GbE NIC with dual-port configuration
Benefits: 10GbE increases throughput for large file transfers and improves performance when accessing remote storage or backups. Dual NICs offer redundancy and allow for network segmentation.
🔒 Security Enhancements & Testing
Strengthening security posture through enhanced policies and comprehensive penetration testing.
Enforcing Stricter Password Policies
Implementation of comprehensive password policies across the domain environment to enhance authentication security and reduce vulnerability to credential-based attacks.
Implementation: Deploy Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to enforce minimum password length, complexity requirements, regular rotation cycles, and account lockout policies. Include password history restrictions and implement multi-factor authentication where possible.
Continued Penetration of Both Website and Domain
Ongoing security assessments targeting both web applications and Active Directory infrastructure to identify and remediate security vulnerabilities proactively.
Approach: Conduct regular vulnerability scans, perform simulated attacks on web services, test domain authentication mechanisms, and assess network segmentation. Document findings and implement security improvements based on discovered weaknesses.