Introduction In my home network, I use Ruckus/Brocade switches running the FastIron OS. I currently have an ICX 7150 and an ICX 6430, each running different versions of FastIron. I constantly find myself re-learning that on older versions of FastIron, configuring a port to pass both untagged and tagged traffic works differently than it does […]
Introduction Studying for CySA+ isn’t just about answering practice questions—it’s about understanding why you missed them and what that says about your readiness. Some practice test platforms include features that map missed questions directly to exam domains or objectives. That visibility is incredibly useful, because it highlights exactly where you’re weak and helps shape a
How I Use ChatGPT to Identify CySA+ Weaknesses and Build a Targeted Study Plan Read More »
Introduction Ever wondered why a Proxmox VM might appear to use less memory than you allocated it? That’s not a bug — it’s memory ballooning at work. Ballooning is one of those behind-the-scenes features that most Proxmox users benefit from without fully understanding how or why it functions. In my home lab, I run multiple
What is Memory Ballooning in Proxmox, and Why Does It Matter? Read More »
Introduction Sometimes the best way to learn Linux fundamentals is to break things apart and rebuild them with intention — this is one of those times. I’ve been running Proxmox in my home lab on and off for years. Last year, I decided to virtualize pfSense, and I did that with Proxmox. However, I did
Rebuilding My Proxmox Backup and Storage Strategy: From ZFS to LVM Read More »
Demystifying QEMU, KVM, and Proxmox (and ZFS) I’ve been running Proxmox VE in my home lab for a long time. It’s reliable, flexible, and powerful—and like many users, I installed it on bare metal and jumped straight into spinning up virtual machines. But recently, I ran into something that made me realize just how much
Monitoring Linux Log Activity in Real Time with Custom Bash Scripts Introduction The goal of this project is to sharpen my Linux fundamentals by creating a bash script that filters relevant log lines and outputs meaningful metrics. To meet this goal, I will utilize the existing infrastructure I have in place in my home lab.
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How To Factory Reset & Configure a Sonicwall SOHO-W Factory Resetting Without Access To Password This blog post details the process of accessing a Sonicwall APL-0BA (SOHO-W) in safemode and booting into the firmware with factory defaults. You may find yourself wanting to do this if you cannot recover the firewall’s password. Using the Setup
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Troubleshooting Static Routing & Policies With Watchguard Firewalls Introduction A static route is a path to a network that you manually configure on a router, firewall or other Layer 3 devices. Using static routes can be an excellent choice for smaller networks because they are simple to configure. However, in larger networks – like the
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How To Upgrade Cisco IOS on a Catalyst 3750 Switch Do you have a Cisco Catalyst switch and want to upgrade Cisco IOS? In the blog post I will go through everything you need to know for upgrading Cisco IOS using TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol). Step 1: Verify The Current IOS Version First thing
How To Upgrade Cisco IOS on a Catalyst 3750 Switch Read More »
Self-Hosting Multiple Websites in IIS Did you know that you could host a website on a computer with Windows installed? Did you know you can host 2 websites? Or even 3? Well, you absolutely could do this! In this blog post, I want to document useful information about using the Microsoft IIS feature or Internet
