An Active Directory lab is useful for learning domain controllers, DNS, Group Policy, identity administration, and Windows client management. This guide is a learning-lab plan, not a production Active Directory design or security baseline.
Evidence note: The Windows and AD DS guidance below follows current Microsoft documentation; Proxmox-specific guest guidance points to Proxmox documentation. Resource values are conservative starting allocations, not measured performance guarantees. See the research methodology .
What You Need a Proxmox host with enough spare CPU, memory, and storage for the guests you choose; a current Windows Server evaluation ISO from the Microsoft Evaluation Center ; one or more Windows client ISOs that you are licensed to use; the Windows VirtIO drivers when the VM uses VirtIO storage, network, ballooning, or serial devices; an isolated lab network if you plan to test DHCP, DNS failures, offensive-security tools, or intentionally unsafe configurations. Whether a Windows VM needs a specific VirtIO driver depends on the virtual hardware selected. It does not depend on whether the VM is a server or client, or how “important” the guest is.
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